How can we assess the social media activities of competitors? Although there are several perspectives we can take, Social Media Examiner has presented several excellent tips for monitoring competitors.
As reported by Megan Hannay:
“Researching your competitors on social media not only provides an overview of your industry, but it also gives you insight into the current habits of the audiences you’re targeting. By answering a few key questions, you’ll see what kinds of posts are effective for the people you want to reach.”
Here are just some of the questions raised by Hannay in her article:
“#1: Analyze Facebook Pages — If you want to gain insight into a company’s Facebook page, here are some questions to consider: How many followers do they have? What are they posting about?Are their posts mostly internal (company-based) news, blog posts and articles; mostly external news, blog posts and articles; or a mix of both?”
“#2: Look at Twitter Accounts — How many followers do they have? How many accounts are they following? A good rule of thumb: An account with 50,000 followers that’s following 500 users probably has more influence than an account with 50,000 followers that’s following 49,000 users, unless they bought followers.”
“#3: Examine Instagram Accounts — How many followers do they have? How many accounts are they following? Are their posts mostly internal, external or a mix of both? How on-brand are their photos? Do they show the product or service in each shot, or do they follow a more lifestyle-oriented content strategy?”
“#4: Review YouTube Channels — What’s their video content like, and how on-brand is it? Do they stick to product tutorials, or do they branch out to product non-specific tutorials? Do they show off company parties and happy hours? How many subscribers do they have?”
“#5: Evaluate Pinterest Accounts — How many followers do they have, and how many users do they follow? How do they show off their product or service in pins? How do they organize their pins? What are their board names? Are their pins all brand-generated (product pins) or do they repin others?”
“#6: Monitor Snapchat, Periscope, and Meerkat Accounts — Due to the nature of their content, it’s difficult to evaluate these channels in one go. But if your competitors use them, follow their accounts and check out their content when it goes live. Here are some questions to consider: What content are they posting? How many interactions (on Periscope and Meerkat) do they garner from their fans?”
Click the image to read all of Hannay’s suggestions.
Social Media Marketing is a very huge aspect that all competitive businesses should consider. The accounts created does not increase your company’s expenses, if at all. So as a newcomer in the social media world, analyzing other competitors’ social media activity is definitely a good way to learn and create an effective online marketing campaign.