diff --git a/skills/customer-research/SKILL.md b/skills/customer-research/SKILL.md index 11ae8c7..e3f8f08 100644 --- a/skills/customer-research/SKILL.md +++ b/skills/customer-research/SKILL.md @@ -121,17 +121,18 @@ Choose sources based on your ICP type — then read `references/source-guides.md | ICP Type | Primary Sources | |----------|----------------| -| B2B SaaS / technical buyers | Reddit (role-specific subs), G2/Capterra, Hacker News, LinkedIn, Indie Hackers | -| SMB / founders | Reddit (r/entrepreneur, r/smallbusiness), Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, Facebook Groups | +| B2B SaaS / technical buyers | Reddit (role-specific subs), G2/Capterra, Hacker News, LinkedIn, Indie Hackers, SparkToro | +| SMB / founders | Reddit (r/entrepreneur, r/smallbusiness), Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, Facebook Groups, SparkToro | | Developer / DevOps | r/devops, r/programming, Hacker News, Stack Overflow, Discord servers | | B2C / consumer | App store reviews (1-3 star), Reddit hobby/lifestyle subs, YouTube comments, TikTok/Instagram comments | -| Enterprise | LinkedIn, industry analyst reports, G2 Enterprise filter, job postings | +| Enterprise | LinkedIn, industry analyst reports, G2 Enterprise filter, job postings, SparkToro | **Quick decision guide:** - Have a product category? → Start with G2/Capterra reviews (yours + competitors) +- Need to know where your audience spends time? → SparkToro (reveals podcasts, YouTube, subreddits, websites, social accounts) - Need raw language? → Reddit and YouTube comments - Need trigger events? → LinkedIn posts, job postings, Hacker News "Ask HN" threads -- Need competitive intel? → Competitor 4-star reviews on G2; Product Hunt discussions +- Need competitive intel? → Competitor 4-star reviews on G2; Product Hunt discussions; SparkToro competitor audience analysis ### What to Extract from Each Source diff --git a/skills/customer-research/references/source-guides.md b/skills/customer-research/references/source-guides.md index 25a5efa..d64e92e 100644 --- a/skills/customer-research/references/source-guides.md +++ b/skills/customer-research/references/source-guides.md @@ -282,6 +282,61 @@ Comments on review videos are especially valuable — these are people actively --- +## SparkToro (Audience Intelligence) + +SparkToro is a behavioral audience research tool. Instead of mining individual posts and comments, it aggregates clickstream, search, and social data to show what your audience does at scale — what they read, watch, listen to, follow, and search for. + +### When to Use SparkToro vs. Manual Research + +- **SparkToro first** when you need to understand where your ICP spends time, what content they consume, and which influencers they follow — it answers these questions in seconds with aggregated data +- **Manual research first** (Reddit, G2, communities) when you need raw language, exact quotes, emotional context, and the "why" behind behavior +- **Best together**: Use SparkToro to identify which podcasts, subreddits, and websites matter, then go mine those sources manually for voice-of-customer language + +### Key Queries to Run + +**By competitor:** +- "People who follow @competitor" — reveals shared audience affinities +- "People who visit competitor.com" — shows what else they consume + +**By audience description:** +- "People who frequently talk about [topic]" — finds audience behaviors +- "People whose bio contains [job title]" — profiles a role-based segment + +**By your own audience:** +- "People who visit yourdomain.com" — understand your actual audience +- Compare against competitor audience profiles to find gaps + +### What to Extract + +| Data Type | What It Tells You | Use It For | +|-----------|------------------|------------| +| Top websites visited | Where your audience reads | Content partnerships, guest posting targets | +| Top podcasts | What they listen to | Podcast guesting, sponsorship decisions | +| Top YouTube channels | What they watch | Video content strategy, ad placements | +| Top subreddits | Where they discuss | Community participation, Reddit ad targeting | +| Search keywords | What they Google | SEO and content topic planning | +| AI prompt topics | What they ask AI tools | Emerging content opportunities | +| Social accounts followed | Who influences them | Influencer partnerships, co-marketing | +| Demographics | Who they are | Persona building, ad targeting | + +### Source Weighting + +SparkToro data is aggregated and anonymized — it shows patterns, not individual opinions. Treat it as: +- **High confidence** for behavioral data (what they visit, follow, search for) +- **Medium confidence** for demographic data (self-reported, may be incomplete) +- **Not a substitute** for qualitative research (doesn't capture language, emotions, or the "why") + +### Limitations + +- Free tier: 5 reports/month, shallow results (top 5–10) +- No public API — all research done through web interface +- Skews English-language, US-centric +- Shows what audiences do, not why — pair with qualitative sources + +See [tools/integrations/sparktoro.md](../../../tools/integrations/sparktoro.md) for full tool details and pricing. + +--- + ## Organizing Your Research Use a simple tagging system across all sources: @@ -319,6 +374,7 @@ Not all sources carry equal weight. Use this guide when assigning confidence lab | Survey (multiple choice) | Low-medium | Artifacts of the options you provided | | NPS verbatims | Medium | Correlates with score; prompted by the survey moment | | YouTube/TikTok comments | Medium | Skews toward engaged viewers; social performance | +| SparkToro audience data | Medium-high | Aggregated behavioral data; strong for "what" but not "why" | | Job postings | Low-medium | Aspirational, not necessarily reflective of current pain | ### Confidence Labels in Practice diff --git a/tools/REGISTRY.md b/tools/REGISTRY.md index 26e65a9..abcd9e4 100644 --- a/tools/REGISTRY.md +++ b/tools/REGISTRY.md @@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ Quick reference for AI agents to discover tool capabilities and integration meth | pendo | Product Analytics | ✓ | - | [✓](clis/pendo.js) | - | [pendo.md](integrations/pendo.md) | | similarweb | Competitive Intelligence | ✓ | - | [✓](clis/similarweb.js) | - | [similarweb.md](integrations/similarweb.md) | | firehose | Competitive Intelligence | ✓ | - | - | - | [firehose.md](integrations/firehose.md) | +| sparktoro | Audience Research | - | - | - | - | [sparktoro.md](integrations/sparktoro.md) | | airops | AI Content | ✓ | - | [✓](clis/airops.js) | - | [airops.md](integrations/airops.md) | | buffer | Social | ✓ | - | [✓](clis/buffer.js) | - | [buffer.md](integrations/buffer.md) | | wistia | Video | ✓ | - | [✓](clis/wistia.js) | - | [wistia.md](integrations/wistia.md) | @@ -340,6 +341,16 @@ Traffic analytics, competitor benchmarking, and market research. **Agent recommendation**: Similarweb for competitor traffic analysis and market benchmarking. +### Audience Research + +Audience intelligence and behavioral research tools. + +| Tool | Best For | Notes | +|------|----------|-------| +| **sparktoro** | Audience affinities, behavioral data | Clickstream + social data | + +**Agent recommendation**: SparkToro for discovering where your ICP spends time — what they read, watch, listen to, follow, and search for. Essential for customer research, content strategy, and media buying decisions. + ### AI Content AI-powered content generation and optimization platforms. diff --git a/tools/integrations/sparktoro.md b/tools/integrations/sparktoro.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1700703 --- /dev/null +++ b/tools/integrations/sparktoro.md @@ -0,0 +1,127 @@ +# SparkToro + +Audience research platform that reveals what your target audience reads, watches, listens to, follows, and searches for — using clickstream data, Google search data, and public social profiles. + +## Capabilities + +| Integration | Available | Notes | +|-------------|-----------|-------| +| API | - | Not yet public (coming soon) | +| MCP | - | Not available | +| CLI | - | Not available | +| SDK | - | Not available | + +SparkToro is primarily a web-based research tool. No public API, CLI, or SDK is currently available. Use the web interface at https://sparktoro.com for all queries. + +## Authentication + +- **Type**: Account login at https://sparktoro.com +- **Free tier**: 5 reports/month with limited results +- **Paid plans**: $50–$300/month with expanded results and exports + +## Pricing Tiers + +| Plan | Price | Reports/Month | Users | Result Depth | +|------|-------|---------------|-------|-------------| +| Free | $0 | 5 | 1 | Top 5–10 results | +| Personal | $50/mo | 50 | 1 | Top 50 results | +| Business | $150/mo | 500 | 10 | Top 150 results, contact data, AI advice | +| Agency | $300/mo | Unlimited | 100 | Top 300 results, full CSV export | + +## What SparkToro Reveals + +### Audience Behaviors +- **Websites** they visit and engage with +- **Podcasts** they listen to +- **YouTube channels** they watch +- **Subreddits** they participate in +- **Social accounts** they follow +- **Search keywords** they use on Google +- **AI prompt topics** they ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini + +### Audience Demographics +- Gender, age ranges +- Job titles and roles +- Industries and skills +- Education levels +- Geographic distribution +- Interests and affinities + +### Audience Characteristics +- Bio descriptions and self-identifiers +- Language patterns in posts and comments +- Preferred social networks and platforms +- E-commerce platforms they use + +## Common Agent Operations + +Since SparkToro has no API, these are the research workflows agents should guide users through. + +### Audience Profile Research + +Query SparkToro with phrases like: +- "People who follow @competitor" — reveals shared audience behaviors +- "People who visit competitor.com" — shows what else they consume +- "People who frequently talk about [topic]" — finds audience affinities +- "People whose bio contains [job title]" — profiles a role-based segment + +### Finding Where Your ICP Spends Time + +1. Search for your ICP by description, competitor followers, or website visitors +2. Extract: top websites visited, podcasts listened to, YouTube channels watched, subreddits +3. Use this to prioritize: guest podcast appearances, content partnerships, ad placements, community participation + +### Discovering Content Topics + +1. Search your audience segment +2. Review the "Search Keywords" tab — what they Google +3. Review the "AI Prompt Topics" tab — what they ask AI tools +4. Use these to inform content strategy and SEO keyword targeting + +### Building Data-Backed Personas + +1. Run 3–5 queries for different segments of your audience +2. Compare demographic breakdowns across segments +3. Note which behaviors and affinities are shared vs. unique per segment +4. Export data and build personas grounded in observed behavior, not assumptions + +### Competitive Audience Analysis + +1. Search "People who follow @competitor" or "People who visit competitor.com" +2. Compare against your own audience profile +3. Identify: channels they use that you don't, content they consume that you don't produce, influencers they follow that you haven't engaged + +## Data Sources + +SparkToro aggregates from three sources: +- **Clickstream data** — anonymized browsing behavior +- **Google search results** — search keyword patterns +- **Public social profiles** — bios, follows, engagement + +## When to Use + +- Identifying where your ICP spends time online (podcasts, YouTube, subreddits, websites) +- Finding influencers and social accounts your audience follows +- Discovering content topics and search keywords your audience cares about +- Building data-backed personas instead of assumption-based ones +- Planning podcast guest appearances, sponsorships, or content partnerships +- Understanding what your competitors' audience looks like +- Validating audience assumptions with behavioral data +- Discovering AI prompt topics your audience uses + +## Limitations + +- No public API — all research is done through the web interface +- Free tier limited to 5 reports/month with shallow results +- Data skews toward English-language, US-centric audiences +- Clickstream data may not capture all niche audiences +- Cannot track individual users — all data is aggregated and anonymized + +## Relevant Skills + +- customer-research +- content-strategy +- competitor-alternatives +- paid-ads +- social-content +- cold-email