sales-skills/sales-socialhose

Socialhose Platform Help

Step 1 — Gather context

If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated platform knowledge.

Ask the user:

1. What do you need help with?

   • A) Setting up monitoring (keywords, sources, alerts)
   • B) Webhook integrations (connecting to CRM, Slack, etc.)
   • C) Understanding pricing / plan differences
   • D) High-frequency or crisis mode monitoring
   • E) Reducing noise / tuning keyword queries
   • F) Analytics dashboard and reporting
   • G) Something else — describe it

2. Which plan are you on?

   • A) Starter ($149/mo — 5K mentions, 50 keywords, 1 seat)
   • B) Pro ($399/mo — 25K mentions, 100 keywords, public API + webhooks + export)
   • C) Agency ($999/mo — 100K mentions, unlimited keywords, crisis mode, 10 smart alerts)
   • D) Not sure / evaluating

If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to Step 2.

Step 2 — Route or answer directly

• Social listening strategy or tool comparison → /sales-social-listening [question]
• Influencer discovery strategy → /sales-influencer-marketing [question]
• CRM integration architecture → /sales-integration [question]
• Media relations / PR outreach → /sales-media-relations [question]

Otherwise, answer directly from the platform reference below.

Step 3 — Socialhose platform reference

Read references/platform-guide.md for the full platform reference — capabilities, pricing, data model, webhook setup, integration patterns.

Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

Based on the user's specific situation:

1. Monitoring setup — design keyword strategy, configure sources, set alert thresholds
2. Webhook integration — set up endpoints, verify payloads, handle retries
3. Plan optimization — maximize mention budget, choose right monitoring speed
4. Crisis readiness — configure crisis mode triggers and escalation (Agency only)
5. Noise reduction — refine queries, use exclusion keywords, adjust source filters

If you discover a gotcha or tip not in references/learnings.md, append it there.

Gotchas

Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and integration gotchas that may be outdated.

• Public REST API is Pro+ (added ~2026). Socialhose now ships a documented public REST API (OpenAPI 3.1 spec at socialhose.net/api/public/v1/docs/) with organization-scoped API keys — read AI-enriched mentions, manage campaigns/live searches, and monitor TikTok Live. API access is plan-gated to Pro and Agency (not Starter). Webhooks (Pro+) remain a separate push path. The open-source self-hosted PHP version on GitHub (BSD-3-Clause) is still an option for unlimited mentions / full data control.
• Webhook limits are strict. Pro gets 3 webhook integrations, Agency gets 5. You cannot split data across more endpoints without upgrading or consolidating.
• Mention overages are expensive. $29 per 1,000 mentions adds up fast. Monitor usage weekly and set internal alerts at 80% consumption.
• Crisis mode is Agency-only. There's no way to get real-time escalation monitoring on Starter or Pro. The crisis upgrade add-on costs $950/search/month.
• High-frequency monitoring requires Pro+. Starter only gets daily monitoring cadence. If you need faster refresh, budget for Pro ($399/mo) minimum.
• No Zapier/Make/MCP support. The automation surfaces are the public REST API (Pro+) and outbound webhooks (Pro+) — there are no native iPaaS connectors. To reach a CRM, route the API or a webhook through your own middleware (e.g. a Cloudflare Worker) into the CRM's API.

Related skills

• /sales-social-listening — Social listening strategy — monitoring setup, tool comparison, sentiment, crisis detection, competitive intel
• /sales-brand24 — Brand24 platform help — affordable alternative with MCP server and Zapier
• /sales-awario — Awario platform help — budget alternative with Boolean search and social selling
• /sales-mention — Mention platform help — simple affordable monitoring, REST API
• /sales-octolens — Octolens platform help — developer-first monitoring with MCP server and REST API
• /sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do

Examples

Example 1: Reduce monitoring noise

User says: "My Socialhose dashboard is showing thousands of mentions but most are irrelevant spam. How do I clean this up?" Skill does:

1. Reads platform guide for keyword query refinement techniques
2. Suggests adding NOT exclusion keywords for common false positives
3. Recommends narrowing source filters and using language/geography filters
4. Proposes weekly noise audit process Result: Focused monitoring with actionable mentions only

Example 2: Set up webhook to Slack

User says: "I want to get notified in Slack when there's a mention spike. I'm on the Pro plan." Skill does:

1. Confirms Pro plan has 3 webhook integrations available
2. Walks through webhook endpoint setup pointing to Slack incoming webhook URL
3. Configures smart alert threshold for volume spikes
4. Tests webhook delivery with a sample mention Result: Real-time Slack notifications on mention spikes

Example 3: Evaluate plan upgrade

User says: "I'm on Starter and my mentions run out by mid-month. Should I upgrade to Pro?" Skill does:

1. Reads platform guide for plan comparison
2. Calculates current overage cost vs Pro plan price
3. Highlights additional Pro features (high-frequency monitoring, webhooks, analytics dashboard)
4. Recommends Pro if overage costs exceed $250/mo or if webhook integrations are needed Result: Clear upgrade decision with cost comparison

Troubleshooting

Mentions running out before month end

Symptom: Mention quota depleted by mid-month, missing important brand conversations Cause: Queries are too broad or tracking too many keywords relative to plan limits Solution: Audit top mention-consuming queries. Remove low-value keywords. Add NOT exclusions for spam patterns. If mentions are genuinely needed, calculate whether overage ($29/1K) or upgrading plans is cheaper. Set internal alerts at 60% and 80% consumption.

Webhooks not delivering payloads

Symptom: Webhook endpoint configured but not receiving data from Socialhose Cause: Endpoint URL may be incorrect, server may not be responding with 200 OK, or integration limit reached Solution: Verify endpoint URL is publicly accessible and returns 200. Check that you haven't exceeded your plan's webhook integration limit (Pro: 3, Agency: 5). Test with a simple endpoint like webhook.site first. Ensure HTTPS is configured correctly on your receiving server.

Smart alerts not triggering on spikes

Symptom: Volume increases but smart alert doesn't fire Cause: Alert threshold may be set too high, or alert is misconfigured for wrong keyword group Solution: Review smart alert configuration — verify the threshold matches your expected spike pattern. Check that the alert is connected to the correct live search. On Starter, you only get 1 smart alert — ensure it's on your highest-priority monitoring query. Consider upgrading for more alert slots.