Signal Surge
When your market is already talking about one thing, a fast post with your own angle rides that attention. It also shows what you stand for.
By James Schramko · Updated November 2026
Three people in your feed mention the same interview on the same morning. Attention is pooling around it. Most people share it or agree with it. Signal Surge is how I turn that moment into a high-reach post in minutes.
This page tells you what Signal Surge is for, when to use it and what makes it work. The build itself is something I run with Mentor clients. Monday, watch your feed for the next moment worth a reply.
What It Is For
Capturing attention from conversations already happening in your market. Speed, angle and positioning turn the moment into content that rides the wave while reinforcing what you stand for.
The skill is spotting a conversation that fits your positioning, then moving fast enough to add your perspective while attention is still live. Trend chasing is a different game.
When To Use It
You notice multiple people in your feed discussing the same thing within a short window. This could be an interview, a podcast, a news event, a controversial take, or a public moment from a known figure in your space.
The signal is clustering. When three or more people mention the same thing independently, attention is pooling. That is your window. One post is a reaction. Three is a conversation.
What Makes It Work
Timing. You moved while attention was still live. The conversation was happening now.
Angle. You did not summarise or agree. You offered a perspective that gave people something to react to, from your own experience and positioning.
Positioning. Your take reinforced what you stand for. People left understanding your worldview, beyond your opinion on this one topic.
What To Avoid
Do not chase topics outside your positioning. If the trending conversation does not connect to what you teach or stand for, skip it. Relevance matters more than reach.
Do not summarise. Summary is commodity content. Anyone can do it. It creates no reason to engage.
Do not attack. Counterpoint is perspective offered with respect. The goal is tension that invites conversation.
Do not wait for assets. If you wait to create an image or video, you miss the window.
Self-Diagnostic
Think back over the last month. Count the moments when three or more people in your market were talking about the same thing. Count how many of those you posted on while the conversation was live. Count how many of your posts on them agreed or summarised. Each gap is reach that went to someone else.
What To Do This Week
Monday, open your feed and look for one topic showing up from three different people. Save the link to the original source. Write one sentence on what you think they missed. That is the spotting half of Signal Surge, and it needs no method.
Quick Reference
- A signal is the same topic from three or more people in a short window.
- Go to the original source before you form a view.
- Your angle is a counterpoint from your own positioning, offered with respect.
- Move while attention is live. Skip topics outside what you stand for.
The posts, comments and platform rules around this have their own pages: Four Beats Every Social Post Needs, Social Selling Posts, Authority Comments and LinkedIn Format Discipline.
If you are a Mentor client and you spot a signal cluster, send me three things. The link to the source material. Your initial reaction or angle idea. What you want to be known for in relation to this topic. I will build the counterpoint and draft the post. You review, adjust voice if needed, and publish. Send it the same day you spot the signal. Not a client yet? That is the kind of work I do with Mentor clients.