# Social Planner - Social Listening

> TABLE OF CONTENTS What is Social Listening? Why Use It? What You’ll See? How to Use Social Listening Step 1: Open Social Planner and click the Social…

- Source: https://docs.ghlcustomercare.com/docs/marketing/social-planner/social-planner-social-listening
- Section: Marketing / Social Planner
- Reading time: 3 min
- Images: 3, each explained below

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**TABLE OF CONTENTS**

-   [What is Social Listening?](#what-is-social-listening)
-   [Why Use It?](#why-use-it)
-   [What You’ll See?](#what-youll-see)
-   [How to Use Social Listening](#how-to-use-social-listening)
    
    -   [Step 1: Open Social Planner and click the Social Listening tab.](#step-1-open-social-planner-and-click-the-social-listening-tab)
    -   [Step 2: Select the specific data source (e.g., hashtag, keyword, song, channel)  it will be highlighted, and you can scroll through the complete list with detailed information.](#step-2-select-the-specific-data-source-e-g-hashtag-keyword-song-channel-it-will)
    -    [Step 3: Use date  filters to narrow things down and check trends on particular date selected](#step-3-use-date-filters-to-narrow-things-down-and-check-trends-on-particular-dat)
    
-   [Best Practices](#best-practices)
-   [When to Use Which Source?](#when-to-use-which-source)
-   [Frequently Asked Questions](#frequently-asked-questions)

# **What is Social Listening?**

Social Listening is the process of tracking online conversations, trends, and cultural signals — not just to see what people are saying, but why they are saying it. Instead of waiting to react to what got posted (analytics), listening helps you anticipate what kind of content might resonate next.

In Social Planner, Social Listening gives you real-time trend discovery from multiple sources, helping you spot rising topics and viral content before they peak.

# **Why Use It?**

With Social Listening, you can:

-   **Spot trends early** — from Google searches to TikTok breakout songs to trending YouTube videos
    
-   **Understand cultural moments** — what people are talking about, and the emotions behind it
    
-   **Align your content strategy** with what people actually care about
    
-   **Create smarter campaigns** powered by real-time signals
    
-   **Make data-driven content decisions** instead of guessing
    

# **What You’ll See?**

When you open the **Listening tab** in Social Planner, you’ll find Trend Discovery powered by multiple data sources:

<table style="width: 100%"><tbody><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center"><strong>Data Source</strong></td><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center"><strong>What it tells you</strong></td></tr><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">Google Trends</td><td style="width: 50%; text-align: center"><p dir="ltr">What people are searching for, right now</p></td></tr><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">Pinterest Keywords</td><td style="width: 50%; text-align: center"><p dir="ltr">Rising content ideas and search trends</p></td></tr><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">Wikipedia Pageviews</td><td style="width: 50%; text-align: center"><p dir="ltr">Topics gaining global attention</p></td></tr><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">Tiktok Trends</td><td style="width: 50%; text-align: center"><p dir="ltr">Breakout songs, popular hashtags, viral sounds</p></td></tr><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">Youtube Insights</td><td style="width: 50%; text-align: center"><p dir="ltr">Trending channels, keywords, and videos</p></td></tr></tbody></table>

# **How to Use Social Listening**

Use what you discover to inform your content calendar, campaign ideas, or real-time posts.

### **Step 1:** Open Social Planner and click the Social Listening tab.

![Step 1: Open Social Planner and click the Social Listening tab. (image 1 of 3)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.freshdesk.com/data/helpdesk/attachments/production/155054106667/original/UDzmM1McCJFMjjpS3QcIt1QbOkL3DARMoQ.png)

**Step 1: Open Social Planner and click the Social Listening tab. (image 1 of 3)**

This screenshot appears in the "Step 1: Open Social Planner and click the Social Listening tab." section of "Social Planner - Social Listening". The text alongside this image reads: Use what you discover to inform your content calendar, campaign ideas, or real-time posts. Immediately after, the guide continues: Watch the real-time trend stats things refresh automatically when filters change.
- What this covers: Use what you discover to inform your content calendar, campaign ideas, or real-time posts.
- Next: Watch the real-time trend stats things refresh automatically when filters change.

### **Step 2:** Select the specific **data source** (e.g., hashtag, keyword, song, channel)  it will be highlighted, and you can scroll through the complete list with detailed information.

