How do you follow conversations about you or your competitors on Twitter, now X? The answer is to track Twitter mentions, which helps you monitor what people say on this social media platform. It gives you valuable insights about your brand and your target audience.
What can you learn by monitoring your mentions or tags on X? How do you track mentions on this platform? Moreover, why should you keep an eye on this? Find answers to questions like this and more in the article below!
Table of Contents
3 Different Types of Twitter Mentions You Need To Track
When a user tags you in a post or a reply, the platform refers to it as a Twitter mention. Usually, people use this feature to get your attention on this platform. Initially, the platform referred to this feature as replies. In 2009, they rebranded it to mentions and displayed a list of all posts that tag you.
There are three types of X mentions you must track:
- Username: People will tag you in their tweets using the “@” symbol and your username. When a user mentions you using your Twitter handle, you’ll get a notification about this activity. Earlier, people had to include their username at the start of the tweet to count as a mention. This is no longer the case, as you can add a person’s handle anywhere in the post.
- Brand or text-only: The second type of mention is where people use your username or brand’s name in their content. However, they don’t include the “@” symbol, which is why you won’t receive a notification.
- Hashtag: Users can tag your account using a hashtag with your username or brand name. You won’t get a notification when people mention you via hashtags.
Also, the platform did count the username towards the tweet’s character limit when you replied to a user’s post. This was a reply mention. However, they changed this in 2017 to ensure you have sufficient room to express yourself.
Track Twitter Mentions Free: How To See Your Mentions on X
Is there a way to track Twitter mentions free? Yes, it is possible, and you don’t need to leave the platform. Here’s how to track mentions on X using the social media channel’s built-in features:
Method 1:
Note: The following method only works for X for the web, i.e., if you use Twitter on a desktop or mobile browser. If you visit X via the app, follow the second method.
- After you go to X on a desktop or mobile browser, open the platform’s search bar. It’s in the top right corner if you use a desktop browser. On the mobile browser, the search button is visible in the bottom navigation bar.
- Type any phrase into the search bar and go to the results page.
- Left-click the three-dot button next to the search bar to see the drop-down menu on your screen.
- Pick Advanced Search in this drop-down menu.
- Go to the Accounts section in the Advanced Search popup.
- Enter your username in the Mentioning These Accounts text box.
- Click the Search button to go to the results page.
- The Top tab shows content based on the platform’s algorithm. Switch to the Latest tab to see all the recent social mentions.
Method 2:
Note: This method works for all devices. It is handy for performing detailed searches on the Twitter app, as you can’t use the Advanced Search feature.
- Open the X app and tap the search button in the bottom navigation panel.
- Enter the following search operator — “@username.” Replace the username with your X handle.
Remember to check your notifications regularly, as you’ll receive alerts every time someone tags you. You may also get an email notification about this activity.
How To Track Mentions on Twitter: 3 Third-Party Services You Can Use
As of August 2024, if you go to the X Analytics page, you won’t see any metrics for mentions. So, how do you monitor tags on this platform? You need to use a third-party analytics tool that gives you all the information you need.
Here’s how to track mentions on Twitter using three popular tools.
1. Mention
If you want a tool designed specifically to monitor online conversations, you must try Mention. It has all the features to track discussions on X in real time. There are topic clouds so that you know the themes of various tweets. It provides sentiment analysis data and creates reports regularly.
You can customize your Mention dashboard to meet your requirements. They also offer historical data, making it easier to compare your performance on X.
It has the following subscription plans:
- Solo: $49 monthly
- Pro: $99 monthly
- ProPlus: $179 monthly
- Company Plan: Contact the vendor for pricing information
2. Tweet Binder
Tweet Binder is an excellent third-party tool for tracking mentions on Twitter, aka X. It comes with a free trial, which includes 200 tweets from the previous seven days. This gives you an idea of what using this service is like.
You can see the distribution of your mentions in tweets, replies, and reposts. It shows how many posts contain images and links. You’ll learn about the number of original posts, contributors, impressions, likes, bookmarks, and more.
You’ll learn about the sentiment of the tweets that tag you and a timeline of the change in opinions. Also, it shows which users post regularly, who has the blue tick, and more.
It offers these subscription plans:
- Starter: $26.50 monthly
- Advanced: $235 monthly
- Enterprise: $4,250 monthly
- One-time historical report: $160
- One-time real-time report: $59.99
3. Sprout Social
If you need an all-in-one social media monitoring tool to track mentions on X, try Sprout Social. It’s easier to follow conversations that tag your Twitter account with this service, as you can save your searches.
