Here’s how you can do it step-by-step:
- Identify Competitors: Find 3-5 direct competitors using Google, hashtags, or industry directories. Focus on brands with active, engaging social profiles.
- Track Key Metrics: Monitor engagement rates, follower growth, content frequency, and response times across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
- Study Content: Analyze their content types (photos, videos, text updates), posting schedules, and engagement trends to see what resonates with their audience.
- Evaluate Audience Response: Check follower growth, demographics, and engagement patterns. Look at how they handle comments and influencer collaborations.
- Use Tools: Tools like Sprout Social, Hootsuite, or Rival IQ can simplify tracking and analysis.
Quick Comparison of Tools
| Tool | Cost Range | Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprout Social | $300+/month | Advanced analytics, multi-platform | Large organizations |
| Hootsuite | $100-299/month | Multi-platform tracking, reports | Growing brands |
| Rival IQ | $29-99/month | Basic monitoring, competitor data | Small businesses |
Use these insights to refine your strategy, improve engagement, and stay ahead in your industry.
Step 1: Find Your Main Competitors
Identifying Direct Competitors
Start by figuring out which brands are competing for your audience’s attention. Look for businesses offering similar products or services, targeting the same demographic, and operating at a similar scale.
Here are some ways to find direct competitors:
- Use Google Search to look up industry-specific keywords.
- Search on social media platforms using relevant hashtags.
- Pay attention to customer feedback mentioning other brands they follow.
- Check industry directories or join professional associations in your field.
Deciding Which Competitors to Monitor
Narrow your focus to the most relevant competitors. Choose 3-5 competitors that have active profiles, consistently produce quality content, and show strong engagement on platforms you care about.
When selecting competitors, evaluate factors like:
- Their position in the market (are they leaders or up-and-coming brands?).
- How engaged their audience is.
- The quality and regularity of their content.
- Their brand’s tone and communication style.
Once you’ve identified key competitors, leverage tools to track and analyze their activity.
Social Media Search Tools
To find and monitor competitors, use these tools:
-
Built-In Platform Tools
- Instagram: Suggested For You
- LinkedIn: Similar Pages
- Facebook: Pages to Watch
- Twitter: Similar To
-
Third-Party Tools
- Sprout Social
- Hootsuite
- BuzzSumo
- SimilarWeb
These tools can help streamline the process and provide deeper insights into your competitors’ strategies.
How to do a social media competitor analysis
Step 2: Track Social Media Numbers
Once you’ve pinpointed your main competitors, it’s time to measure how they’re performing on social media.
Key Social Media Metrics
Here are the essential metrics to keep an eye on when analyzing competitors’ social media activity:
- Engagement Rate: Use the formula (Interactions ÷ Followers) × 100. A typical rate is between 1% and 5%. For example, 500 interactions with 10,000 followers equals a 5% engagement rate.
- Growth Rate: Calculate this monthly with (New Followers ÷ Total Followers) × 100.
- Response Time: How quickly do they reply to comments or messages? Common benchmarks include:
- Facebook: within 24 hours
- Twitter: within 1 hour
- Instagram: within 12 hours
- Content Frequency: Track how often they post and whether they follow a consistent schedule.
Metrics for Specific Platforms
Different platforms require tracking different metrics. Here’s a breakdown:
- Completion rates for Stories
- Reach per post
- Performance of hashtags
- Engagement on Reels
- Usage of shopping features
- Number of page check-ins
- Event response rates
- Activity in groups
- Metrics for live videos
- Frequency of brand mentions
- Impressions on posts
- Click-through rates
- Page visitor stats
- Employee advocacy efforts
- Engagement with company updates
- Retweet ratios
- Engagement on quote tweets
- Number of list inclusions
- Clicks on Twitter Cards
- Involvement in trending topics
To stay consistent, review these metrics on a monthly basis. Compare them to industry averages to set benchmarks and refine your strategy as needed.
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Step 3: Study Content Patterns
Take a closer look at how competitors structure their content strategies. This can help you understand what works well with your target audience. Pay attention to the types of content they use and how they engage their followers.
Content Types Used
Here’s a breakdown of the common content formats to analyze:
Visual Content
- Photos and graphics (compare single images to carousels)
- Videos (short-form versus long-form)
- Stories and temporary posts
- Live streams
- User-generated content (UGC)
Text-Based Content
- Educational posts
- Company news and updates
- Industry-related news
- Customer testimonials
- Product highlights
A content audit table can help you track how these formats are used:
| Content Type | Frequency | Avg. Engagement | Peak Performance Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photo Posts | 40% | 3.2% | 10 AM – 2 PM |
| Video Content | 25% | 4.8% | 6 PM – 9 PM |
| Text Updates | 20% | 2.1% | 9 AM – 11 AM |
| Stories | 15% | 3.7% | 4 PM – 8 PM |
Post Performance
Analyzing performance metrics can refine your strategy. Focus on these key indicators:
- Engagement velocity: How quickly posts gain traction within the first hour
- Content longevity: How long a post keeps generating engagement
- Format effectiveness: Which content types drive the best interactions
- Caption length: The relationship between text length and engagement
- Call-to-action (CTA) impact: Which CTAs encourage the most user actions
Posting Schedule Analysis
Evaluate posting frequency, timing, content mix, and seasonal patterns to identify opportunities for better audience engagement. Watch how competitors adjust their schedules. For instance, a sudden increase in video posts or a shift in posting times could signal a successful tactic they’ve uncovered.
