1---2name: 15-social-listening-global3description: Use when the user wants to monitor what is being said about the brand, competitors, and the category — channels and keywords to track, sentiment scoring, weekly and monthly listening reports, brand health metrics, early crisis detection, and content opportunities pulled from real conversations. Trigger on 'social listening', 'brand monitoring', 'sentiment analysis', 'what are people saying about us', 'track our mentions', 'monitor competitors online'. Also use when the user spotted a bad comment thread and wants to know if it is spreading. Not for — responding to a crisis already underway, see `66-crisis-playbook-global`; competitor strategy teardown, see `08-competitor-research-global`; auditing your own posts, see `39-content-audit-global`.4---5
6# Social Listening & Monitoring (Global)
7
8> Listen before you speak. Understand what customers are saying, how they feel, and where the market is headed — before competitors do.
9
10---
11
12## Information Gathering
13
14Ask up to 4 questions:
15
161. **Brand / product?** Brand name, primary product names, founder name (if personal brand).
172. **Main competitors?** List 2–3 direct competitors to monitor.
183. **Current concern?** Bad reviews? Trend tracking? Competitor watch?
194. **Most important channels?** Twitter/X, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, Google Reviews, all of the above?
20
21---
22
23## Framework: Listen → Analyze → Report → Act
24
25```
26LISTEN — Collect mentions, comments, reviews, related posts
27 |
28ANALYZE — Classify sentiment, identify trends, detect anomalies
29 |
30REPORT — Aggregate into weekly/monthly reports with clear insight
31 |
32ACT — Respond, adjust strategy, manage crises
33```
34
35---
36
37## Channels to Monitor (Global)
38
39### Channel List
40
41| Channel | Content type | How to monitor | Frequency |
42|---------|--------------|----------------|-----------|
43| Twitter / X | Mentions, threads, retweets | Native search + saved searches + Tweetdeck | Daily |
44| Reddit | Subreddit discussions, AMAs | Subreddit search + Reddit RSS | Daily |
45| TikTok | Comments, duets, stitches, hashtags | Hashtag search + comments on brand videos | Daily |
46| Instagram | Comments, mentions, story tags | Native notifications + hashtag search | Daily |
47| Facebook Groups | Discussions, Q&As, reviews | Group keyword search | Daily |
48| Facebook Pages | Comments, reviews, mentions | Page notifications + keyword search | Daily |
49| YouTube | Video comments, review videos | Search brand + product names | 2–3x/week |
50| Google Reviews | Business reviews | Google Business Profile dashboard | Daily |
51| Google Search | Articles, news | Google Alerts on brand keywords | Automated |
52| Trustpilot / G2 / Capterra | Product/service reviews | Native dashboards + email alerts | Daily |
53| Discord communities | Niche industry discussions | Server-by-server, manual | 2x/week |
54| LinkedIn | Posts, mentions (B2B) | LinkedIn search + saved searches | 2x/week |
55| Quora | Questions about brand/category | Topic follows + alerts | Weekly |
56| Online press | News articles, PR | Google News Alerts | Automated |
57| Amazon / Shopee / Etsy | Product reviews | Review tab on listings | 2–3x/week |
58
59### Keywords to Monitor
60
61| Keyword group | Examples |
62|---------------|----------|
63| Brand name | "[Brand]", "[Brand] review", "[Brand] scam", "[Brand] worth it" |
64| Product name | "[Product]", "[Product] price", "[Product] review" |
65| Founder name | "[Founder]", "[Founder] who" |
66| Competitors | "[Competitor 1]", "[Competitor 2]", "[Competitor] vs [Brand]" |
67| Industry | "[Industry keyword]", "[Common industry pain]" |
68| Negative phrases | "not good", "disappointed", "scam", "low quality", "false advertising" |
