5 social listening tools to prevent PR crisis
A single viral complaint can snowball into a PR crisis. These 5 social listening tools help monitor conversations and protect your reputation.
Every brand is one viral complaint away from a reputation crisis. AI-powered social listening tools help brands monitor conversations, detect negative trends early, and respond before a situation spirals out of control.
With machine learning and natural language processing (NLP), these tools can understand context, detect sarcasm, and analyze sentiment shifts across multiple languages. Whether it’s customer backlash, influencer controversy, or product issues, these tools give teams real-time visibility across social media, news outlets, blogs, and forums.
Here are five AI-powered social listening tools designed to strengthen your monitoring efforts and protect your reputation.
💡 Pressed for time? Here’s what matters:
- PR crises often start with unnoticed conversations online
- Social listening tools help track brand mentions, sentiment shifts, and trending discussions across platforms
- AI features in tools like Sprout Social, Brand24, and Onclusive Social can detect sarcasm, emerging issues, and patterns across multiple languages
- Real-time alerts allow PR teams to respond before issues escalate into full-blown crises
- Top tools used by PR and communications teams include Sprout Social, Brand24, BuzzSumo, Agorapulse, and Onclusive Social
- These tools are designed to support both daily brand monitoring and early crisis detection efforts
1. Sprout Social
Sprout Social monitors brand mentions and keywords in real time across major social media platforms. Its sentiment analysis categorizes mentions as positive, neutral, or negative and flags spikes in negative sentiment. This helps PR teams identify and respond to potential crises, such as viral posts or growing criticism, before they escalate.
The platform uses AI to process large volumes of data and understand nuances like slang and sarcasm in multiple languages. This provides a clearer understanding of the tone and intent behind conversations, which is essential for addressing sensitive topics effectively.
The tool also helps track campaign performance, competitor mentions, and influencer engagement — making it useful for day-to-day brand monitoring.
Sprout Social’s pricing starts at US$199 per user per month, with options for enterprise plans at custom rates.
2. Brand24
Brand24 tracks mentions across a wide range of platforms, including social media, forums, news sites, podcasts, and blogs. With real-time access to over 25 million online sources, it helps PR teams gather insights about brand perception efficiently.
It uses sentiment analysis to classify mentions as positive, neutral, or negative. This helps teams understand public sentiment at a glance and focus on key issues. Brand24 also identifies trending hashtags and influencers, enabling PR teams to measure campaign reach and engage with audiences effectively.
The platform’s AI capabilities allow it to detect nuances like sarcasm and analyze conversations in 108 languages.
Pricing starts at US$119 per month for smaller teams, with plans scaling up to US$399 for enterprise needs. This range of plans offers flexibility for organizations with different levels of monitoring requirements.
3. BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo focuses on monitoring mentions, competitors, and industry updates. It allows teams to set up alerts for specific topics, brands, or keywords, ensuring they stay updated on relevant conversations. This is particularly useful for PR teams needing to track emerging issues or trends.
The tool also tracks mentions by influencers, bloggers, and journalists, making it easier for teams to connect with key content creators. Additionally, it monitors backlinks, helping PR and marketing teams understand how their content is performing and where it’s being referenced.
BuzzSumo uses AI to surface high-performing content, detect trending discussions faster, and provide predictive insights about which topics could gain traction next.
Pricing starts at US$199 per month, with a US$299 plan designed for PR agencies.
4. Agorapulse
Agorapulse tracks brand mentions and analyzes sentiment across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X. It also collects insights from news websites and blogs, offering PR teams a comprehensive view of public discussions about their brand. By identifying sentiment changes, it helps teams spot and address potential issues early, such as backlash to campaigns or product launches.
The platform also enables users to monitor industry trends and competitor activities. Its tools for tracking influencer engagement ensure brand collaborations align with messaging, while its ability to detect shifts in conversation volume serves as an early warning system.
Agorapulse’s AI features help categorize conversations by sentiment, detect potential crises earlier, and recommend next steps based on historical data.