Another handy feature is monitoring conversations where the user doesn’t tag you. For instance, if the user uses a hashtag or keyword relevant to your brand, you’ll see these posts in your dashboard.
If influencers mention you, you can tag them and respond to their queries or requests. You get extensive reports based on your requirements.
Sprout Social offers the following packages:
- Standard: $199 per seat every month
- Professional: $200 per seat every month
- Advanced: $399 per seat every month
- Enterprise: Get in touch with Sprout Social to know the pricing
Every plan comes with a 30-day free trial to help you pick the best option as per your needs.
3 Reasons To Track Mentions on X
Why should you monitor your Twitter mentions in the first place? Here are three reasons why you must keep an eye on your tags.
1. Understand User Sentiments
Brands monitor mentions on X because it helps them understand user sentiment on this platform. You must remember that not every tag will be positive. Some mentions may be neutral, while others are negative.
If you’re unaware of user sentiments, you won’t know how people feel. Your performance on this platform can take a hit in the long run.
For example, you run an advertising campaign on X to raise awareness about your brand. Over the campaign’s duration, you notice an uptick in the number of mentions. As you didn’t take a closer look, you assume your audience is responding positively to your advertisements.
However, if you use a third-party Twitter mentions tracker, you notice that most posts are negative.
In other words, you learn about people’s true feelings by monitoring the conversations that mention you.
2. Improve Customer Service
People tend to tag brands on X, primarily to report their problems. Sometimes, users may not mention your username in their posts.
For example, a person’s post may include the brand’s name, but the tweet may not tag the company’s Twitter profile.
As a result, you won’t get any notifications about this post. If you don’t respond to tweets like this, it will affect your reputation.
By tracking mentions, you’ll know what is going on with your audience, even if they don’t tag you directly. Also, it ensures you don’t miss out on Twitter mentions, especially when multiple users tag your profile.
3. Identify Growth Opportunities
Although X doesn’t give you adequate data about your mentions, this isn’t the case with third-party trackers.
By analyzing your Twitter tags, you can see the demographic data of Twitter users. For instance, several people mention you from locations you don’t operate in.
Or, you track mentions of your competitors to learn about their audience’s likes and dislikes. With this information, think of how you can improve your marketing strategy.
You can learn what your competitors are doing right and incorporate similar tactics. Also, it shows you what to avoid to keep your audience happy.
FAQ on Tracking Twitter Mentions
In this section, you’ll find answers to queries from Twitter users about monitoring mentions on Twitter:
How do I track my brand’s Twitter mentions?
You can track your brand’s Twitter mentions by:
• Enabling the right notification settings to ensure you get timely alerts for every mention.
• Use Twitter’s advanced search feature or search operators to see the posts tagging your profile.
• Connecting your Twitter account with a third-party mentions tracker.
How can I track the number of mentions on Twitter for free?
You can track the number of mentions on Twitter for free by using the following services:
• Tweet Binder: Tweet Binder creates a free seven-day report with up to 200 posts.
• Mention: Mention offers a 14-day free trial for all their plans.
• Sprout Social: Sprout Social has a 30-day free trial.
Most third-party tools have a free trial to test the features before committing to their services.
How do you check another Twitter user’s mentions?
You can check another Twitter user’s mentions using the platform’s built-in search tool. It can show posts that tag a specific user.
Another option is to use a third-party mentions tracker to monitor your competitor.
Prevent Negative Mentions on Twitter With TweetDelete
Tracking relevant mentions on Twitter is essential, as it gives you insights about your audience. Remember to monitor common misspellings to ensure you don’t miss out on anything.
Your mentions on Twitter can become negative because of what you post on the platform. At times, it can also be due to your older tweets. It happens because of controversial opinions, posts that didn’t age well, or other similar reasons.
This is why it is important to review your old posts and delete anything that can cause a storm. Unfortunately, relying on X’s in-built search tool and delete feature will take forever.
With TweetDelete, it becomes easy to manage your reputation on the platform. If you don’t have the time to analyze all your posts, use the auto-delete tweets task. It requires keywords, hashtags, and date ranges to locate specific posts on your profile page. This TweetDelete feature runs in the background and automatically deletes the tweets you don’t want to associate with.
Another option is the mass-delete tweets utility, which is handy for quickly removing several posts.
At times, what you like on X can land you trouble. Fortunately, this is avoidable with TweetDelete’s unlike posts tool. It deletes your likes and keeps your online activity on the platform private.
All these tools use a special filter, which ensures you find the right tweets quickly. These features can reduce negative sentiment towards your brand when you track Twitter mentions.
Join TweetDelete today and clean your profile page to prevent specific tweets from affecting your reputation!