69| Positive phrases | "amazing", "recommend", "best ever", "worth it", "loving it" |
70
71---
72
73## Sentiment Analysis
74
75### Sentiment Scale
76
77| Level | Score | Description | Example |
78|-------|-------|-------------|---------|
79| Very negative | 1 | Outrage, public callout, boycott calls | "Total scam, reporting them to FTC" |
80| Negative | 2 | Disappointment, complaint, unfavorable comparison | "Tried it for 3 months, way worse than X" |
81| Neutral | 3 | Asking info, comparison, on-the-fence | "Anyone tried [Brand]? Thoughts?" |
82| Positive | 4 | Satisfied, recommends, praises | "Been using for 3 months, happy with it" |
83| Very positive | 5 | Enthusiastic advocate, brand champion | "Best service ever, told all my friends" |
84
85### Categorization by Topic
86
87| Topic | What to monitor | Meaning |
88|-------|-----------------|---------|
89| Product / Quality | Reviews, comparisons, feedback | Product improvement |
90| Service / Experience | Comments about staff, processes | Operations improvement |
91| Pricing | Price comparisons, complaints | Pricing/communication adjustment |
92| Marketing / Advertising | Reactions to content, ads | Creative improvement |
93| Competitors | Comparisons, switching mentions | Opportunity or threat |
94
95---
96
97## Crisis Detection
98
99### Early Warning Signals
100
101| Level | Signal | Threshold | Action |
102|-------|--------|-----------|--------|
103| **Green** — Normal | Steady mentions, neutral/positive sentiment | <5 negative mentions/day | Standard monitoring |
104| **Yellow** — Watch | Rising negative mentions, 1–2 high-engagement complaint posts | 5–15 negative mentions/day OR 1 post >100 engagements | Increase monitoring frequency, prep response |
105| **Orange** — Alert | Negative mentions spreading fast, press picking up | 15–50 negative mentions/day OR press coverage | Activate response workflow, brief leadership |
106| **Red** — Crisis | Viral negative, opposition hashtags, revenue impact | >50 negative mentions/day OR trending topic | Full crisis response activation |
107
108### Crisis Response Workflow
109
110#### Step 1 — Identify (within 1 hour)
111
112| Item | What to check |
113|------|---------------|
114| Origin | Which post/comment started it? Who posted? |
115| Spread velocity | How many shares/comments? How fast is it growing? |
116| Accuracy | Is the claim accurate? Is there evidence? |
117| Impact | Who's affected? Customers, partners, employees? |
118
119#### Step 2 — Respond (within 2–4 hours)
120
121| Situation | Response approach |
122|-----------|-------------------|
123| Valid complaint | Apologize + acknowledge + concrete fix + timeline |
124| Misinformation | Official correction + evidence + calm tone |
125| Trolls / defamation | Don't argue publicly + save evidence + report to platform |
126| Major crisis | Press statement + founder video + continuous updates |
127
128#### Step 3 — Resolve (1–7 days)
129
130| Item | What to do |
131|------|------------|
132| Direct resolution | Privately contact the complainant, resolve individually |
133| Public update | Communicate progress on main channels |
134| Lessons learned | Internal post-mortem, root cause, prevention plan |
135| Post-crisis monitoring | Sentiment tracking 2 weeks after, measure brand impact |
136
137#### Step 4 — Recover (2–4 weeks)
138
139| Item | What to do |
140|------|------------|
141| Recovery content | Boost positive social proof, testimonials, case studies |
142| Positive PR | Articles about improvements, quality commitments |
143| Engagement push | Increase community responsiveness, faster reply time |
144| Effectiveness | Compare sentiment before — during — after crisis |
145
146---
147
148## Niche Research — 20 hot topics in 7 days
149
150> Niche research, adapted for global channels.
