Social media monitoring (also referred to as social media measurement or social media analytics) is an integral part of strategic communication management. In the context of strategic communication, it is conceived of as a tool to measure the impact of social media accounts of a specific organization, such as a political institution or an enterprise, on its customers or members. This entry discusses the purposes and strategies of social media monitoring, instruments used for social media monitoring, and concerns about data privacy raised by social media monitoring.

Users of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn use them for social interactions and to discuss products, societal and political topics, and solutions to problems. In social media monitoring, businesses monitor this communication to improve ...