Successfully planning and strategizing your marketing strategy without proper media monitoring and PR tools is almost impossible in this day and age.
When it comes to researching the tools in this field, Meltwater is undeniably one of the go-to options for many companies worldwide.
However, we have to acknowledge that this tool doesn’t cater to all of the PR needs that different types of organizations might have, and it is important to consider Meltwater alternatives as well when choosing a suitable tool for your business.
In this article, we will uncover what Meltwater is, why organizations search for alternatives to this tool, and what are the top options that we currently have on the market for that.
Let’s Start With Basics – What Is Meltwater?
Meltwater is one of the most well-known media monitoring and PR tools mainly used by PR, communications, and marketing professionals, which gives them a whole set of features to stay ahead of the competition.
These features include global media monitoring, sentiment analysis, and media analysis that give Meltwater’s customers an opportunity to gain insightful and reliable data to make informed decisions and build effective strategies to grow their brands.
The company has more than 20 years of experience in this field, and they have gained a massive reputation over the years.
It all makes sense if we take a look at the pain points that Meltwater is tackling. First of all, there is a massive amount of data overload on the internet for companies to analyze and research to get on top of the competition.
At the same time, followers expect brands to be constantly engaging with them across all different channels online, which directly correlates to their brand authority in the eyes of potential customers.
While Meltwater manages to help its customers address these pain points, it is important to mention that this tool is not always 100% effective. This entirely depends on your specific business case, and that’s why it is vital to consider alternatives as well.
Why Organizations Might Seek Meltwater Alternatives
Before we jump into discussing what alternatives there are for the Meltwater PR tool, let’s discuss the most common reasons that companies tend to seek for different platforms in the first place.
Despite Meltwater’s success in the media field, lots of companies have a need to search for alternatives because of the tool’s limited customization abilities, unnecessarily high learning curve, inaccurate data, and costs.
The most common pain points for companies when using Meltwater’s platform include:
- Cost – there are no concrete pricing options that Meltwater is showing to their customers. If you’d like to request this information from them, you need to get in touch with their team and ask for a quote. Unclear pricing might be inconvenient for companies that don’t necessarily have big PR budgets for their campaigns.
- Interface Complexity – lots of reviews of this platform online state that Meltwater’s interface is fairly hard to navigate, which might cause inconvenience in getting the PR work done.
- Lengthy Onboarding – many reviewers online also state that the learning and onboarding curve of this platform is unnecessarily high. Getting used to the platform typically takes a lot of time, mainly because of the platform’s complexity. This might cause long onboarding sessions, which further delays the process.
- Issues With Customer Support – another common point that online reviewers raise is Meltwater’s unreliable customer support, which is important considering the complexity and high learning curve this platform has.
Key Features to Consider When Choosing an Alternative
Considering the reasons companies tend to search for Meltwater alternatives, let’s have a look at the list of the most important features to think about when looking for proper PR and media monitoring tools online:
- Media Monitoring Capabilities – gives you the ability to track various news sources to understand what’s happening in your field and keep up with current trends.
- Social Media Tracking – provides an in-depth overview of relevant topics, keywords, and trends in various social media platforms, which is helpful for building and tweaking your own strategy.
- Analytics and Reporting – tracks important metrics and shows you the real data that you can use to build your marketing and PR strategy.
- Coverage Scope – understands your specific business needs and gives you options to choose between aiming for global reach or regional publicity.
- Integration Options – has the ability to integrate different online tools to streamline your processes. These tools could include social media platforms, email marketing tools, and others.
- Price Point and ROI – brings clarity on the fees and pricing from the get-go. This way, you can evaluate your options and decide if it can provide the return on investment (ROI) that you are aiming for.
Top Meltwater Alternatives
Now that you understand in which cases it is suitable to look for the Meltwater alternatives, let’s take a look at some of the tools that companies worldwide have found extremely helpful:
PRNEWS.IO
PRNEWS.IO is the world’s first sponsored content online store for worldwide known publications and magazines.
With its easy-to-navigate online store, this tool continuously helps companies raise brand awareness and maximize the outcomes of their press releases to get guaranteed placements for sponsored content in international online publications.
Learn how to use PRNEWS.IO – where to start and how to maximize the effect of its use?
If outreach is part of your PR and marketing strategy, then Cision is one of the most effective tools out there.
It allows you to generate catered lists of reporters, journalists, and editors to directly connect with them and offer collaboration for a specific research topic. The tool helps you achieve results and improve your outreach communication skills.
Mention
Mention is an all-in-one solution when it comes to monitoring the web to understand your audience, analyzing valuable insights on your campaigns, and increasing engagement with prospects online.
This tool is also useful when you need to monitor any specific brand or keyword to gather data and gain insights about them. Their analytics capabilities help you measure the overall reach and identify new opportunities for marketing.
Signal AI
This tool leverages the power of Artificial Intelligence to help brands gain valuable insights from the world’s top media sources.
The platform does research, lists recommendations, and gives AI-driven insights curated by comms experts to assist users in improving their decision-making and elevating their communication strategy.
Budget Friendly Options
If the options above might look a bit pricey for your business case, here are some of the more budget-friendly options that still deliver satisfactory results:
Google Alerts
This free tool from Google helps you monitor the web for any new content that suits your desired topic to learn about. Based on the interval of your choice, it sends you alert emails full of links that are relevant to your topic.
You can use it to get relevant updates on a regular basis, which may include interesting articles, news stories, videos, and more. It can also be used to monitor the online activities of your competitors.
Talkwalker
If your job involves constantly monitoring social networks for specific keywords and trends, Talkwalker has a tool that can assist you in achieving exactly that.
This social media monitoring platform not only scans social networks for relevant information but also collects information about your customers’ needs and analyzes trends to help you succeed.
Brand 24
This AI-powered tool helps you effectively monitor and analyze online activities that mention your brand or other relevant keywords. It scans information all across social media, videos, forums, and other mediums to bring you clarity on your online presence.
Conclusion
While Meltwater is a great media monitoring and PR tool for many companies worldwide, it might not fulfill the needs that all businesses have.
That’s why it is important to have a clear overview of the necessary features and capabilities your company needs to make correct assumptions and choose tools that make the complicated PR and marketing process easy for your team.
PR software space offers many great solutions that can cater to different needs that organizations might have these days, and there are numerous excellent Meltwater alternatives to choose from.
Read more: The Top 10 Media Monitoring Tools For PR Pros
