Social Listening Report Skill#

For: Marketing strategists, insights researchers, brand managers, agency analysts

Philosophy: Data doesn't speak — insights do. The report's value is in what you decide to do next.

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How to Use This Skill#

User says...Go to module"create a listening report" / "analyze our mentions" / "brand health report"→ [MODULE 1: Brand Listening Report]"compare us vs competitors" / "share of voice" / "benchmark"→ [MODULE 2: Competitive Benchmark]"campaign report" / "did the campaign work?" / "measure launch"→ [MODULE 3: Campaign Performance Report]"monthly report" / "quarterly report" / "annual wrap"→ [MODULE 4: Periodic Reports]"what are the trends?" / "emerging topics" / "what's being talked about"→ [MODULE 5: Trend & Insights Report]"train my team" / "explain listening metrics" / "what does SOV mean"→ [MODULE 6: Metrics Glossary & Training]

Before executing any module: ask the user what data they have available (raw CSV, platform export, screenshots, or manual data). Adapt the output format to their data quality.

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MODULE 1 — Brand Listening Report#

Trigger: User wants a structured report on how their brand is being talked about online.

Step 1: Data Intake#

Ask if not provided:

• Brand/company name and main product or service
• Time period (last 7d / 30d / quarter / custom)
• Data source (Talkwalker, Brandwatch, Sprout Social, manual, screenshots)
• Platforms to include (Twitter/X, Instagram, Reddit, news, forums, TikTok, LinkedIn)
• Language(s) (EN, ES, both, other)
• Audience or persona to focus on (optional but improves insight quality)

Step 2: Report Structure#

text

BRAND LISTENING REPORT
──────────────────────
Brand: [Name] | Period: [Date range] | Prepared by: [Analyst]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (5 bullet points max)
└── Top 3 findings + 1 recommendation + 1 risk to watch

VOLUME & REACH
├── Total mentions: [X] (+/-% vs previous period)
├── Total reach/impressions: [X]
├── Daily mention trend: [chart or table]
└── Spike analysis: [any days with unusual volume — what caused it?]

SENTIMENT BREAKDOWN
├── Positive: [X]%
├── Neutral: [X]%
├── Negative: [X]%
└── Sentiment trend: [improving / declining / stable]

CHANNEL DISTRIBUTION
[Pie or table: % of mentions by platform]
├── Twitter/X: [X]%
├── Instagram: [X]%
├── Reddit: [X]%
├── News: [X]%
└── Other: [X]%

TOP CONTENT
├── Most-shared post/article about the brand
├── Top positive mention (quote + link)
├── Top negative mention (quote + link)
└── Influencer mentions (>10K followers who mentioned brand)

KEY THEMES
[Categorize what people are actually saying]
├── Theme 1: [Label] — [X]% of mentions — [1-line description]
├── Theme 2: [Label] — [X]% of mentions
└── Theme 3: [Label] — [X]% of mentions

AUDIENCE PROFILE
├── Top demographics (if available)
├── Top locations
└── Top interests/affinities of people mentioning the brand

RECOMMENDATIONS
├── [Action 1 — specific, tied to a finding]
├── [Action 2]
└── [Action 3]

RISKS TO MONITOR
└── [Any negative theme, emerging FUD, or competitor narrative to watch]

Step 3: Insight Quality Rules#

• Every data point must connect to a "so what?" — no orphan numbers
• Spike analysis is mandatory: if volume spiked, explain why
• Sentiment alone is not an insight. "Sentiment is 72% positive" → so what? Compare to benchmark, explain drivers
• Always end with recommendations — a report with no next steps is decoration

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MODULE 2 — Competitive Benchmark#

Trigger: User wants to compare brand performance vs. competitors.