![Step 2: Select the specific data source (e.g., hashtag, keyword, song, channel) it will be highlighted, and you can scroll through the complete list with…](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.freshdesk.com/data/helpdesk/attachments/production/155054106732/original/vNj6WFAuC2_Hr-8da4GFcACejqsvcw7Upg.png)

**Step 2: Select the specific data source (e.g., hashtag, keyword, song, channel) it will be highlighted, and you can scroll through the complete list with detailed information. (image 2 of 3)**

This screenshot appears in the "Step 2: Select the specific data source (e.g., hashtag, keyword, song, channel) it will be highlighted, and you can scroll through the complete list with detailed information." section of "Social Planner - Social Listening". The text alongside this image reads: Use what you discover to inform your content calendar, campaign ideas, or real-time posts. Immediately after, the guide continues: Watch the real-time trend stats things refresh automatically when filters change.
- What this covers: Use what you discover to inform your content calendar, campaign ideas, or real-time posts.
- Next: Watch the real-time trend stats things refresh automatically when filters change.

###  **Step 3:** Use date  filters to narrow things down and check trends on particular date selected

![Step 3: Use date filters to narrow things down and check trends on particular date selected (image 3 of 3)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.freshdesk.com/data/helpdesk/attachments/production/155054106840/original/xhSG_uI98DmGshSzn5HY8y9QsOC-zxm7OQ.png)

**Step 3: Use date filters to narrow things down and check trends on particular date selected (image 3 of 3)**

This screenshot appears in the "Step 3: Use date filters to narrow things down and check trends on particular date selected" section of "Social Planner - Social Listening". The text alongside this image reads: Use what you discover to inform your content calendar, campaign ideas, or real-time posts. Immediately after, the guide continues: Watch the real-time trend stats things refresh automatically when filters change.
- What this covers: Use what you discover to inform your content calendar, campaign ideas, or real-time posts.
- Next: Watch the real-time trend stats things refresh automatically when filters change.

                    Watch the real-time trend stats things refresh automatically when filters change.

# **Best Practices**

-   **Weekly/Daily check-ins**: Trends move fast. Spend 10–15 mins each week/day in Listening.
    
-   **Match to audience**: Not every global trend fits your brand, so focus on what resonates with your brand.
    
-   **Act quickly**: Use Listening and then immediately schedule in Planner.
    
-   Look for the ‘New’ tag next to any keyword,  it highlights fresh content that’s starting to spike in popularity.
    

# **When to Use Which Source?**

<table style="width: 100%"><tbody><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%"><div style="text-align: center"><strong>Scenario</strong></div></td><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%"><div style="text-align: center"><strong>Best Source</strong></div></td></tr><tr><td style="width: 50%; text-align: center"><p dir="ltr">“What are people searching for right now?”</p></td><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">Google Trends</td></tr><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">“What content are people planning/saving?”</td><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">Pinterest Keywords</td></tr><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">“Which topics are gaining attention broadly?”</td><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">Wikipedia Pageviews</td></tr><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">“What’s going viral on TikTok?”</td><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50.0000%"><div style="text-align: center">TikTok Trends</div></td></tr><tr><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50%; text-align: center">“Which creators/keywords/videos are trending?”</td><td dir="ltr" style="width: 50.0000%"><div style="text-align: center">YouTube Insights</div></td></tr></tbody></table>

#### **Note:**

We’re adding new capabilities to Social Listening such as sentiment and topic analysis, word cloud, competitive analysis, smart alerts, custom dashboards, and more. Stay tuned for these updates soon!

# **Frequently Asked Questions**

**Q: The trend looks too broad. What should I do?**  
Use the **date filter** to narrow results to a specific timeframe, so you only see what’s trending within your chosen period.

**Q: Can I download these insights?**  
Not at the moment. Social Listening is currently view-only inside the dashboard.

**Q: Do I need to connect my social accounts to use Social Listening?**  
No — Social Listening pulls public trend data from sources like Google, Pinterest, Wikipedia, TikTok, and YouTube.

**Q: Can Social Listening actually help in discovering potential leads?**  
**Yes.** While it’s not designed as a direct lead-generation tool, it helps you uncover conversations, trending topics, and keywords that your target audience is engaging with. This gives you opportunities to join the right discussions and create content that attracts potential leads.

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Documentation for GHL Customer Care. Support: support@ghlcustomercare.com