How To Use Competitive Benchmarking To Boost Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

Are your results in social media the bare minimum, or should you be reaping enough? Well, it doesn’t help to be delusional. 

If you aspire for Kylie Jenner-like follower growth for your brand, you are probably still hurting your expectations.

The best way to analyze if you are heading in the right direction is by evaluating your competitors in your space. You should start measuring your social media statistics with that of the set benchmarks across your particular industry. 

Now how would you do that? Competitive benchmarking is the long-lost answer. 

It is the process of comparing your social media performance against your competitors’ social media performance. It’s like a friendly competition to see who’s doing better on social media!

Let’s dive deeper into this term. 

What is competitive benchmarking in social media?

Let’s say you’re a clothing brand that sells trendy clothes for the trendy GenZ. You want to see how you’re doing on social media compared to other clothing brands that target the same audience. 

So, look at your competitors’ social media profiles and compare things like the number of followers, the engagement rate (likes, comments, shares), and the type of content they’re posting. Doing this lets you see what’s working well for your competitors and what you can do to improve your social media strategy.

It’s like a basketball game – you’re trying to beat your opponents by scoring more points. In the same way, you’re trying to beat your competitors on social media by getting more followers, engagement, and sales.

However, keep in mind that your competitor should have similar brand profiling as yours. If you compare a year-old brand in clothing retail to that of Gap, which has been around for decades, your competitive benchmarking will fall short. 

So next, we’ll talk about how to handpick competitors for your brand so you get the right estimates for comparison.

How to identify your main competitors on social media?

Identifying your main competitors is an important step in your social media strategy. Here are some steps you can follow to identify your main competitors:

Define your target audience

Before you can identify your competitors, you need to know your target audience. Consider who your ideal customer is and what content they’re interested in.

Your target audience for competitive benchmarking is the group of people who you are trying to reach and engage with on social media. These people will most likely be interested in your products or services and who you want to convert into customers.

When defining your target audience for competitive benchmarking, you should consider demographic factors such as age, gender, location, income level, and education level. You should also consider psychographic factors such as interests, values, and lifestyle.

By understanding your target audience, you can better understand what kind of content they are interested in, what social media channels they prefer, and how you can differentiate yourself from your competitors. This information will help you to develop a more effective social media strategy and to identify opportunities for growth and improvement.

Research your industry

Researching your industry is important to navigate the vast sea of information to find the right competitors to benchmark against.

To begin your research, you must gather as much information as possible about your industry. This includes identifying the main players in your industry and understanding their strengths and weaknesses. You can also look at industry trends and changes in consumer behavior to stay ahead of the curve.

It’s important to be thorough in your research and not just skim the surface. You need to really understand what your competitors are doing on social media. This means analyzing their content, engagement rates, and social media strategy.

Look at other brands in your industry and see who’s doing well on social media. Search for keywords related to your industry and see who’s appearing in the search results.

By researching your industry in the context of competitive benchmarking, you can gain a competitive advantage and stay ahead of the game. 

Look at your followers

A quick check on your followers will help you understand what kind of audience you tend to attract and how they compare to your competitors.

Analyze basic characteristics, such as age, gender, interests, and behaviors. This will help you spot your existing target audience and how you can tailor your content to their preferences.

Next, you’ll want to peek at your competitor’s follower demographics. Look for similarities and differences. This is a masterstroke to identify areas where you can differentiate yourself.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the engagement rates of your posts and your competitor’s posts. This will give you a sense of how engaged your content is compared to them. If your engagement rates are lower, it may be a sign that you need to tweak your strategy.

Use social media analytics tools

There are many social media analytics tools available that can help you identify your competitors. These tools can show you who’s mentioning your brand and your competitors’ brands and who’s engaging with your content and your competitors’ content.

Keyhole is one such tool that helps you with competitor analysis and social listening. Add trackers related to your brand, competitors, or even the latest ongoing trend, and it collects the information you need to make a critical decision. 

