Setting Up Smart Keyword Alerts with Context
Smart keyword alerts help you monitor podcast mentions with precision by combining traditional keyword matching with context-aware questions. This guide will help you create effective alerts that capture relevant mentions while minimizing noise.
Smart alerts in Podscan consist of three main components:
Keywords and phrases to match
Context-aware questions to verify relevance
Notification preferences
Navigate to the Alerts section:
Click "ADD NEW ALERT":
Enable the alert using the toggle switch and give it a name. That's purely internal, so you can pick whatever you want.
Add your keywords and phrases following these best practices:
Use quotation marks for exact matches (e.g., "custom cabinet")
Combine related terms (e.g., 'renovation', 'closet')
Consider common misspellings or variations
Context-aware questions help filter out irrelevant mentions. This is particularly useful when you expect to get a lot of false positives due to overlapping brand names.
Make questions specific and answerable with yes/no — only episodes where the answer is a clear "yes" will make it through the alert
Focus on the context that matters for your use case. This can be about the content, the tone, of even the themes of the episode.
Examples:
"Does this episode talk extensively about renovating a kitchen or installing custom cabinets?"
"Do the guests talk about their personal experience with WMF Steak Knives?"
"Does the episode focus mostly on anecdotes and personal viewpoints?"
"Do people talk negatively about The New York Times in this episode?"
"Is there a mention of future candidates for CEO at Acme Corp?"
Refine your alert by:
Selecting specific podcast categories to monitor. This is really helpful to avoid whole industries that produce false positives.
Setting up ignore lists for irrelevant podcasts (or your own!)
Finally, choose your preferred notification methods:
Email notifications (immediately): recommended for alerts that you want to react to immediately
Summary emails (daily/weekly): recommended for all long-term tracking
Webhook integrations can integrate mentions into systems like Zapier, ITTT, and Make.
CSV attachments can optionally be sent with every email
Start Specific : Begin with narrow, specific alerts and broaden them if needed
Test and Refine : Monitor initial results and adjust keywords/questions
Use Categories : Restrict alerts to relevant podcast categories
Regular Maintenance : Review and update alerts periodically
Sentiment Analysis : Enable sentiment analysis to understand the context of your mention.
API Integration : Set up webhooks for real-time notifications
Common issues and solutions:
Missing mentions: Broaden your keywords. Add related terms and make your context questions more lenient. It's always easier to refine a false positive than not getting mentions at all.
Too many irrelevant results: Make your context questions more specific. Block podcasts and categories that reliably misfire.
Not receiving notifications: Check email limits and spam folders. When in doubt, set your email frequency to daily.
Review your alerts' performance in the Alerts dashboard
Set up collections to organize important mentions
Configure webhook integration for automated workflows
Need help? Contact the Podscan team for assistance with complex alert configurations.
Overview
Smart alerts in Podscan consist of three main components:
Keywords and phrases to match
Context-aware questions to verify relevance
Notification preferences
Step-by-Step Setup
1. Creating a New Alert
Navigate to the Alerts section:
Click "ADD NEW ALERT":
Enable the alert using the toggle switch and give it a name. That's purely internal, so you can pick whatever you want.
2. Configuring Keywords
Add your keywords and phrases following these best practices:
Use quotation marks for exact matches (e.g., "custom cabinet")
Combine related terms (e.g., 'renovation', 'closet')
Consider common misspellings or variations
3. Adding Context-Aware Questions
Context-aware questions help filter out irrelevant mentions. This is particularly useful when you expect to get a lot of false positives due to overlapping brand names.
Make questions specific and answerable with yes/no — only episodes where the answer is a clear "yes" will make it through the alert
Focus on the context that matters for your use case. This can be about the content, the tone, of even the themes of the episode.
Examples:
"Does this episode talk extensively about renovating a kitchen or installing custom cabinets?"
"Do the guests talk about their personal experience with WMF Steak Knives?"
"Does the episode focus mostly on anecdotes and personal viewpoints?"
"Do people talk negatively about The New York Times in this episode?"
"Is there a mention of future candidates for CEO at Acme Corp?"
4. Setting Alert Boundaries
Refine your alert by:
Selecting specific podcast categories to monitor. This is really helpful to avoid whole industries that produce false positives.
Setting up ignore lists for irrelevant podcasts (or your own!)
5. Configuring Notifications
Finally, choose your preferred notification methods:
Email notifications (immediately): recommended for alerts that you want to react to immediately
Summary emails (daily/weekly): recommended for all long-term tracking
Webhook integrations can integrate mentions into systems like Zapier, ITTT, and Make.
CSV attachments can optionally be sent with every email
Best Practices
Start Specific : Begin with narrow, specific alerts and broaden them if needed
Test and Refine : Monitor initial results and adjust keywords/questions
Use Categories : Restrict alerts to relevant podcast categories
Regular Maintenance : Review and update alerts periodically
Advanced Features
Sentiment Analysis : Enable sentiment analysis to understand the context of your mention.
API Integration : Set up webhooks for real-time notifications
Troubleshooting
Common issues and solutions:
Missing mentions: Broaden your keywords. Add related terms and make your context questions more lenient. It's always easier to refine a false positive than not getting mentions at all.
Too many irrelevant results: Make your context questions more specific. Block podcasts and categories that reliably misfire.
Not receiving notifications: Check email limits and spam folders. When in doubt, set your email frequency to daily.
Next Steps
Review your alerts' performance in the Alerts dashboard
Set up collections to organize important mentions
Configure webhook integration for automated workflows
Need help? Contact the Podscan team for assistance with complex alert configurations.
Updated on: 05/11/2024
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