Weekly Monitoring Brief

What it is

The Weekly Monitoring Brief is a structured framework for capturing and analysing external conversations about your organisation, key executives, or sector. It transforms raw monitoring data into actionable insights that reveal what’s being said, who’s saying it, and whether sentiment is trending positively or negatively.

Unlike ad-hoc monitoring, this template creates consistency—the same sections every week, making it easy to spot patterns over time. It’s designed for communications teams who need to stay alert to emerging issues without getting overwhelmed by volume. The brief sits between raw data and executive reporting: detailed enough to understand what’s happening, concise enough to read in 10 minutes.

This works best for organisations in regulated sectors, public-facing roles, or those managing reputational sensitivity. It prevents surprises by establishing a rhythm of systematic review.

When to use it

Use this template when:

• You need a weekly snapshot of what’s being said about your organisation externally
• You want to spot sentiment shifts before they become crisis issues
• You’re tracking multiple media sources, social platforms, or hashtags simultaneously
• You need evidence of “what’s trending” for leadership or Board updates
• You’re managing multiple key stakeholders and need to track perception of each

Don’t use this template when:

• You’re tracking only one or two casual mentions (too heavy-duty for that scale)
• You need real-time crisis response (use your incident protocol instead)
• You’re doing deep analyst research into a specific issue (use research templates)
• Your monitoring is internal only (use internal comms templates)

Inputs needed

• List of 15–30 monitored sources (publications, blogs, podcasts, news aggregators)
• Social media accounts/channels you’re tracking
• 5–10 key search terms or organisation names
• Hashtag variations you monitor
• Access to analytics from Hootsuite, Brandwatch, Meltwater, or similar tools
• Screenshots or URLs of significant mentions
• Sentiment baseline from previous weeks (for trend comparison)

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The template

Weekly Monitoring Brief

Week ending: [Date] Monitored by: [Name] Review period: [Monday] to [Friday]

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Executive summary

Overall sentiment: [Positive / Mixed / Negative] Volume trend: [Increasing / Stable / Decreasing] vs last week Key theme: [One-sentence summary of dominant conversation] Action required: [Yes / No]

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Media highlights

Source	Story/Headline	Tone	Relevance	Date
[Publication]	[Headline or summary]	[Positive/Neutral/Negative]	[High/Medium/Low]	[Date]

Key insights from media:

• [Insight 1: What this coverage reveals]
• [Insight 2: Pattern or theme]
• [Insight 3: Potential implications]

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Social listening summary

Platforms monitored: [List: Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, etc.]

Platform	Total mentions	Sentiment split (positive/neutral/negative)	Top hashtag	Engagement trend
Twitter/X	[#]	[%/%/%]	[#tag]	[↑/→/↓]
LinkedIn	[#]	[%/%/%]	[#tag]	[↑/→/↓]
Facebook	[#]	[%/%/%]	[#tag]	[↑/→/↓]

Social themes emerging:

• [Theme 1 with sample quote if applicable]
• [Theme 2 with sample quote if applicable]
• [Theme 3 with sample quote if applicable]

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Sentiment analysis

Positive drivers:

• [What’s generating positive mentions]
• [Stakeholder or influencer endorsements]

Negative drivers:

• [What’s generating criticism or concern]
• [Which topics are attracting backlash]

Neutral/Informational:

• [Routine reporting or factual mentions]

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Influencer and stakeholder mentions

Influencer/Stakeholder	Platform	Message summary	Reach/Engagement	Tone
[Name]	[Platform]	[Brief description]	[#followers/engagement]	[Positive/Neutral/Negative]

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Emerging issues / Risk flags

Potential escalation:

• [Issue 1: What’s the concern? Why it matters]
• [Issue 2: What’s the concern? Why it matters]

Issues to monitor next week:

• [Topic 1 and why]
• [Topic 2 and why]

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Opportunities for engagement

• [Opportunity 1: How you could respond or amplify]
• [Opportunity 2: Stakeholder engagement possibility]
• [Opportunity 3: Narrative/thought leadership angle]

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Comparison to previous week

Metric	This week	Last week	Change
Total mentions	[#]	[#]	[↑/→/↓]
Positive sentiment %	[%]	[%]	[↑/→/↓]
Negative sentiment %	[%]	[%]	[↑/→/↓]
Highest trending hashtag	[#tag]	[#tag]	[New/Same/Changed]

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Recommended actions

• [Action 1: What should happen, who should do it]
• [Action 2: What should happen, who should do it]
• [Action 3: What should happen, who should do it]

Next review date: [Date of next brief]

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AI prompt

Base prompt

You are a communications monitoring specialist. Analyse the media and social monitoring data provided below and create a Weekly Monitoring Brief that is structured, actionable, and identifies both risks and opportunities.

