15-social-listening-global

# Social Listening & Monitoring (Global)

> Listen before you speak. Understand what customers are saying, how they feel, and where the market is headed — before competitors do.

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## Information Gathering

Ask up to 4 questions:

1. **Brand / product?** Brand name, primary product names, founder name (if personal brand).
2. **Main competitors?** List 2–3 direct competitors to monitor.
3. **Current concern?** Bad reviews? Trend tracking? Competitor watch?
4. **Most important channels?** Twitter/X, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, Google Reviews, all of the above?

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## Framework: Listen → Analyze → Report → Act

```
LISTEN    — Collect mentions, comments, reviews, related posts
    |
ANALYZE   — Classify sentiment, identify trends, detect anomalies
    |
REPORT    — Aggregate into weekly/monthly reports with clear insight
    |
ACT       — Respond, adjust strategy, manage crises
```

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## Channels to Monitor (Global)

### Channel List

| Channel | Content type | How to monitor | Frequency |
|---------|--------------|----------------|-----------|
| Twitter / X | Mentions, threads, retweets | Native search + saved searches + Tweetdeck | Daily |
| Reddit | Subreddit discussions, AMAs | Subreddit search + Reddit RSS | Daily |
| TikTok | Comments, duets, stitches, hashtags | Hashtag search + comments on brand videos | Daily |
| Instagram | Comments, mentions, story tags | Native notifications + hashtag search | Daily |
| Facebook Groups | Discussions, Q&As, reviews | Group keyword search | Daily |
| Facebook Pages | Comments, reviews, mentions | Page notifications + keyword search | Daily |
| YouTube | Video comments, review videos | Search brand + product names | 2–3x/week |
| Google Reviews | Business reviews | Google Business Profile dashboard | Daily |
| Google Search | Articles, news | Google Alerts on brand keywords | Automated |
| Trustpilot / G2 / Capterra | Product/service reviews | Native dashboards + email alerts | Daily |
| Discord communities | Niche industry discussions | Server-by-server, manual | 2x/week |
| LinkedIn | Posts, mentions (B2B) | LinkedIn search + saved searches | 2x/week |
| Quora | Questions about brand/category | Topic follows + alerts | Weekly |
| Online press | News articles, PR | Google News Alerts | Automated |
| Amazon / Shopee / Etsy | Product reviews | Review tab on listings | 2–3x/week |

### Keywords to Monitor

| Keyword group | Examples |
|---------------|----------|
| Brand name | "[Brand]", "[Brand] review", "[Brand] scam", "[Brand] worth it" |
| Product name | "[Product]", "[Product] price", "[Product] review" |
| Founder name | "[Founder]", "[Founder] who" |
| Competitors | "[Competitor 1]", "[Competitor 2]", "[Competitor] vs [Brand]" |
| Industry | "[Industry keyword]", "[Common industry pain]" |
| Negative phrases | "not good", "disappointed", "scam", "low quality", "false advertising" |
| Positive phrases | "amazing", "recommend", "best ever", "worth it", "loving it" |

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## Sentiment Analysis

### Sentiment Scale

| Level | Score | Description | Example |
|-------|-------|-------------|---------|
| Very negative | 1 | Outrage, public callout, boycott calls | "Total scam, reporting them to FTC" |
| Negative | 2 | Disappointment, complaint, unfavorable comparison | "Tried it for 3 months, way worse than X" |
| Neutral | 3 | Asking info, comparison, on-the-fence | "Anyone tried [Brand]? Thoughts?" |
| Positive | 4 | Satisfied, recommends, praises | "Been using for 3 months, happy with it" |
| Very positive | 5 | Enthusiastic advocate, brand champion | "Best service ever, told all my friends" |

### Categorization by Topic

| Topic | What to monitor | Meaning |
|-------|-----------------|---------|
| Product / Quality | Reviews, comparisons, feedback | Product improvement |
| Service / Experience | Comments about staff, processes | Operations improvement |
| Pricing | Price comparisons, complaints | Pricing/communication adjustment |
| Marketing / Advertising | Reactions to content, ads | Creative improvement |
| Competitors | Comparisons, switching mentions | Opportunity or threat |

---

## Crisis Detection

### Early Warning Signals

| Level | Signal | Threshold | Action |
|-------|--------|-----------|--------|
| **Green** — Normal | Steady mentions, neutral/positive sentiment | <5 negative mentions/day | Standard monitoring |
| **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 |
| **Orange** — Alert | Negative mentions spreading fast, press picking up | 15–50 negative mentions/day OR press coverage | Activate response workflow, brief leadership |
| **Red** — Crisis | Viral negative, opposition hashtags, revenue impact | >50 negative mentions/day OR trending topic | Full crisis response activation |

### Crisis Response Workflow

#### Step 1 — Identify (within 1 hour)

| Item | What to check |
|------|---------------|
| Origin | Which post/comment started it? Who posted? |
| Spread velocity | How many shares/comments? How fast is it growing? |
| Accuracy | Is the claim accurate? Is there evidence? |
| Impact | Who's affected? Customers, partners, employees? |

#### Step 2 — Respond (within 2–4 hours)

| Situation | Response approach |
|-----------|-------------------|
| Valid complaint | Apologize + acknowledge + concrete fix + timeline |
| Misinformation | Official correction + evidence + calm tone |
| Trolls / defamation | Don't argue publicly + save evidence + report to platform |
| Major crisis | Press statement + founder video + continuous updates |

#### Step 3 — Resolve (1–7 days)

| Item | What to do |
|------|------------|
| Direct resolution | Privately contact the complainant, resolve individually |
| Public update | Communicate progress on main channels |
| Lessons learned | Internal post-mortem, root cause, prevention plan |
| Post-crisis monitoring | Sentiment tracking 2 weeks after, meas