In this article
Learn how to use Sentiment Analysis to understand audience tone and reactions, including how to:
Track shifts in sentiment over time
Identify keywords driving positive and negative posts
Explore the post feed by sentiment type
Adjust sentiment labels for accuracy
Filter by Sub-Tracker to compare tone across segments
Overview
Sentiment Analysis shows whether your tracked posts are positive, negative, or neutral. You’ll get a visual breakdown over time, plus the keywords driving tone and the individual posts behind the shifts—so you can stay ahead of perception changes, catch issues early, and understand audience reaction in more depth.
Watch this overview video of Sentiment Analysis
How to Use Sentiment Analysis
See how people feel about your topic—at a glance.
To open Sentiment Analysis:
Go to Listening & Campaigns
Select your tracker
Click Sentiment in the left-hand menu
(You can also click Sentiment from the dashboard preview card.)
Inside, you’ll see:
A timeline of sentiment changes
A sentiment score (% of positive out of positive + negative)
A keyword list by sentiment
A post feed with emoji sentiment labels
Use it to:
Track tone shifts across a campaign
Spot spikes in negativity or positivity
See which keywords are fueling each sentiment
Browse posts to understand context and audience mood
Sentiment Timeline & Score
The timeline chart helps you spot tone changes over time—whether it’s a sudden spike in positive reactions or a dip into negative sentiment.
Green = Positive posts
Orange = Negative posts
Blue = Neutral posts
Blue Line = Sentiment score trend (based on positive % out of total positive + negative)
To the right, the donut chart shows your current sentiment breakdown.
Green = % Positive
Orange = % Negative
Blue = % Neutral
Score = Positive / (Positive + Negative)
Neutral posts are excluded from this score.
Use this chart to:
Catch mood swings in your campaign
Understand how sentiment evolves day to day
Flag potential issues before they escalate
Key insights to look for
Spikes in positive or negative sentiment: Sharp changes in tone may reflect news events, campaign reactions, or shifts in public perception.
Repeated negative keywords: Terms that appear frequently in negative posts may be influencing how your brand or topic is perceived.
Increase in neutral posts: A rise in neutral content can suggest lower engagement or waning audience interest.
Consistent positive keywords: Words that appear often in positive posts can highlight themes or messages that are resonating.
Differences across Sub-Trackers: Variations in sentiment by audience, region, or campaign can reveal how different groups are responding.
Keywords Driving Sentiment
This section breaks down which words are showing up in positive vs. negative posts.
You’ll see two tabs:
Positive: Keywords fueling upbeat posts
Negative: Keywords linked to concern, criticism, or backlash
Click any keyword to see how it’s being used in context.
Use this to:
Spot potential red flags
See if a single word is skewing sentiment
Refine how you position or phrase your content
Post Feed by Sentiment
On the right side of the dashboard, you’ll see the individual posts behind your sentiment score.
Each post shows:
Platform and user (Usernames may not always appear, depending on the platform. See the the Ultimate Guide to Social Listening Data in Keyhole for details.)
Post content
Engagements
Date of post
Sentiment
😀 Very Positive
😌 Slightly Positive
😐 Neutral
🙁 Slightly Negative
😡 Very Negative
Click on a keyword in Keywords Driving Sentiment - it will be highlighted in the matching posts on the right.
Use this to:
See the tone in action
Compare engagement across sentiment types
Surface examples for PR, support, or strategy review
Click Load More Posts to see additional results.
Adjust the Sentiment of Posts
You can update the sentiment on any post if needed—especially if tone or context was misread.
To edit one post:
Go to the Posts page
Hover over the post and click Edit Sentiment
Choose a new emoji
To bulk edit:
Switch to List View at the top of the Posts page
Select multiple posts
Click Edit Sentiment at the bottom
Choose a new emoji
You can also sort the Posts table by sentiment to group similar posts together.
Sub-Trackers in Sentiment Analysis
If your tracker includes Sub-Trackers, you can view sentiment within each one individually.
To do that:
Click the dropdown at the top of the page
Select the Sub-Tracker you want
The graphs, keywords, and posts will refresh to show sentiment data just for that group
⚠️ Sentiment Analysis currently supports English-language posts only.
It may not catch sarcasm, slang, irony, or cultural nuances.
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