The brief should:
- Highlight the overall sentiment and whether it's trending in our favour or against us
- Flag any potential escalation risks (issues that could become crises)
- Identify engagement opportunities where we could respond or amplify our narrative
- Keep language clear and jargon-free—this goes to busy executives
- Focus on what matters: major themes, sentiment shifts, and implications for our communications strategy

Monitoring data provided:
[Paste your monitoring export, analytics data, media clippings, social listening results here]

Key search terms we're tracking: [List your terms]
Key stakeholders we monitor: [List names/accounts]
Baseline sentiment from last week: [Previous week's overall sentiment]

Create the brief using this structure:
- Executive summary (2-3 sentences max)
- Media highlights (table format)
- Social listening summary (platform breakdown)
- Sentiment analysis (drivers of positive, negative, neutral)
- Emerging issues and risk flags
- Opportunities for engagement
- Recommended actions

Make it specific to our situation, not generic. Include actual quotes or specific mentions where relevant.

Prompt variations

Variation 1: Heavy negative sentiment

Create an urgent Weekly Monitoring Brief focused on understanding and containing negative sentiment. The data shows concerning negativity trending this week. Structure the brief to:
- Clearly identify the root causes of negative sentiment
- Assess escalation risk on a 1-10 scale for each negative theme
- Recommend immediate containment/response actions
- Suggest holding messages for executives to use
- Flag any false narratives that need correcting
Include everything else from the standard brief but prioritise risk mitigation.

Variation 2: Crisis-adjacent monitoring

Create a focused Weekly Monitoring Brief for a potentially escalating situation. We're tracking a specific issue that has moved from low to moderate attention. Structure the brief to:
- Timeline of how this issue has developed
- Which influencers/accounts are amplifying it
- What the core complaint or concern is (quote directly)
- Similar past scenarios and how they resolved
- Early warning signs if this escalates further
- Recommended response options by severity level

Variation 3: Multi-stakeholder comparison

Create a comparative Weekly Monitoring Brief that shows how different stakeholder groups perceive our organisation. Structure to:
- Customer/audience sentiment vs employee sentiment vs industry commentary
- Where perceptions align and where they diverge
- Which segment is driving most volume or engagement
- Risks of perception gaps between groups
- Narrative adjustments needed to address specific segments
Include the standard monitoring metrics but organised by stakeholder group.

Variation 4: Sector/competitor context

Create a contextual Weekly Monitoring Brief that situates our monitoring data within broader sector trends. Include:
- What competitors or similar organisations are being mentioned alongside us
- How our sentiment compares to sector baseline
- Emerging sector narratives that affect our positioning
- Opportunities to differentiate based on what's trending in the sector
- Threats from sector-wide issues that could impact us
Structure as standard brief but add 'sector context' section.

Variation 5: Simple format (limited time)

Create a condensed 2-page Weekly Monitoring Brief for executives with very limited time. Include only:
- One-paragraph executive summary
- Three key facts in bullet points
- One media mention table (top 3 only)
- One social metrics snapshot
- Three actions only
Skip detailed tables and analysis—focus on signal, not noise.

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Human review checklist

• Accuracy check: All data in tables matches the original monitoring reports/exports (no transcription errors)
• Sentiment assessment fair: Positive, negative, and neutral classifications are defensible—not influenced by bias
• Risk flags realistic: Flagged escalation risks are genuine concerns, not overreaction (would a lawyer/crisis expert agree?)
• Opportunities actionable: Suggested engagement opportunities are specific enough to brief a team member on
• Baseline comparison valid: Week-on-week changes are comparing like-for-like (same monitoring scope)
• Stakeholder tracking complete: All key accounts/influencers relevant to this week are captured
• Language executive-ready: No jargon, no internal abbreviations unexplained, no raw data dumped
• Actions assigned: Each recommended action has clarity on who should do it and by when (even if not filled in, the structure allows it)
• Tone appropriate: Brief doesn’t catastrophise normal fluctuation or minimise genuine concerns
• Forward-looking: Identifies what to watch next week, not just what happened this week

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Example output

Weekly Monitoring Brief Week ending: 30 January 2026 Monitored by: Sarah Chen, Communications