Agorapulse’s pricing starts at US$79 per user per month, with advanced plans at US$149 offering additional features like content libraries and bulk publishing. Custom pricing is available for larger organizations with unique requirements.
5. Onclusive Social
Onclusive Social, formerly Digimind, provides tools for monitoring brand mentions and understanding public sentiment. It tracks discussions across social media, blogs, and news outlets, giving PR teams insights into how their brand is perceived. This is especially helpful for identifying patterns or sudden increases in negative mentions that could signal a crisis.
Onclusive Social combines AI-powered listening with advanced reputation management tools. Its machine learning engine can spot subtle sentiment changes, detect emerging narratives, and predict potential escalation points.
The platform separates social listening and reputation management. Social listening focuses on gathering and analyzing conversations, while reputation management uses these insights to guide strategies and address public concerns. This dual approach helps teams respond quickly to crises and improve their overall messaging.
Pricing is customized based on the organization’s needs, with demos available to explore its features.
Free vs paid social listening tools
| Feature | Free tools (e.g., Google Alerts) | Paid tools (e.g., Sprout Social, Brand24) |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms covered | Limited (mostly web, some news) | Social media, news, blogs, forums, podcasts |
| Real-time alerts | Basic | Full real-time alerts |
| Sentiment analysis | None | Included (AI-powered) |
| Keyword tracking | Basic | Advanced with filters |
| Historical data | Limited | Extensive |
| Influencer tracking | None | Included |
| AI analysis (slang/sarcasm) | None | Included |
| Predictive insights | None | Available in some tools |
| Pricing | Free | Starts at US$79 per month |
A PR crisis can strike unexpectedly, and without the right tools and strategies in place, the damage to your brand can escalate quickly. Social listening tools act as an early warning system, giving PR teams the insights they need to respond before a situation spirals out of control.
But what if the crisis has already hit? Knowing what to do in the first 24 hours is critical. If you’re facing a PR crisis, read our guide on what to do when a crisis happens in 24 hours to take control and protect your brand’s reputation effectively.
Atikah Amalia
The combination of proactive monitoring and a well-prepared response plan ensures your team is ready to tackle challenges head-on and safeguard your brand’s credibility.
FAQs and informational parts
What is a social listening tool?
A social listening tool is software that monitors online mentions of a brand, product, or topic across platforms like social media, blogs, news sites, and forums. These tools analyze sentiment and trends, helping teams understand public perception, track discussions, and detect potential issues early to manage their brand’s reputation.
How do AI-powered social listening tools help with PR crises?
AI-powered social listening tools go beyond simple keyword tracking. They detect sentiment changes, analyze sarcasm, and track the spread of content across platforms. By combining real-time alerts with predictive analysis, these tools help PR teams act faster and refine messaging based on actual audience sentiment.
Which social listening tool is best?
The best tool depends on your needs. For example, Sprout Social is ideal for teams requiring robust sentiment analysis and real-time alerts, while Brand24 offers comprehensive coverage across multiple platforms and languages. Agorapulse is a great option for social media-focused monitoring, and Onclusive Social combines listening with reputation management. Each tool has strengths tailored to different goals.
Free vs paid social listening tools — what’s the difference?
Free tools, like Google Alerts, provide basic keyword tracking across limited platforms. Paid tools offer deeper analytics, sentiment analysis, multi-platform coverage, influencer tracking, and customizable alerts. For crisis monitoring or comprehensive brand tracking, paid tools provide far more value.
What’s an example of social listening during a crisis?
Social listening can take many forms. For instance, a PR team might use Brand24 to monitor sentiment following a controversial campaign and respond to negative feedback. Agorapulse could help a company track and analyze social media mentions to detect backlash about a product launch.
Meanwhile, BuzzSumo can alert a team about trending content mentioning their brand, enabling timely engagement or crisis intervention. Each tool provides the context and insights needed to take appropriate action.
