1) Google Alerts
Yes, Google is the best at everything and when it comes to social media monitoring there’s no exception. The concept is simple and straightforward. You set up an alert and Google emails you daily whenever your name, brand or company is mentioned online. This is great for building a solid following and connecting with those that are interested in what you have to say. Google Alerts is by far my favorite social media tracking tool and I’d recommend it for any person, brand or company.

2) Filtrbox
Whether you’re interested in spying on the competition or monitoring how often your brand is mentioned, Filtrbox is a great way to stay on top of everything. Their free version of “Filtrbox Basic” allows users to import their Google Alerts and preferred RSS feeds for an overall tracking of their name, brand or company. “Filtrank” is another great add-on with the freemium version. It basically ranks all your mentions, social media content and RSS feed sources.

3) Hootsuite
Managing one Twitter account can be pretty hectic for some, but what about those that handle 10. This is where the beauty of Hootsuite comes in. Allowing its users the ability to manage multiple Twitter and Facebook Fan page accounts, Hootsuite might be the most favored free social media manager/monitor. You can seamlessly update your Facebook Fan page and Twitter account simultaneously, while tracking the clicks on their built in stats manager. Want to make money? Hootsuite can enable Google Adsense in all your tweets by adding a banner to your URL shortened link. From scheduling tweets to posting RSS updates, Hootsuite is an amazing free product.

4) Social Mention
Following closely in Google Alerts footsteps is Social Mention. The online monitoring tool that alerts you any time your name, brand or company is mentioned in the social web. One thing I like about Social Mention is the fact that it utilizes PostRank analytics’ and gives your alert a score based on how often the term is searched and mentioned online (similar to Filtrank). It will also tell you if the mentions are negative, neutral or positive.

5) HowSociable
If you’re into numbers and ranking HowSocaible is definitely for you. You simply type in the name of your brand or company and it scans through 32 of the top social networking sites measuring your “visibility.” It then spits out a score for each site (e.g. Digg, Facebook, YouTube etc…) and gives you an overall score of how you rank on all of them. It’s still a little confusing on how they calculate and rank the actual scores, but it’s defined as “a quick way for people to compare the visibility of one brand to another.” Users are better off focusing on the numbers given for each site rather than the cumulative total.

6) Twitalyzer
Toted as “Serious Analytics for Social Media Experts” Twitalyzer is heavily focused on micro-blogging (i.e. Twitter) and allows users to Twitalyze their influence. In all seriousness, you don’t need to be a “Social Media Expert,” to work with Twitalyzer. It’s actually pretty simple to use. Once you arrive on the home page simply type in your Twitter handle and a list of 5 categories will show up. The categories include: Impact, Engagement, Influence, Generosity and Clout and offer a percentage score of your brand. You can also explore the Twitalyzer Dashboard for more note-worthy stats about your presence on Twitter.

7) Tweetdeck or Seesmic
Both Tweetdeck and Seesmic are leading the pack in social media monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. Both applications offer free management of Twitter and Facebook accounts by dowloading the desktop client. Monitoring keywords and mentions is a breeze and extremely helpful in keeping up with your followers and fans. Tweetdeck is available in all the major mobile app stores, allowing you the ability to monitor on the go. Seesmic is available in both the Android and Blackberry app store, with the iPhone application coming soon.