If you've ever wondered, "How can I track Twitter mentions?" and wanted to find ways of doing it effectively, this article is for you. Monitoring mentions is tricky, especially on social media platforms like X (Twitter), where conversations happen in real-time.
Making sure a single Twitter mention doesn't go unnoticed is difficult and that's where tracking press hits with dedicated tools comes in handy. In this article, you'll find more information on how to track mentions on Twitter using Google Alerts or with the help of third-party tools made for PR.
Why tracking X (Twitter) mentions matters?
The quickest way to get recognition as an individual, sell out a new line as a brand, or simply to be heard nowadays is to go viral on social media.
No, it doesn't happen each time you launch a creative campaign, of course, but it remains that your brand's reputation is hugely dependent on what's being said about you and where.
Although we might say that the prime days of X (Twitter) are gone, there are still ongoing discussions there until we all find another platform to use (hello, Bluesky?). It goes without saying that monitoring Twitter mentions is an important part of getting to know your audience.
Tracking every single Twitter mention can help you:
- Manage your brand's perception: monitor mentions to understand Twitter sentiment to address positive and negative comments quickly.
- Track competitors: analyze competitor mentions to identify possible opportunities and gaps to further refine your strategy.
- Respond to crises: catch all the unfavorable mentions as early as possible to manage and resolve problems fast.
- Engage with your audience: reply to mentions to build genuine connections with people and boost engagement.
- Share the latest news: spot ways to increase the reach of your updates as you join the most suitable conversations.
How to track Twitter mentions for free?
Tracking Twitter mentions is the foundation of essential social media management for those who work in public relations.
It's involved in virtually everything: monitoring brand reputation, evaluating campaign success, identifying your audience's concerns, and, last but not least, always keeping track of what's being said about your brand.
Thankfully, there are plenty of methods you can utilize so no Twitter mention goes unnoticed. While relying only on manual monitoring is the cheapest way, it's not necessarily the most practical or efficient.
Dedicated PR software tools like Prowly make it easy to find Twitter mentions, set up real-time alerts, and analyze them later so that you get the full overview of what you're dealing with.
Option 1: Manual tracking
You can track mentions on your own without using a third-party tool. However, it's important to keep in mind that while this option is free, it comes with its downsides.
👉 To see who has mentioned you or your brand, just go to the search bar and type in your username or a relevant hashtag.
👉 You can also get information on how many people saw these mentions.
👉 As a bonus, you can set up email alerts to stay up to date when someone mentions you. X (Twitter) provides several options, such as notifications for new mentions, posts emailed to you, direct messages, and more.
Option 2: X (Twitter) analytics
There's a bit more data provided by the platform in their dashboards about Twitter mentions. There you can view more information on:
- Mentions
- Impressions
- Profile visits
- Followers
- Ads
- Video activity
These include specific metrics such as top tweets, top mentions, follower growth, link clicks, conversions, and more.
The downside is that you won't be able to track valuable metrics like sentiment or share of voice. For these, you'll need to check out third-party social listening tools.
Option 3: Google Alerts
For another free alternative, you can consider setting up Google Alerts for X (Twitter) mentions. I can't say this is the best way to track all the conversations happening online, because it does come with some glitches and drawbacks.
For example, if your name is "Kate Smiths," you'll probably also get alerts for "Kate Smith" and keywords that have higher mention volumes.
If you're looking for more reliable options that track Twitter mentions accurately, you can read more about Google alerts and its alternatives.
Or... if you want measurable, high-quality results you can rely on, opt for advanced tools - just like those listed below. 👇🏼
Advanced tools for tracking X (Twitter) mentions
There are dozens of tools to monitor social media mentions, ranging from software that's meant for just about anyone to specialized software built for PR professionals.
Prowly is all-in-one software for PR professionals with robust media monitoring and social media listening features. Aside from tracking mentions in online articles and discussion forums, you can also monitor them on X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
While a single Twitter mentions tracker will do its job if you're only interested in this one platform, it will do little when you're faced with the task from a client demanding to see how they're performing on other channels as well.