With Keyhole, you can track profiles from top social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. You can easily compare your presence with that of your competitors. 

The best part is it also comes with a profile optimization feature that lets you know what to improve to heighten your reach further and boost your branding. 

Analyze your competitors’ social media profiles

Once you’ve identified your competitors, closely examine their social media profiles. Look at things like the number of followers, the engagement rate, the type of content they’re posting, and how often they’re posting. 

Just set up a search on Keyhole to track their social media activity. This will allow you to see what they’re posting and how engaged their followers are. 

Next, analyze their content and engagement rates from the dashboard. Look for patterns in the type of content they’re sharing and how they’re engaging with their audience. 

Also, look at what time they are usually posting. Experiment with those timings by scheduling unlimited posts with Keyhole.

Finally, use Keyhole’s profile analytics to compare your social media performance to your competitors. Keep your progress in check and assess the effectiveness of your strategies with continuous monitoring. 

You can also use QuickTrends to get a snapshot of how multiple competitors in your industry are dominating. This is a good refresher before you add real-time profile trackers for detailed analysis. 

By following these steps, you can identify your main competitors on social media and use that information to improve your social media strategy. Remember, your competitors can be a great source of inspiration and help you stay on top of industry trends. 

3 Factors to consider when selecting competitors to benchmark against

When selecting a competitor for social media competitive benchmarking, it’s important to keep a few factors in mind. Here are three things to consider:

1. Consider the size of your competitors. Are they larger or smaller than your company? This can affect their social media strategy and the resources they have available to devote to it.
2. .Examine the type of content your competitors are posting on social media. Are they sharing similar content to you? Are they using different platforms or formats? This can help you identify areas where you can differentiate yourself.

3. Look at your competitors’ online reputation. Are they known for providing high-quality products or services? Are they well-respected in the industry? This can affect how their followers perceive their social media strategy.

Tip: You can use Keyhole’s sentiment analysis to see if a brand’s mention creates a positive, negative, or neutral impression. 

10 Tips for setting realistic goals and KPIs

Setting realistic goals and KPIs for competitive benchmarking in social media is like setting sail with a clear destination in mind. Here are 10 tips to help you do that:

1. Define your objectives and what you hope to achieve through competitive benchmarking. This will help you set goals aligned with your overall business strategy.

2. Identify your main competitors and newcomers to set benchmarks for their social media performance. This will help you understand how you’re performing relative to your competition.

3. Focus on metrics relevant to your business and social media strategy. For example, if you’re focused on brand awareness, you should track follower growth and engagement rates.

4. Set achievable goals. Set yourself up for failure by setting goals that are too ambitious.

5. Use the SMART criteria (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) to set goals and KPIs that are well-defined and actionable.

6. Monitor your progress regularly and adjust your goals and KPIs. This will help you stay on track and make any necessary course corrections.

7. Use historical data to set benchmarks and track progress over time. This will help you spot trends and patterns in your social media performance.

Consider qualitative data, such as customer feedback and sentiment analysis. This can provide valuable insights into how your audience perceives your social media strategy.

9. Monitor your competitors and adjust your goals and KPIs as needed. This will help you stay competitive and adapt to changes in the market.

10. Don’t forget to celebrate your successes along the way. Recognize and reward your team for their hard work and achievements.

With these tips in mind, you can establish achievable goals and KPIs for competitive benchmarking in social media and steer your way toward success.

Final words

Competitive benchmarking is an essential part of any social media strategy. By analyzing your competitors’ social media performance, you can gain insights into what’s working and what’s not and adjust your strategy accordingly. 

With the help of Keyhole’s powerful analytics tools, you can easily track your competitors’ social media activity, set realistic goals and KPIs, and monitor your progress over time. 

So, are you ready to take your social media strategy to the next level? Sign up for Keyhole’s free trial today and see how easy it is to stay ahead of the competition!

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