151
152### Goal
153
154Each week, surface the 20 hottest topics/trends in your niche to:
155- Create timely content (don't lag competitors)
156- Spot content opportunities first
157- Know what customers are arguing/curious about
158
159### Research Workflow (30–45 min/week)
160
161| Step | Source | How | Time |
162|------|--------|-----|------|
163| 1 | **Reddit (niche subreddits)** | Sort by Top this week, scan high-engagement posts | 10 min |
164| 2 | **TikTok Discover** | Hashtag search, filter 7-day, review videos > 50K views | 10 min |
165| 3 | **Google News** | Search "[industry] news", filter past 7 days | 5 min |
166| 4 | **Twitter / X (industry lists)** | Saved lists of industry voices, scan top tweets | 5 min |
167| 5 | **Industry forums / Discord** | Active threads from past 7 days | 5 min |
168| 6 | **KOL / Influencer feeds** | Watch what 5–10 niche leaders posted this week | 5 min |
169
170### Output Format
171
172```markdown
173# Niche Research — Week [X] ([DD/MM] – [DD/MM/YYYY])
174
175| # | Topic / Trend | Source | Heat | Discussion focus | Content angle | Suggested post |
176|---|---------------|--------|------|------------------|---------------|----------------|
177| 1 | [Topic] | Reddit / TikTok / News | High/Med/Low | [Summary] | [Description] | [Idea] |
178| 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
179| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
180| 20 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
181```
182
183### Rules
184
185- **7-day window only** — anything older drops out
186- **Verify post date** before adding to the table
187- Never **invent** links or stats — real data only
188- If you can't find 20 — record the actual count, **don't pad**
189- Prioritize topics with **debate** or **high engagement** — not just news
190- Tip: pair with Content Matrix → take hot topics → fill matrix → timely content
191
192---
193
194## Trend Identification
195
196### Trend Types to Watch
197
198| Type | Description | Action |
199|------|-------------|--------|
200| Rising topic | New industry topic gaining discussion | Create content early, claim first-mover |
201| Viral format | Spreading content format (sound, POV, trend) | Adapt for brand within 24–48h |
202| Seasonal | Recurring seasonal trends | Plan 2–4 weeks ahead |
203| Competitor moves | New campaigns, new products, pricing changes | Analyze + strategic response |
204| Industry sentiment | Shifts in overall industry feeling (e.g. trust loss, rising expectation) | Adjust tone, messaging |
205
206### Detection Methods
207
208| Method | Tool | Frequency |
209|--------|------|-----------|
210| Trending hashtags | TikTok Discover, Twitter Trends | Daily |
211| High-engagement comments | Comments on industry / influencer posts | Daily |
212| Google Trends | Filter by region (US, UK, EU, etc.) | 2x/week |
213| Industry reports | Reports from Gartner, McKinsey, Statista, eMarketer | Monthly |
214| KOL / Influencer feeds | Top 5–10 niche voices | 3x/week |
215
216---
217
218## Competitive Monitoring
219
220### Competitor Tracking Template
221
222| Metric | [Competitor 1] | [Competitor 2] | [Your brand] |
223|--------|---------------|---------------|--------------|
224| Followers (TikTok) | [X] | [X] | [X] |
225| Followers (Instagram) | [X] | [X] | [X] |
226| Followers (LinkedIn — B2B) | [X] | [X] | [X] |
227| Posts per week | [X] | [X] | [X] |
228| Primary content type | [Description] | [Description] | [Description] |
229| Avg engagement rate | [X%] | [X%] | [X%] |
230| Tone of voice | [Description] | [Description] | [Description] |
231| Communicated USP | [Description] | [Description] | [Description] |
232| Most recent campaign | [Description] | [Description] | [Description] |
233
234### What to Watch on Competitors
235
236| Item | What to track | Why |
237|------|---------------|-----|
238| New content | Posts, videos, stories | Learn effective formats, avoid duplication |
239| Ads Library | Active ads (Meta Ads Library, TikTok Creative Center) | Understand strategy, creative, offers |
240| Landing pages | Sales page, form, pricing | Benchmark conversion approach |
241| Customer reviews | Reviews on Google, Trustpilot, FB | Find weak spots to target |