With Prowly, you can monitor all these channels, compare and contrast your reach, audience, and top influencers, all of which will prove crucial in planning the steps to take to meet your goals and KPIs.
👉 For example, if Twitter is performing poorly but Facebook is buzzing with engagement, you may want to consider adjusting your efforts to ensure your time and resources are used effectively.
For a comprehensive breakdown of tools that can help you track what you need, head over to this article that explores the 6 most popular Twitter tracking tools for PR pros.
Tips for efficient X (Twitter) mention tracking
A good social media strategy, whether you're in marketing or PR, involves making sure you're tracking Twitter mentions in real-time.
That way, you can respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner, address potential crises before they escalate into the danger zone, and engage proactively with your audience.
Step 1: Set up automatic alerts
To track mentions on Twitter effectively, it's wise to set up automatic notifications to arrive straight to your inbox. That way, no conversation is missed, and you know who's talking what about you from the word go.
💡 For more crucial Twitter mentions, you can set up daily alerts or even for as they're happening.
💡 For more passive topics that you'd like to have some knowledge about but which aren't urgent, weekly or monthly notifications are also an option.
With a PR tool like Prowly, you can monitor not only usernames and hashtags but also specific keywords. Having this option is a crucial component in any social listening strategy.
To set up a notification alert in Prowly, choose the Monitoring tab from the main menu, then go to Email notifications and click on Set up email notifications.
Prowly will then present a list of options to choose from for the frequency and types of notifications you want to receive.
For example, if you know you might be in hot water because one of your C-level executives said something that was misconstrued by an interviewing journalist, you can set up a New mention alert.
Prowly offers plenty of ways to customize the types of Twitter mentions you want to receive alerts for. It all depends on what you want to do, the purpose behind it, and the goal you are trying to achieve.
Step 2: Prioritize engagement
You probably already know that this tip is key for building strong connections, not only with your audience, but also with particular individuals you’re interested in collaborating with. Actively responding to Twitter mentions shows that you value authentic relationships, helps you build trust, and makes your followers feel seen.
👉 To be great at it, try to answer people as soon as you can with thoughtful, helpful responses.
👉 Tone and voice matter a lot, especially when you’re responding to something that could make or break your brand’s reputation and image.
👉 Show your audience that both praise and criticism are welcome and always ensure they know your brand is committed to improvement.
Social media can be both a blessing and a curse, especially in situations where your audience expects a prompt response.
Step 3: Analyze mentions to get insights
Tracking Twitter mentions can give you valuable insights, especially if you're a PR professional. Most of these conversations happen quickly and in real-time, and by analyzing previous events and trends, you can plan your strategy ahead of time.
With Prowly, you can search for Twitter mentions and obtain specific data on things like Twitter sentiment for your brand or particular campaign, evaluate your share of voice against your competitors, or see detailed engagement metrics with the numbers of reactions, shares, and comments.
Knowing how to analyze Twitter mentions can be tricky at first, mostly because there is no one perfect way to do it.
Each PR specialist has their own methods, which are mostly geared towards a particular situation, such as evaluating metrics for the strategy of future campaigns, presenting them in executive reports, or, for example, doing a thorough breakdown of sentiment analysis.
It's always worth learning how to conduct thorough sentiment analysis, and you can read more on how to measure sentiment in brand-related public relations.
With the industry moving forward so fast, it doesn't hurt to learn something new (even if you're a seasoned PR professional).
Conclusion
If you're considering starting your Twitter monitoring journey, both free and paid tools are available to assist you. However, leveraging dedicated tools like Prowly simplifies the process, offering real-time insights and a robust range of metrics to ensure you stay ahead of the game.
With Prowly's media monitoring, you can efficiently track social media conversations, analyze sentiment, and create beautiful, easy-to-understand reports.