Step 4: Review Audience Response
Once you’ve identified content patterns, the next step is to assess how audiences are interacting with these posts. This includes analyzing competitors’ audience engagement to identify strategies that work.
Follower Data
Keep an eye on these metrics across social platforms:
- Growth rate: Track how follower numbers change month by month.
- Demographics: Understand your audience’s age, location, and interests.
- Peak activity times: Identify when followers are most active.
- Follower quality: Spot the difference between genuine and fake followers.
- Audience overlap: Check if competitors share followers with your brand.
Other important metrics to monitor:
- Follower-to-engagement ratio: Compare total followers to their level of interaction.
- Retention rate: Evaluate how well competitors keep their followers engaged over time.
- Profile visit trends: Note when profile visits spike.
- Story view rates: Measure the percentage of followers watching Stories.
- Saved posts: Find out which types of content are getting bookmarked the most.
Comment Analysis
Dive into how competitors handle comments to build stronger connections with your audience.
Response Patterns
- Observe how quickly they reply and the tone they use.
- Note their use of emojis or casual language.
- See how they manage negative feedback.
- Study their approach to moderating comments.
Engagement Techniques
- Look for question-based replies that encourage further interaction.
- Check for the use of branded hashtags in responses.
- Analyze tagging practices and @mentions.
- Spot any cross-promotion efforts in comment threads.
- Review their community management tactics for ideas.
Combine these insights with your engagement metrics to shape a more effective social media strategy.
Influencer Partnerships
Take a close look at how competitors collaborate with influencers to guide your own approach.
Types of Partnerships
- Long-term ambassadors representing the brand.
- One-off campaign collaborations.
- Product review videos or unboxing posts.
- Co-created content between brands and influencers.
- Affiliate partnerships with commission-based incentives.
Focus on these aspects:
- Influencer selection: Audience size, engagement levels, and alignment with the brand.
- Campaign structure: Duration, types of content, and posting schedules.
- Performance tracking: Metrics like engagement, click-throughs, and conversions.
- Disclosure practices: How competitors label sponsored content.
- Cross-platform efforts: How campaigns are spread across different social channels.
Step 5: Use Analysis Software
The right software can simplify data collection and provide useful insights for your social media strategy.
Top Analysis Tools
Here are some tools to help with competitor analysis:
Enterprise Solutions
- Sprout Social: Tracks competitor benchmarks, content performance, and audience growth across platforms.
- Hootsuite Insights: Monitors competitors in real-time and performs sentiment analysis.
- Brandwatch: Uses AI to deliver social listening and competitor intelligence.
Mid-Market Options
- Rival IQ: Offers competitor benchmarking and automated reporting.
- Socialbakers: Tracks competitor analytics and content performance.
- Keyhole: Focuses on hashtag tracking and campaign analysis.
Comparing Tool Costs
| Tool Category | Monthly Cost Range | Key Features | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Tools | $29-99 | Single-platform monitoring, basic metrics | Small businesses |
| Mid-tier Solutions | $100-299 | Multi-platform tracking, custom reports | Growing brands |
| Enterprise Platforms | $300+ | Advanced analytics, API access, integrations | Large organizations |
Use the data these tools provide to refine your strategy.
Turning Data Into Actionable Insights
Make the most of the data by focusing on key areas like benchmarking, content strategy, audience analysis, and campaign evaluation.
Performance Benchmarking
- Compare your engagement and share of voice with competitors.
- Track how your content is performing across platforms.
- Understand your position in the market.
Content Strategy Refinement
- Pinpoint which content types perform best.
- Assess the best times and frequencies for posting.
- Check how well your hashtags are working.
Audience Analysis
- Stay updated on changes in your audience demographics.
- Gauge audience sentiment.
- Spot untapped opportunities in the market.
Campaign Evaluation
- Measure the success of your campaigns.
- Determine ROI for different types of content.
- Identify what promotions are driving results.
Conclusion: Next Steps
Key Actions to Take
Here’s a quick recap of steps you can put into motion right away:
- Competitor Selection: Pick 3-5 direct competitors to analyze in detail.
- Metric Tracking: Keep an eye on engagement rates, content performance, and audience growth.
- Content Analysis: Note which content types and posting schedules perform best.
- Audience Insights: Observe engagement trends and successful influencer collaborations.
- Tool Selection: Find analysis tools that fit your budget and goals.
These steps will help you build a solid foundation for your strategy.
How Kreativa Inc Can Assist
Kreativa Inc is here to guide you through these steps and take your efforts further. Their expertise can help you:
- Perform detailed competitor audits.
- Create custom tracking dashboards tailored to your needs.
- Craft content strategies based on data and insights.
- Pinpoint untapped opportunities in your market.
Want to see how your website and social media can improve? Schedule a free audit with Kreativa Inc and gain the edge you need to stay ahead.
