Social Listening for Competitor Analysis 

What Data Can Be Collected for Competition Analysis in Social Listening

In the realm of social listening, gathering comprehensive data on your competition is paramount for devising effective strategies and staying ahead in the market. By leveraging social listening tools, businesses can collect a variety of data points that provide insights into competitors’ activities, customer sentiments, and industry trends. Here we delve into the critical data types that can be collected for competition analysis in social listening.

1. Brand Mentions and Sentiment Analysis

Monitoring brand mentions across social media platforms is fundamental in understanding how competitors are perceived. By analyzing the volume and context of these mentions, businesses can gauge the public sentiment towards a competitor’s brand. Sentiment analysis categorizes mentions into positive, negative, and neutral, offering insights into public opinion and identifying potential areas for improvement.

Key Metrics:

• • Mention Volume: The total number of times a competitor’s brand is mentioned.

• • Sentiment Breakdown: The percentage of positive, negative, and neutral mentions.

• • Top Mentions: Influential posts and users mentioning the competitor.

2. Engagement Metrics

Engagement metrics provide a snapshot of how actively users interact with a competitor’s content. High engagement rates typically indicate successful content strategies and strong customer loyalty. By tracking these metrics, businesses can identify effective tactics used by competitors and adapt them for their own strategies.

Key Metrics:

• • Likes, Shares, and Comments: The frequency and nature of user interactions.

 

• • Engagement Rate: The ratio of total interactions to the total number of followers.

• • Virality: The extent to which content is being shared and spread across social networks.

 

3. Content Analysis

Understanding the types of content competitors produce can offer insights into their marketing strategies and audience preferences. This includes analyzing the formats, topics, and frequency of posts. By identifying high-performing content, businesses can refine their own content strategies to better resonate with their target audience.

Key Metrics:

• • Content Types: Distribution of text, images, videos, and other formats.

• • Post Frequency: The regularity of content posting.

• • Top Performing Content: Posts with the highest engagement rates.

4. Audience Demographics and Behavior

Insights into the demographics and behavior of a competitor’s audience can reveal opportunities for targeting and engagement. This includes understanding the age, gender, location, and interests of their followers, as well as their online behavior and interaction patterns.

Key Metrics:

• • Demographic Breakdown: Age, gender, location, and other relevant details.

• • Behavior Patterns: Peak activity times, preferred platforms, and interaction tendencies.

• • Audience Growth: Trends in follower acquisition and retention.

5. Share of Voice

The share of voice metric measures a brand’s visibility relative to competitors within the same industry. This helps in understanding market positioning and identifying areas where a competitor may have a stronger presence.

Key Metrics:

• • Brand Visibility: The proportion of brand mentions relative to the total mentions in the industry.

• • Competitive Positioning: Ranking of brands based on share of voice.

6. Influencer Collaborations

Identifying influencers that competitors collaborate with can uncover potential partnership opportunities and highlight effective influencer marketing strategies. By monitoring these relationships, businesses can identify influential voices in their industry and leverage them for their own marketing efforts.

Key Metrics:

• • Influencer Identification: Key influencers associated with competitors.

• • Collaboration Frequency: How often competitors engage with influencers.

• • Engagement Metrics of Influencer Posts: Performance of posts created in collaboration with influencers.

8. Hashtag Performance

Tracking the performance of hashtags used by competitors can reveal popular trends and topics within the industry. This includes identifying high-performing hashtags and understanding the context in which they are used.

Key Metrics:

• • Top Hashtags: Most frequently used and engaging hashtags.

• • Hashtag Engagement: Interaction levels associated with specific hashtags.

• • Trending Topics: Emerging trends and topics gaining traction in the industry.

9. Campaign Analysis

Evaluating the effectiveness of competitors’ marketing campaigns provides insights into what strategies work well and which do not. This includes monitoring the launch, execution, and reception of campaigns to inform future marketing efforts.

Key Metrics:

• • Campaign Reach: The total audience exposed to the campaign.

• • Engagement Metrics: Interactions generated by the campaign content.

• • Conversion Rates: The effectiveness of the campaign in driving desired actions.

10. Crisis Management

Understanding how competitors handle crises on social media can inform your own crisis management strategies. By studying their responses and the public’s reaction, businesses can develop better-preparedness plans for handling negative situations.

Key Metrics:

• • Crisis Response Time: The speed at which a competitor responds to a crisis.

• • Public Reaction: Sentiment and engagement during the crisis.

• • Resolution Effectiveness: How well the competitor resolves the issue and restores public trust.

Collecting and analyzing these data points through social listening tools provides a comprehensive view of competitors’ activities and market positioning. Leveraging these insights allows businesses to refine their strategies, enhance their competitive edge, and ultimately drive better performance in the marketplace.

Tools which do competition analysis 

1. 1. QuickMetrix : 

QuickMetrix is software tech company that works with digital & social media focused brands. QuickMetrix software helps brands in two broad areas

1. Customer Care also known as Online Response Management (ORM) i.e. Typically your audiences write to you across multiple platforms, say a suggestion on facebook, a complaint on Twitter, an email to your customer support, a review about your Mobile app or a review on Google (GMB). QuickMetrix helps get all these inbound  customer posts in one place and the route it to your team members so that they can respond and take it to a logical conclusion i.e. response thru resolution and analytics around them.
2.  What attributes of my product/ services are my audiences talking about. Are these attributes that I want them to talk about (say a new store opening or a new product) or are they speaking of something else : like service issuesHow are my campaigns doingLikewise, compare my brand with competition on these areas.Analytics around my brand’s online presence: QuickMetrix answers questions like
3. what is the sentiment around my brand: positive / negative

4. 4.  Sprinklr : 

Sprinklr is a unified platform for managing customer experience across social media, messaging, and digital channels. It offers tools for social listening, engagement, advertising, and analytics, helping businesses enhance their brand presence and customer interactions efficiently.

 

 

5. 5.  Meltwater : 

 

 

Meltwater is a global leader in media intelligence and social analytics. It provides businesses with tools to monitor and analyze news and social media, offering insights into public sentiment, competitor activity, and industry trends. Meltwater helps optimize PR, marketing, and communication strategies.

 

 

6. 6. Talkwaker : 

 

 

Talkwalker is a powerful social listening and analytics platform that helps businesses monitor brand mentions, track competitors, and analyze customer sentiment across social media, news, blogs, and forums. It provides insights to enhance marketing strategies and improve customer engagement.

 

 

7. 7.  Sprout Social : 

 

 

Sprout Social is a leading social media management platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers tools for social listening, engagement, publishing, and analytics, helping brands effectively manage their presence across various social channels. Sprout Social enables businesses to build stronger connections with their audience and drive meaningful engagement.