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Executive summary

Overall sentiment: Mixed Volume trend: Increasing (+23% vs last week) Key theme: Climate commitment announcement well-received, but supply chain criticism emerging on social media Action required: Yes—moderate priority

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Media highlights

Source	Story/Headline	Tone	Relevance	Date
Financial Times	”SustainCorp Commits £50m to Net-Zero by 2030”	Positive	High	28 Jan
Reuters	”Supply Chain Delays Hit Tech Sector Again”	Neutral	Medium	26 Jan
Business Green	”Is Net-Zero Too Late? Critics Challenge Timeline”	Negative	High	29 Jan

Key insights: Climate announcement generated positive trade press coverage and thought leadership positioning. However, sector-wide supply chain coverage has created context where our execution risk is being questioned.

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Social listening summary

Platform	Total mentions	Sentiment	Top hashtag	Engagement
Twitter/X	247	62% positive / 18% neutral / 20% negative	#SustainCorp	↑
LinkedIn	89	78% positive / 15% neutral / 7% negative	#NetZero	↑
Facebook	34	55% positive / 30% neutral / 15% negative	#Sustainability	→

Social themes: Genuine enthusiasm for climate pledge among B2B and investor audiences. Consumer criticism focused on “greenwashing” concerns and demands for concrete supplier accountability.

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Sentiment analysis

Positive drivers: Climate announcement, CEO quote about accountability, third-party certification announcement Negative drivers: Supply chain disruptions affecting delivery times, customer complaints about pricing justification for sustainability investments

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Risk flags

• Greenwashing narrative building on Twitter among activist accounts (+15 mentions vs previous week)
• Supply chain delays may undermine credibility of climate commitments if not addressed

Actions

• Draft response point on greenwashing for comms team
• Prepare case study on supplier accountability measures
• Monitor activist sentiment daily for next 2 weeks

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Related templates

• Issue Log Tracker – Use this when flags in the monitoring brief need deeper tracking
• Insights to Actions Template – Convert monitoring data into strategic decisions
• Monthly Stakeholder Update – Escalate key findings into executive reporting
• Simple Comms Dashboard – Visualise monitoring metrics in real time
• Crisis Communications Protocol – Triggered if monitoring flags escalate

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Tips for success

Focus on signal, not noise Distinguish between routine fluctuation and meaningful change. A 5% sentiment shift in a slow week is different from a 5% shift when mentions spike 50%. Your baseline matters—compare like-for-like, and call out only shifts that matter strategically.

Use monitoring to prevent surprises The whole point is early warning. Review not just what happened this week, but what could happen next week based on trending topics, influencer activity, and emerging narratives. Flag weak signals that could strengthen.

Connect monitoring to business decisions Don’t write briefs that sit unread. Make sure recommended actions connect to decisions: Do we need Board approval? Can comms act independently? Who owns each action? If no decision is needed, say that too.

Track stakeholder sentiment separately Employees, customers, investors, and industry analysts see you differently. If you’re tracking multiple audiences, break them out—one aggregate sentiment metric can hide dangerous perception gaps.

Build monitoring into weekly rhythm Same day each week, same person doing it (or handoff protocol if rotating), same format. This consistency makes trends visible. A one-off brief is interesting; 12 weeks of briefs are strategic.

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Common pitfalls

Confusing volume with importance High volume doesn’t mean high risk. A trending meme with 10,000 mentions might be noise; 50 mentions from key stakeholders might be a signal. Assess impact, not just reach. Ask: “What would it cost if this became a crisis?”

Bias in sentiment classification It’s tempting to call criticism you disagree with “unfair” and mark it negative, or friendly mentions you like as more positive than they are. Use clear criteria: positive = supports our position or speaks well of us; negative = contradicts our position or criticises us; neutral = factual reporting. Document edge cases.

Ignoring your own silence If you’re not mentioned, that matters too. Silence can mean your key messages aren’t cutting through, or competitors are dominating conversation. Note what’s conspicuously absent, not just what’s present.

Treating social media as representative Twitter is loud; it’s not always representative. Customer service complaints on Facebook may indicate real issues that Twitter activists haven’t noticed. Don’t let one noisy platform dominate your assessment. Weight findings by stakeholder relevance.

No follow-up on last week’s flags The brief is only valuable if you act on it. If you flagged an escalation risk three weeks ago and never checked whether it happened, you’re not monitoring—you’re writing fiction. Create discipline: every brief reviews whether last week’s risk flags escalated, resolved, or disappeared.