242| Job postings | Open roles | Predict their direction |
243| PR / Press | Articles, interviews | Read their comms strategy |
244
245---
246
247## Brand Health Metrics
248
249### 4 Core Metrics
250
251| Metric | Formula | Benchmark | Frequency |
252|--------|---------|-----------|-----------|
253| **Share of Voice (SOV)** | Brand mentions / Total industry mentions × 100% | >15% is strong | Monthly |
254| **Net Sentiment** | (Positive - Negative) / Total mentions × 100% | >60% is good | Weekly |
255| **Response Rate** | Mentions responded / Total mentions needing response × 100% | >80% is good | Weekly |
256| **Response Time** | Avg time from mention to response | <2h good, <30 min excellent | Weekly |
257
258### Detailed Benchmark
259
260| Metric | Poor | Average | Good | Excellent |
261|--------|------|---------|------|-----------|
262| SOV | <5% | 5–15% | 15–25% | >25% |
263| Net Sentiment | <40% | 40–60% | 60–80% | >80% |
264| Response Rate | <50% | 50–70% | 70–90% | >90% |
265| Response Time | >24h | 4–24h | 1–4h | <1h |
266
267---
268
269## Tools (Global)
270
271### Free
272
273| Tool | Channels | Use |
274|------|----------|-----|
275| **Google Alerts** | Web, news, blogs | Create alerts for brand + competitors, daily email |
276| **Meta Business Suite** | Facebook, Instagram | Comments, mentions, messages — built-in |
277| **TikTok Studio** | TikTok | Comment management, analytics |
278| **Google Trends** | Google Search | Compare brand vs competitor keywords over time |
279| **Meta Ads Library** | Facebook, Instagram | View competitor active ads |
280| **TikTok Creative Center** | TikTok | Top ads, trending sounds, creative inspiration |
281| **Reddit search / RSS** | Reddit | Subreddit-specific keyword tracking |
282| **Talkwalker Free Alerts** | Web, social | Free brand mention alerts |
283
284### Paid (when scaling)
285
286| Tool | Pricing | Strength |
287|------|---------|----------|
288| **Brandwatch** | Enterprise (custom) | Most powerful enterprise listening, AI sentiment |
289| **Sprout Social** | From $249/mo | Listening + management + reporting in one |
290| **Mention** | From $49/mo | SMB-friendly, real-time mentions across web + social |
291| **Brand24** | From $79/mo | Multi-channel monitoring, automatic sentiment |
292| **Hootsuite Insights** | From $99/mo | Listening + scheduling integration |
293| **Meltwater** | Enterprise | PR + social listening + media intelligence |
294| **Talkwalker** | Enterprise | Image recognition, AI-driven insights |
295
296### Manual Workflow (small teams)
297
298**Daily (15–20 min):**
2991. Check Facebook Page + Instagram notifications (comments, mentions, reviews)
3002. Check TikTok comments (latest 3 videos)
3013. Search brand on Twitter/X (filter: past 24h)
3024. Check Google Business Profile reviews
303
304**Weekly (30–45 min):**
3051. Search brand on TikTok, Reddit, Facebook Groups
3062. Check Meta Ads Library for competitors
3073. Read Google Alerts digest
3084. Update competitor tracking sheet
3095. Write weekly report
310
311---
312
313## Weekly Report
314
315### Template
316
317```markdown
318# Social Listening Report — Week [X] ([Date] — [Date])
319
320## Summary
321
322| Metric | This week | Prior week | Change |
323|--------|-----------|------------|--------|
324| Total mentions | [X] | [X] | [+/- %] |
325| Positive mentions | [X] | [X] | [+/- %] |
326| Negative mentions | [X] | [X] | [+/- %] |
327| Net Sentiment | [X%] | [X%] | [+/- %] |
328| Response Rate | [X%] | [X%] | [+/- %] |
329| Avg Response Time | [Xh] | [Xh] | [+/- h] |
330
331## Top positive mentions
332
3331. [Source + content summary + reach/engagement]
3342. [Source + content summary + reach/engagement]
3353. [Source + content summary + reach/engagement]
336
337## Top negative mentions
338
3391. [Source + summary + handled? + outcome]
3402. [Source + summary + handled? + outcome]
341
342## Notable competitor activity
343
344- [Competitor 1]: [Notable activity this week]
345- [Competitor 2]: [Notable activity this week]
346
347## Trends this week
348
349- [Trend 1]: [Description + brand opportunity]
350- [Trend 2]: [Description + brand opportunity]