Step 1: Competitive Set Definition#

Ask:

• Brand being analyzed (the client/subject)
• 2–4 competitor brands to benchmark against
• Metric priority: SOV / engagement / sentiment / follower growth / content performance

Step 2: Benchmark Report Structure#

text

COMPETITIVE BENCHMARK REPORT
─────────────────────────────
Category: [Industry/vertical] | Period: [Date range]

SHARE OF VOICE (SOV)
[Brand] vs [Comp1] vs [Comp2] vs [Comp3]

Brand          | Mentions | SOV %  | Change vs prev period
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[Brand]        | [X]      | [X]%   | [+/-%]
[Competitor 1] | [X]      | [X]%   | [+/-%]
[Competitor 2] | [X]      | [X]%   | [+/-%]
[Competitor 3] | [X]      | [X]%   | [+/-%]

SENTIMENT COMPARISON
[Same table format, with sentiment % per brand]

ENGAGEMENT RATE COMPARISON
[By platform: Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn]

CONTENT STRATEGY OBSERVATIONS
├── [Brand]: Posts [X] times/week. Top performing format: [type]. Key theme: [topic]
├── [Comp1]: [same structure]
└── [Comp2]: [same structure]

SHARE OF CONVERSATION BY TOPIC
[If multiple relevant topics exist: who owns each conversation]
Topic: [Security] — Leader: [Brand X] with [Y]% of conversation
Topic: [Innovation] — Leader: ...
Topic: [Community] — Leader: ...

GAPS & OPPORTUNITIES
├── [Topic or audience segment where [Brand] is underrepresented]
├── [Competitor weakness that [Brand] could exploit]
└── [Emerging conversation that nobody owns yet]

STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS
[Specific actions based on competitive findings]

SOV Calculation:#

text

SOV (Brand) = (Brand Mentions / Total Mentions in Category) × 100

Total = sum of all brand mentions in the competitive set.

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MODULE 3 — Campaign Performance Report#

Trigger: User ran a campaign (launch, event, paid, organic) and needs to measure results.

Step 1: Campaign Context#

Ask:

• Campaign name and objective
• Start and end dates
• Channels used
• KPIs set beforehand (if any)
• Budget (if relevant)
• Hashtag or keyword to track

Step 2: Report Structure#

text

CAMPAIGN PERFORMANCE REPORT
────────────────────────────
Campaign: [Name] | Objective: [Awareness/Engagement/Conversion/etc]
Period: [dates] | Channels: [list]

RESULTS VS. OBJECTIVES
Objective         | Target    | Actual    | Result
────────────────────────────────────────────────
[KPI 1]           | [X]       | [X]       | ✅ / ❌ / ⚠️
[KPI 2]           | [X]       | [X]       | ✅ / ❌ / ⚠️

REACH & VISIBILITY
├── Total impressions: [X]
├── Unique accounts reached: [X]
├── Hashtag uses: [X]
└── Earned media value: [$X] (if calculable)

ENGAGEMENT
├── Total engagements: [X]
├── Engagement rate: [X]%
├── Top performing piece of content: [title + metrics]
└── Most shared content: [link]

AUDIENCE RESPONSE
├── Sentiment: [X]% positive / [X]% neutral / [X]% negative
├── Top themes in response: [list]
└── Notable organic amplifiers (accounts that shared without being asked)

PAID PERFORMANCE (if applicable)
├── Total spend: [$X]
├── CPM: [$X]
├── CPC: [$X]
├── CTR: [X]%
└── Conversions: [X] at [$X CPA]

LEARNINGS
├── What worked and why
├── What didn't work and why
└── What to test in the next campaign

RECOMMENDATION FOR NEXT CAMPAIGN
[One concrete, actionable change based on this data]

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MODULE 4 — Periodic Reports (Monthly / Quarterly / Annual)#

Trigger: User needs a structured recurring report.

