How to analyze your competition
When it comes to knowing what you are up against in the social media world, you definitely need to be aware of your competitions presence on all three social platforms. Here is a list of things you should do immediately to analyze and compare your business with your competition. Once you know what you are up against you can devise a plan to take over in your niche.
1. Check their social profiles on all 3 major social media networks: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
You will want to check out your competitions social media profiles. Look for their Facebook like amount, Twitter Follower count and Instagram Follower count. Knowing these numbers will allow you to determine where you are in relation to them, and also where you want to take your brand`s reputation in the future. It is imperative that you know these numbers!
2. Do they interact on a daily basis with their customers?
Are they engaging their customers? What kind of things are they talking about and sharing? Are they offering any promotions exclusively via their social media accounts? How are they getting their customers interested and talking? Knowing this information is vital in understanding how they are representing your niche and how they are using social media to interact with their customers. You do not want to be the exact same as them but you do need to know what they are doing so you can one up them using similar tactics.
3. Is there website displaying their social media reputation?
You need to check out your competition`s website. Are they displaying proudly their number of followers, likes and fans? If they are, then they have an understanding that they are leading your niche in credibility and reputation. You will definitely need to work on your numbers to catch up to them. If they are not, take control immediately. Get your numbers up and then display them prominently on your website. You can take over because nobody is leading the way. Plant your flag in the ground and own your niche!
4. How are they using viral marketing to their benefit? Are they using the SHARE buttons and having others in their network SHARE their posts and comments? The sharing feature on Facebook is one of the most important features they have. It allows others to share something that they are interested in and has caught their eye. This spreads like wildfire if it is something that will appeal to a broad audience. If they are not utilizing the SHARING aspect of Facebook, jump in with both feet as you can start dominating your niche today!
5. Have any of there Instagram photos made the Popular page in the past?
This one will be a little harder to determine. However you can see the amount of likes that each particular photo of theirs has received. If the number of likes is above the 80+ range and there are a multitude of comments you can speculate on whether or not it has been. Analyze their images, what is it about those particular images that have sparked interest in the community? Is that something you can replicate with your business (when we say replicate we do not mean copy exactly)? Where did they send that traffic? Did they have a link pointing to their website?
Examining your competition and figuring out where they lie in terms of leadership in your niche will allow you to create a full picture for yourself of what your goals should be and how you can compete with them. Going into any social media campaign blindly is never a good idea, you need to educate yourself about your competition and allow that knowledge to help lead you to a conclusion on what you can achieve and how long it will take you to get there.