351
352## Alerts
353
354- [Level: Green/Yellow/Orange/Red] — [Situation description]
355
356## Recommended actions
357
358| # | Action | Priority | Owner | Deadline |
359|---|--------|----------|-------|----------|
360| 1 | [Description] | [High/Med/Low] | [Role] | [Date] |
361| 2 | [Description] | [High/Med/Low] | [Role] | [Date] |
362```
363
364---
365
366## Monthly Report
367
368### Template
369
370```markdown
371# Social Listening Report — Month [X]/[YYYY]
372
373## Executive summary
374
375**3 most important insights:**
3761. [Insight 1]
3772. [Insight 2]
3783. [Insight 3]
379
380## Brand Health Dashboard
381
382| Metric | This month | Prior month | Change | Target |
383|--------|------------|-------------|--------|--------|
384| Share of Voice | [X%] | [X%] | [+/- %] | [X%] |
385| Net Sentiment | [X%] | [X%] | [+/- %] | >60% |
386| Response Rate | [X%] | [X%] | [+/- %] | >80% |
387| Avg Response Time | [Xh] | [Xh] | [+/- h] | <2h |
388| Total mentions | [X] | [X] | [+/- %] | — |
389
390## Sentiment by topic
391
392| Topic | Positive | Neutral | Negative | Trend |
393|-------|----------|---------|----------|-------|
394| Product | [X%] | [X%] | [X%] | [Up/Down/Flat] |
395| Service | [X%] | [X%] | [X%] | [Up/Down/Flat] |
396| Pricing | [X%] | [X%] | [X%] | [Up/Down/Flat] |
397| Marketing | [X%] | [X%] | [X%] | [Up/Down/Flat] |
398
399## Competitor analysis
400
401| Metric | [Brand] | [Competitor 1] | [Competitor 2] |
402|--------|---------|----------------|----------------|
403| SOV | [X%] | [X%] | [X%] |
404| Net Sentiment | [X%] | [X%] | [X%] |
405| Notable content | [Description] | [Description] | [Description] |
406| Notable campaign | [Description] | [Description] | [Description] |
407
408## Monthly trends
409
410| Trend | Strength | Brand opportunity | Recommendation |
411|-------|----------|-------------------|----------------|
412| [Trend 1] | [Strong/Med/Weak] | [Description] | [Action] |
413| [Trend 2] | [Strong/Med/Weak] | [Description] | [Action] |
414
415## Crisis / Incidents (if any)
416
417| Date | Incident | Severity | Handled | Outcome | Lesson |
418|------|----------|----------|---------|---------|--------|
419| [Date] | [Description] | [Green-Red] | [Description] | [Description] | [Description] |
420
421## Next month actions
422
423| # | Action | Priority | Owner | Deadline | Measure by |
424|---|--------|----------|-------|----------|------------|
425| 1 | [Description] | [High] | [Role] | [Date] | [Metric] |
426| 2 | [Description] | [Med] | [Role] | [Date] | [Metric] |
427| 3 | [Description] | [Low] | [Role] | [Date] | [Metric] |
428```
429
430---
431
432## Skill Cross-references
433
434- **`08-competitor-research-global`** — deep competitor analysis (listening provides real-time data)
435- **`09-customer-insight-global`** — listening is the strongest qualitative source for insight
436- **`13-data-analysis-global`** — combine qualitative (sentiment) with quantitative (metrics)
437- **`07-marketing-report-global`** — brand health section in monthly reports
438- **`01-content-calendar-global`** — trends found in listening → fresh content ideas
439
440---
441
442## Quality Checklist
443
444### Initial Setup
445
446- [ ] Complete keyword list (brand + product + competitors + industry)
447- [ ] Google Alerts created for each keyword group
448- [ ] Notifications enabled on Facebook Page, Instagram, TikTok Studio
449- [ ] Competitor tracking sheet created
450- [ ] Crisis response workflow documented and team briefed
451- [ ] Daily listening owner assigned
452
453### Weekly
454
455- [ ] Daily checks completed every day
456- [ ] Negative mentions handled within 24h
457- [ ] Weekly report sent to team/stakeholders
458- [ ] Competitor sheet updated
459- [ ] New trends logged with content ideas
460- [ ] Niche research done — at least 10 topics/week
461- [ ] Hot topics fed into Content Matrix or content calendar
462
463### Monthly
464
465- [ ] Full monthly report with 4 brand health metrics
466- [ ] Competitor comparison updated
467- [ ] Monthly trends summarized
468- [ ] Next-month actions assigned with owners and deadlines
469- [ ] Keyword list reviewed — added/removed where needed