Ever wondered how your competitors are pulling ahead in the social media race? Learning how to analyze their strategies isn’t just a smart move—it’s the secret sauce to boosting your competitive advantage.
At Blumy Content Solutions, we believe that standing out in the crowded digital space requires more than good content; it demands strategic content. You can’t rise above the noise if you don’t know what your competitors are doing (and doing better).
In this guide, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step approach to analyze your competitors’ social media game, giving you actionable insights to refine your strategy and win over your audience.
What is Competitive Market Analysis?
Competitive market analysis is all about researching your rivals to uncover insights into their strategies—whether it’s their products, marketing tactics, or social media performance.
For social media, it’s a mix of benchmarking your efforts against theirs and identifying new opportunities to grow. By analyzing your competitors, you can pinpoint:
- Platforms they’re using to dominate
- The content strategies that win them engagement
- Gaps in your own strategy and ways to fill them
- Threats to your current tactics.
In short, a well-rounded social media competitive analysis prepares you to outsmart the competition while staying laser-focused on your goals.
Steps to Analyze Competitors on Social Media
Now let’s discuss the process of evaluating your rivals:
1. Identify Your Social Media Competitors
To analyze your competitors on social media, first know who they are. Here is how you do it:
Identify Competitive Keywords
To analyze your competitors, you need to know exactly who they are. Here’s how:
- Identify Competitive Keywords:
Start with the keywords that matter most in your niche. For example, if you’re a financial consulting firm in LA, search terms like:- “Best financial consulting firm in LA”
- “Affordable financial consulting firm in California”
- Check Who’s Ranking for Those Keywords:
Google the top-ranking terms to discover brands in your niche. Check their websites for social media links. - Fine-Tune Your Search to Social Media:
Not every brand that ranks on Google is killing it on social. Use Facebook or Instagram search filters to uncover relevant competitors. - Identify Similar Brands Your Audience Follows:
Platforms like Twitter Analytics and Facebook Insights can show you what other brands your audience interacts with. - Narrow Down the List of Competitors:
Focus on the top five brands that cater to your niche. This will make your analysis sharper and more actionable.
2. Gather Insights and Data on Your Top Competitors
Once you’ve identified your main competitors, it’s time to dig deeper. Look at:
- The platforms they’re active on.
- Their content type, frequency, and engagement levels.
- Their tone and brand voice.
- Growth in followers over time.
Don’t just focus on what they’re doing right—note where they’re struggling too and do it better in your strategy.
3. Compare Your Performance
Now, it’s time to stack yourself against the competition. Use a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to uncover:
- What your competitors do better.
- What your brand does better.
- New trends your competitors are leveraging.
- Areas where your competitors are falling behind.
This comparison will help you pinpoint where to tweak your strategy for maximum impact.
Image: an example of a social media SWOT analysis
4. Utilize Social Media Competitive Analysis Tools
Social media competitive analysis tools simplify the process of analyzing your performance against competitors. The tools provide insights to improve your performance.
For example, it is a tedious process going through all your competitors’ social media pages and evaluating their content, strategies, and customer engagement. The tools enable you to gather platform-specific data for all your top competitors.
Social media platforms ranked by popularity
Some tools even provide results across all social media platforms on one page saving you time. We love these social media competitive analysis tools:
- Hootsuite
- Sprout Social
- Meta Business Suite
- Kompyte
- SemRush
- Mentionlytics
5. Refine Your Social Media Strategy
The insights you’ve gathered mean nothing if they don’t lead to action. Adjust your approach to take advantage of:
- Opportunities highlighted in your SWOT analysis.
- Gaps in your competitors’ strategies.
- Trends that resonate with your audience.
Contact Us for Help Refining Your Strategy
Feeling overwhelmed? We’re here to help. At Blumy Content Solutions, we don’t just analyze your competitors—we help you craft a strategy that puts you ahead of them.
Ready to transform your social media presence? Fill out our contact form or book a consultation. Together, we’ll create a plan that attracts not just any customers, but the right customers for your brand.