How to set listener alerts

Listener alerts notify you when a topic's data crosses a condition you define. You can set alerts to fire when mention volume spikes unexpectedly or when sentiment takes a negative turn, so you can respond quickly without having to check your listeners manually.

How to access alerts

1. Go to Listeners on the left sidebar.
   
2. Select a listener topic from the list.
3. Click the Alerts tab at the top of the topic view.

If no alerts exist yet, you'll see a prompt to create your first one.

How to create an alert

1. Click + New alert in the top right corner.
   
2. Choose an alert template (see template options below).
   
3. Configure the alert settings on the next screen.
4. Click Create alert.

Alert templates

Volume spike

Triggers when mention volume exceeds the listener's recent baseline. Use this to catch sudden surges in conversation around your tracked topic.

Settings:

• Rule name: defaults to "Volume spike alert." Customize it if you have multiple alerts on the same topic.
• Window: how far back the system looks each time it checks. Choose from 30 min, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, 2 days, or custom. Default is 1 hour.
• Sensitivity: controls how much of a change is needed to fire.
  • Sensitive: catches any noticeable bump above normal.
  • Balanced: catches a clear spike (recommended).
  • Strict: only fires on dramatic, rare spikes.
• Cooldown: how long to suppress re-fires while a condition holds. Choose from 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 60 minutes.
• Enabled toggle: turn the alert on or off without deleting it.

Sentiment dip

Triggers when the share of negative mentions exceeds a floor or rises sharply over baseline. Use this to catch shifts in audience tone before they escalate.

Settings:

• Rule name: defaults to "Sentiment dip alert."
• Window: how far back the system looks each time it checks. Choose from 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, 2 days, or custom. Default is 1 day.
• Sensitivity: controls how aggressively a negative shift is flagged.
  • Sensitive: catches early negative drift.
  • Balanced: fires on a clear shift in tone (recommended).
  • Strict: only fires on heavy, sustained negativity.
• Cooldown: how long to suppress re-fires while a condition holds. Choose from 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 60 minutes.
• Enabled toggle: turn the alert on or off without deleting it.

New trending theme

Triggers the first time a theme appears on this listener with sufficient confidence. Use this to spot emerging conversations early, before they peak.

Settings:

• Rule name: defaults to "New trending theme alert."
• Window: how far back the system looks each time it checks. Choose from 30 min, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 1 hour.
• Sensitivity: controls how confident the system needs to be before firing.
  • Sensitive: any new theme (firehose).
  • Balanced: multi-source themes with moderate confidence (recommended).
  • Strict: high-confidence themes confirmed by 3 or more sources.
• Cooldown: how long to suppress re-fires while a condition holds. Choose from 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 60 minutes.
• Enabled toggle: turn the alert on or off without deleting it.

Multi-source story

Triggers when a story is confirmed across multiple sources at once. Use this to separate real, spreading stories from single-source noise.

Settings:

• Rule name: defaults to "Multi-source story alert."
• Window: how far back the system looks each time it checks. Choose from 30 min, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 1 hour.
• Minimum sources: the number of distinct sources required to trigger the alert. Choose from 2, 3, 5, or custom. Default is 3.
• Cooldown: how long to suppress re-fires while a condition holds. Choose from 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 60 minutes.
• Enabled toggle: turn the alert on or off without deleting it.

Influencer hit

Triggers when a high-follower account mentions your topic. Use this to flag high-reach posts that may need a faster response or escalation to your comms team.

Settings:

• Rule name: defaults to "Influencer hit alert."
• Window: how far back the system looks each time it checks. Choose from 30 min, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 1 hour.
• Minimum followers: the follower threshold an account must meet to trigger the alert. Choose from 10K, 50K, 100K, 1M, or custom. Default is 50K.
• Cooldown: how long to suppress re-fires while a condition holds. Choose from 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 60 minutes.
• Enabled toggle: turn the alert on or off without deleting it.

Crisis keyword

Triggers on any mention containing one of the configured sensitive keywords. Use this for brand protection, so you're notified the moment a high-risk term surfaces.

Settings:

• Rule name: defaults to "Crisis keyword alert."
• Window: how far back the system looks each time it checks. Choose from 30 min, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 1 hour.
• Keywords: enter up to 50 keywords, one per line, up to 120 characters each. Examples: lawsuit, boycott, data breach.
• Match mode: controls how keywords are matched against mentions.
  • Whole word: only matches the exact term. Use this to avoid false positives from partial matches.
  • Substring: matches any mention containing the string, including within longer words.
• Cooldown: how long to suppress re-fires while a condition holds. Choose from 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, or custom. Default is 60 minutes.
• Enabled toggle: turn the alert on or off without deleting it.

How alerts appear when fired

When an alert fires, a badge appears on the Alerts tab showing the number of unacknowledged alerts for that topic. Inside the tab, each alert that has fired expands to show one or more WARNING entries, each with a timestamp and the following details:

• Mentions: the number of mentions detected in the window.
• Typical: the baseline the system compared against.
• Window: the exact time range that triggered the alert.
• A View mentions in this window link to jump directly to the matching results.

You can acknowledge individual alerts or use Acknowledge all in the top right to clear them all at once. 

Important notes

• Alerts are scoped to a specific listener topic, not across all listeners
• Each alert runs an evaluator after every listener tick
• The cooldown period prevents alert fatigue when a condition persists over time
• You can create multiple alerts per topic with different settings

Best practices

• Start with the balanced sensitivity setting and adjust from there based on how noisy your listener is
• Use a shorter window (1 hour) for fast-moving topics like product launches or live events
• Use a longer window (1 day) for slower, ongoing monitoring like brand reputation or competitor tracking

• Set a cooldown that matches how often you can realistically act on an alert

   

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: Can I have both a volume spike and a sentiment dip alert on the same listener? 

A: Yes. You can create multiple alerts per topic with different templates and settings.

Q: What happens when an alert fires? 

A: You'll receive a notification based on your account notification settings. The alert will not re-fire until the cooldown period has passed.

Q: Can I edit an alert after creating it? 

A: Yes. Go to the Alerts tab for the relevant listener and update the settings for any existing alert.

Q: What does the "window" setting actually control? 

A: It sets the lookback period the system uses to evaluate the alert condition each time it checks. For example, a 1-hour window means the system looks at the last hour of data when deciding whether to fire.

Need further help?

If you have any questions or need additional help, feel free to contact our awesome support team. We are here to assist you! 💙

Related Reading:

Social Listening with Vista Social

Listener Performance Report

Sentiment Analysis

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