Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a social listening project take?

A typical social listening project takes 8 weeks from kickoff to final delivery, though this can vary depending on the scope and time period you want to analyse.

Here’s what the timeline generally looks like:

• Week 1: Briefing and setup – We finalise search parameters together and align on priorities
• Weeks 2–3: Initial data collection and first checkpoint – We share preliminary findings and refine based on your feedback
• Weeks 4–5: Deep analysis and mid-project checkpoint – We analyse patterns in detail and review deeper findings with you
• Weeks 6–7: Final analysis and report production – We complete all analysis and prepare comprehensive reports
• Week 8: Final presentation and handover – We present findings and transfer all data to you

Touchpoint frequency: Weekly or fortnightly check-ins throughout, giving you time to review data with your team and guide our next steps.

For organisations wanting ongoing monitoring after the initial project, we can discuss a reduced rate for continuation.

What platforms can you monitor?

We provide comprehensive coverage across different platform types, with varying levels of access depending on each platform’s data availability:

Primary focus:

• Twitter/X – Forms the backbone of analysis due to highest volume of public discussion and most accessible data
• Reddit, Bluesky, Tumblr, Quora – Fully public platforms providing additional context
• Major UK news outlets – BBC, Guardian, Sky News, and other publications

Limited coverage:

• Facebook and Instagram – Public posts using hashtags only (requires users to actively hashtag your topic)
• LinkedIn and TikTok – Severely restricted API access; very limited data available

Important caveat: Social conversation has increasingly moved to private channels. We can only capture public posts, which means we’re analysing the public-facing discussion. That said, for political and news-related topics, X remains the most active public forum.

We’re transparent about platform limitations and will discuss what’s possible for your specific topic during our briefing.

What time period should we analyse?

We typically recommend analysing 12 months of conversation, which provides:

• Baseline conversation levels versus spike periods
• Trends over time in volume, sentiment, and themes
• Context for major events or announcements
• Seasonal patterns and timing insights
• Sufficient data for meaningful analysis

Going back 12 months gives us the fullest picture available through Brandwatch without additional costs. If you want to analyse a longer time period, we can explore options, though this may incur extra platform fees.

For organisations tracking ongoing campaigns or wanting to understand how conversation evolved around a specific event, we can adjust the time period to focus on the most relevant window for your needs.

What’s the investment for social listening?

Social listening projects typically range from £7,000 to £15,000, depending on the scope, time period, platform coverage, and depth of analysis required.

Factors that influence investment include:

• Time period – 12 months is standard; longer periods may incur additional platform fees
• Platform coverage – Whether you need comprehensive multi-platform analysis or focused monitoring
• Search complexity – Number of keywords, topics, or competitors to track
• Depth of analysis – Level of detail required for audience segmentation, narrative analysis, and strategic recommendations
• Checkpoint frequency – Number of review sessions and ongoing collaboration

What’s included in the investment:

• Brandwatch platform access and comprehensive search setup
• All data collection across platforms
• Complete analysis across all deliverable areas
• Report writing, visualisations, and strategic recommendations
• Regular checkpoint meetings throughout (weekly or fortnightly)
• Final presentation to your team
• Complete data handover in downloadable format
• Transparent time tracking

Future engagement: If you want to return later after a particular incident changes the conversation landscape, you can commission a refresh at a lower cost since we’ll have already done the setup work. If you decide ongoing monthly monitoring would be valuable after seeing the initial results, we can discuss a reduced rate for continuation.

For a detailed proposal tailored to your organisation, get in touch with our team.

What are the limitations of social listening?

We believe in being upfront about what social listening can and cannot tell you:

Platform constraints:

• Social conversation is increasingly private; we can only analyse public posts
• Twitter/X will dominate the data due to its public nature and volume
• Limited visibility into Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok
• The X demographic skews certain ways politically and demographically

Data interpretation:

• Volume doesn’t equal importance – a small, highly engaged conversation can be more valuable than high-volume noise
• Sentiment analysis has limitations and requires human interpretation
• We’re analysing what people say publicly, not necessarily what they believe privately
• Bot accounts and coordinated campaigns can skew data

Geographic and demographic limitations:

• Demographic data is often limited or inferred rather than confirmed
• Geographic filters work best for clear location signals (profile location, tweets mentioning places)
• Not all users disclose demographic information

Topic-specific challenges:

• Some causes naturally generate more conversation than others
• Niche topics may have lower volume but higher-quality engagement
• Comparison between topics requires context about their natural visibility

We work collaboratively with you to understand these limitations and focus the analysis where it can provide most value for your specific needs.

Can we continue monitoring after the initial project?

Yes, and many clients choose to do so after seeing the value of the initial insights.

Continuation options include:

Ongoing monitoring:

• Monthly or quarterly refresh reports tracking key metrics
• Alert system for conversation spikes or emerging narratives
• Reduced rate since we’ve already completed the setup work

Event-specific analysis:

• Commission a focused analysis after major campaigns, announcements, or incidents
• Lower cost compared to starting from scratch
• Quick turnaround since search parameters are already established

Annual reviews:

• Year-over-year comparison to track progress
• Refresh of audience intelligence and narrative landscape
• Updated recommendations based on evolving conversation

The beauty of social listening is that you own all the data we collect. After the initial project, you have complete access to use and analyse it yourself. If you want our expertise to continue interpreting and providing strategic recommendations, we can discuss the right level of ongoing support.

We’ll talk through continuation options during the final presentation so you can decide what makes sense for your organisation and budget.

How does this complement our existing research?

Social listening works best as part of a multi-source intelligence approach rather than replacing other research methods.

Complementary data sources:

Member/supporter polling (what your engaged base thinks) + Social listening (what the public conversation landscape looks like) + On-the-ground media work (how you’re getting stories into media) = Comprehensive campaign intelligence

What social listening uniquely provides:

• Real-time understanding of public conversation versus surveyed opinion
• Identification of organic narratives and language people actually use
• Discovery of unexpected voices and amplifiers in your space
• Geographic and demographic clustering you might not have known about
• Timing patterns showing when engagement peaks

What it doesn’t replace:

• Deep qualitative research and focus groups
• Direct feedback from your members or supporters
• Professional media monitoring services (though we do track major outlets)
• Quantitative surveys with controlled samples

If you share your member polling results or other research with us during the project, we can cross-reference findings to identify where your engaged audience aligns with or differs from broader public conversation. This helps you understand whether your messaging needs to adapt for different audiences.