Your audience is telling you exactly what they want. You're just not listening.
Welcome to What The Data Said – the newsletter that teaches you to decode what your audience is actually saying, not what you think they're saying.
Look, I know what you're thinking. Another newsletter about social media?
There are approximately 47,000 newsletters telling you to "post consistently" and "engage authentically."
But here's the thing: how many are actually teaching you to listen before you speak?
That's what we're doing here. I'm Jazmin, and I've spent years turning social noise into actual business intelligence – first for brands, now for my own agency clients at que lo que?!
This newsletter exists because social listening isn't just a buzzword anymore (more on that in a sec), and the insights hiding in your audience conversations are pure gold.
Every issue, I'm breaking down the tools, strategies, and real-world examples that prove listening > guessing. No fluff. No "10 tips to go viral." Just what the data actually said.
So today, I'm walking you through something I get asked about constantly:
How do you actually start social listening when you don't have a $50K budget?
We're talking the complete $0 stack, and the manual tracking system I still use.
In This Issue:
Why 2026 Is The Year of “Social Listening” – Social listening has officially graduated from "nice to have" to "how are you even making decisions without this?"
The $0 Social Listening Stack – Every tool you need to start listening like a pro without spending a dime
The Manual Tracking Framework – A simple spreadsheet system to capture insights before they disappear
Let's get started shall we.
"Social listening"/ Social Intelligence used to be one of those things brands said they did in pitch decks but rarely actually did.
It was the corporate equivalent of saying you go to the gym.
But 2026 hits different. Here's why:
The data explosion is real – Your audience is talking everywhere. TikTok comments, Reddit threads, LinkedIn think pieces, Discord servers, podcast reviews. If you're only monitoring brand mentions, you're reading 10% of the book and calling it done.
AI made insights accessible – You don't need a six-figure analytics platform anymore (well at least not yet). Free tools + a little AI assistance = insights that used to cost $50K annually.
Audiences expect you to know them – Generic content is dead. They want brands that actually get their pain points, language, and culture.
Your competitors are already doing it – The brands winning right now? They're not guessing what resonates. They're listening to what already does.
Bottom line: Social listening isn't about vanity metrics or tracking your brand mentions anymore. It's about understanding the conversations happening around your space so you can create content, products, and campaigns that people actually care about.
The $0 Social Listening Stack
One of the biggest myths about social listening? That you need enterprise software to do it right. False.
Here's the exact stack I recommend for anyone starting out – total cost: $0.
🔍 For Brand Monitoring & Mentions
Google Alerts – The OG that still works
Set up alerts for your brand name, competitors, and key industry terms
Gets delivered straight to your inbox
Try this: Set up alerts for common misspellings of your brand too. You'd be surprised what you'll catch.
💬 For Audience Intelligence
Reddit Search + Saved Searches – Where people tell the unfiltered truth
Search relevant subreddits for pain points, questions, and honest opinions
Use Boolean operators:
"social media" AND (frustrated OR confused OR "need help")Why it matters: Reddit is where people complain, ask for help, and share what actually works.
Answer The Public (Free Tier) – What questions are people asking?
Shows you the actual questions people are Googling
Great for understanding search intent and pain points
3 free searches per day
Try this: Search your main topic once a week and screenshot the results. Track how questions evolve over time.
Exploding Topics (Free Version) – Catch trends before they peak
See what's gaining momentum in your industry
Filter by timeframe and category
Helps you spot opportunities early
Try this: Set a monthly calendar reminder to check your industry category. Export or screenshot rising topics.
📊 For Sentiment & Analysis
Native Platform Analytics – Don't sleep on what you already have
Instagram Insights, LinkedIn Analytics, TikTok Analytics, YouTube Studio
Look beyond vanity metrics – dig into saves, shares, and DM spikes
What to track: Which posts drive conversations vs. just likes
ChatGPT/Claude (Free Tier) – Your analysis assistant
Copy/paste comment threads or DMs
Ask: "What are the main pain points mentioned here?" or "Summarize the sentiment in these comments"
Identify themes across hundreds of comments in seconds
Try this: Once a week, dump your top-performing post's comments into AI and ask for theme analysis.
Google Trends – The context you're missing
Compare search interest over time
See regional differences
Understand seasonality
Try this: Compare your main keywords against competitor terms. Are people searching for solutions differently than you thought?
🎯 For Competitor Intelligence
Social Blade – Track competitor growth & engagement
Free follower tracking across platforms
See posting frequency and engagement trends
Spot when competitors have viral moments
Manual Audits – Sometimes the best tool is your eyeballs
Once a month: Screenshot your top 3 competitors' best-performing posts
Note patterns: topics, formats, engagement types
Ask yourself: What conversations are they sparking that you're not?
The Manual Tracking Framework: How to Actually Capture Insights
Okay, you've got the tools. Now here's my action plan for making sure you actually use them.
Because here's what usually happens: You see an interesting comment. You screenshot it. It sits in your camera roll forever. You never look at it again. The insight dies.
Not anymore.
I've built a simple tracking system that takes 30 minutes a week and captures everything you need to turn listening into action. It's one Google Sheet with 4 tabs. That's it.
Here's What You'll Track:
Tab 1: Audience Insights – Every interesting comment, pain point, or piece of feedback you find
What they said (verbatim)
Where you found it
What theme it represents
What you're going to do about it
Tab 2: Competitor Watch – What's working for competitors in your space
Their top-performing content
Why it worked
How you could do it differently
Tab 3: Trend Tracker – Emerging topics and conversations in your industry
What's gaining momentum
Where you're seeing it
The opportunity for your brand
Tab 4: Monthly Metrics – The numbers that actually matter
Save rates, share rates, comment sentiment
Top pain points from the month
Language patterns your audience uses
Your Weekly Rhythm (30 Minutes Every Monday):
10 min: Check Google Alerts + Reddit for your industry – Log anything interesting
10 min: Review last week's top content – What worked? What didn't? Add it to the tracker
5 min: Competitor scroll – Did anything blow up? Log it
5 min: Update your metrics – Quick sentiment check on your best post from last week
Your Monthly Review (30 Minutes, Last Friday):
What themes showed up 3+ times? (These are patterns, not flukes)
What surprised you?
What should you test next month?
Turn insights into 3 concrete content ideas
Want the full step-by-step setup guide with templates?
This gives you the exact spreadsheet structure, formulas to use, examples for every tab, and my complete process for monthly reviews.
TLDR: Your Social Listening Starter Kit
If you do nothing else from this issue, do this:
✅ Set up 3 tools: Google Alerts, Reddit search for your industry, native platform analytics
✅ Download the tracking framework: Get the template and set up your 4-tab tracker (link here)
✅ Block 30 min/week: Monday mornings. Listening time. Non-negotiable.
✅ Track 1 metric manually: Start with save rate. Just one.
✅ Monthly review: Last Friday of the month. Look for patterns. Turn them into action.
The reality? Most brands are shouting into the void because they never stopped to listen first. You're about to lap them with free tools and 30 minutes a week.
That's what the data said this week.
In the meantime, set up that tracker and start listening. And hey, if you find an insight that makes you go "oh THAT'S interesting," share it with me on LinkedIn. I love seeing what the data says for different industries.
👋🏽 Say hi on LinkedIn
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