When you’re starting
from scratch with content and you’re looking for inspiration, competitors are a
great place to start. Although this is a good jumping off point, be careful not
to assume that just because they’re doing it a certain way, that it’s the best
strategy. Always keep in mind what speaks most authentically to you and your
brand before drawing inspiration from another.
From
looking at your competitors’ social profiles you can see:
- ·
How often they post
- ·
What days of the week and times of the day they post
- ·
How large their follower bases are
- ·
What specific types of organic, sponsored, and ad content they
post
- ·
Which types of posts get the most engagement
By capturing this information in a spreadsheet or a format that
works well for your organization, you are able to see patterns that show what
is working and what isn’t.
Lessons to learn from
Competitors on Social Media
Observing social media activity can reveal plenty about a brand’s
marketing strategy. Look at which social channels other businesses are most
active on, how often they post updates, what time of day they share content,
and whether or not any of their content is sponsored (i.e., whether they pay to
get more views and engagement). Size up how effective a brand’s social media marketing tactics are by looking at their engagement levels, and
take note of brands receiving a consistently high number of comments, shares,
likes, and replies.
What Content Sparks The Most Engagement:
What Content Sparks The Most Engagement:
Find Consumers and Influencers to Follow:
Several things
businesses can learn from analyzing their competitors’ social media fans and
followers. The consumers following competitors can reveal insights into the
target audience of the business you represent, including online behaviors and
preferred social media channels.
Scoping out a
competitor’s connections can help identify industry influencers who might be interested in partnering up or
reviewing products. Remember to always look at the competitor’s followers
as well as who the competitor is following back.
Social Media Tactics to Avoid:
Social Media Tactics to Avoid:
Businesses can also learn from their competitors’ mistakes. Anytime a business or brand fails to address a negative comment or acknowledge a customer
concern, it
presents an opportunity for competing brands to think about how they could have
handled the situation better.
Relevant Industry News and Trends:
Relevant Industry News and Trends:
Brands can use social media to gain awareness about trending topics, events, and anything else top industry brands or local competitors are posting about.
Following competitors on Twitter is like subscribing to a steady stream of relevant industry news. Whether checking out what they’re retweeting or following links to their latest blog posts, other brands in the industry are sources of real-time updates and information that may be relevant.
Understanding your Competition
·
Perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats) analysis of your current and future competitors.
·
Social media can be your best friend in
analyzing the competition. Use a private Twitter list to shield your
competitors from knowing that you are watching their behavior and notice which
of their posts get the most retweets and likes.
Facebook and Instagram Insights have a slate
of tools available for you, including the useful “Pages to Watch” section.
·
Companies like Hootsuite and Oktopost allow you to compare your social media
strategy against others like yours in terms of sharing, click-through rates,
and total views.
Thanks
for reading! As always, use these blogs as a guidepost for finding your voice,
but always use social to be true to yourself and your brand and tell YOUR
story!
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