Monthly Report Template#

text

[BRAND] MONTHLY LISTENING REPORT — [MONTH YEAR]

1-MINUTE SUMMARY
[3 bullet points: what happened, what it means, what to do]

MONTH IN NUMBERS
[Key metrics vs previous month — volume, sentiment, SOV, reach]

WHAT PEOPLE WERE SAYING
[Top 5 themes with volume %]

WHAT HAPPENED (events that drove conversation)
[Timeline of mentions spikes linked to specific events]

COMPETITIVE SNAPSHOT
[1-paragraph summary of competitor landscape this month]

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT MONTH
[3 specific, prioritized actions]

Annual Report Add-ons#

Include for annual reports:

• YoY comparison (all major metrics)
• "Moments that defined the year" — top 5 narrative events
• Brand health trajectory chart
• Prediction/outlook for next year
• Strategic priorities based on year's data

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MODULE 5 — Trend & Insights Report#

Trigger: User wants to understand emerging topics, cultural trends, or audience interests.

Trend Analysis Framework#

WHAT: What is being talked about? (volume + keywords)

WHO: Who is talking about it? (audience profile, influencer map)

WHERE: Which platforms are hosting this conversation?

WHY NOW: What triggered this trend? (event, viral content, cultural moment)

SO WHAT: What does this mean for the brand?

Trend Report Output#

text

TREND & INSIGHTS REPORT
───────────────────────
Topic: [Trend name] | Period: [dates]

TREND OVERVIEW
[2–3 sentences: what the trend is and its current momentum]

VOLUME SIGNAL
├── Mentions this period: [X]
├── Growth vs. previous period: [+X%]
└── Peak day: [date + what happened]

KEY VOICES
├── Top accounts driving conversation: [list with follower count]
└── Content format dominating: [text / video / image / meme]

AUDIENCE AFFINITY
Who is engaging with this trend: [demographics/psychographics if available]

BRAND RELEVANCE
├── Opportunity: [how the brand could authentically participate]
├── Risk: [how engaging could backfire]
└── Verdict: [Engage now / Monitor / Avoid]

CONTENT IDEAS (if relevant)
[3 specific content angles the brand could take on this trend]

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MODULE 6 — Metrics Glossary & Training#

Trigger: User or team needs to understand social listening metrics.

Core Metrics Definitions#

MetricDefinitionWhy it mattersShare of Voice (SOV)% of total category mentions a brand ownsCompetitive position indicatorSentiment ScoreRatio of positive/neutral/negative mentionsBrand health proxyReachPotential unique accounts exposed to mentionsAwareness ceilingImpressionsTotal times content was displayedVisibility volumeEngagement RateEngagements / Reach × 100Quality of connectionMention VolumeRaw count of brand mentions in a periodBaseline activityEarned MediaOrganic mentions without paid promotionTrust indicatorInfluencer TierNano (<10K) / Micro (10K–100K) / Macro (100K–1M) / Mega (1M+)Outreach planningShare of Conversation% of topic discussion a brand ownsThought leadership proxyNet Sentiment% Positive − % NegativeSingle-number health score

Common Mistakes to Avoid#

• Reporting volume without context (high volume ≠ good)
• Treating all sentiment as equal (10 negative news articles ≠ 10 random negative tweets)
• Ignoring dark social (WhatsApp, private Telegram, Discord — often largest channels)
• Benchmarking against irrelevant competitors
• Confusing reach with impressions (one account can generate multiple impressions)

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General Quality Rules#

1. Insight first, data second. Lead every section with the "so what," not the numbers.
2. One page executive summary — always. Decision-makers don't read full reports.
3. Compare to something. Numbers mean nothing without a benchmark, previous period, or competitor.
4. Visualize when possible. Even a text table beats a paragraph of numbers.
5. Recommendations must be specific. "Increase engagement" is not a recommendation. "Post 3 educational threads per week on X targeting developers" is.
6. Be honest about data quality. If the sample is small or the tool has limitations, say so.

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Social Listening Report Skill v1.0

Built for marketing strategists and insights researchers who turn data into decisions.