How to do a social media competitor analysis

Social media marketing is not for the faint of heart. There’s always a new trend to follow, more content to create, and a fresh strategy to try.

Fortunately, there is a way to quickly and systematically find out how other brands in your industry promote their business on social media. It’s called a social media competitor analysis, and we’re going to show you exactly how to create and complete it.

With a competitor analysis process, you’ll find inspiration for new tactics and topics while also learning what not to do on social networks. Read along to see how it all works.

Contents

What is Social Media Competitor Analysis?

A social media competitor analysis is the practice of auditing your competitors’. Social media presence For both quantitative and qualitative information – what they use, how often they post, what their brand vibe is, and more.

This is one of the many important competitive analyzes you can (and should) do for your business. The goal is for your audience to get a complete picture of what social is paying attention to so you can resonate but also differentiate (that’s the name of the game, after all).

Keep scrolling For the template!

🕵 Want more ways to learn from the competition? Download How to Spy on Your Competitors: 7 Ways to Become a Competitive Superslut

Advantages of Social Media Competitor Analysis

You already know that social media competitor analysis is critical to strong social media marketing (otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this article), but let’s dive a little deeper into the concrete benefits of such a practice:

1. Gauge your performance more accurately: Your own numbers don’t mean much without a reference point. If a competitor posts half as much as you but still gets more engagement, that tells you something.
2. Identify what is already working in your market: Even if you have your own nuanced social media strategy in place, you can always uncover more angles and content formats that your audience responds to.
3. Uncover gaps and opportunities: Maybe your niche has a lot of promotional content. Or maybe there are too many “educational” posts that lack a coherent brand narrative. These are gaps that can be filled to help you stand out authentically.
4. Understand audience expectations: Studying other brands that your audience follows will help you understand the experience they expect from you.

How to do a social media competitor analysis

A social media competitor analysis is not unlike a regular competitive analysis (shocking, I know). And when done right, it will uncover key insights to help you make strategic decisions (as well as satisfy your competitor’s curiosity – because let’s face it, we all have it). Here’s how to do it correctly:

1. Identify your competitors

Sounds like a no-brainer, right? It is, but here are some important things to remember:

• Analyze the exact number of competitors: Anywhere from three to seven is good. Too little and you won’t get the whole picture. Too many and you’ll drive yourself crazy with data.
• Include both competitor types: You should analyze both direct competitors (they sell similar products/services) and indirect competitors (they sell different products or services but solve the same problem).
• Don’t forget non-competing brands: Maybe it’s worth throwing in a non-competing brand that your audience likes into the mix—not for positioning purposes, but for a creative perspective. A Google, business directory, or social media search should be sufficient for both competitors’ levels.
• Ignore sporadic competitors: It might be tempting to add a competitor or two with a limited social media presence because there is less information to get through, but that will only do you a disservice. If they’re not dynamic, you don’t want to model them after them.
• Do a self-audit first: Before comparing your business to others, make sure you have a clear picture of your own performance. Here’s a social media audit guide to help you do just that.

This social media audit template First, it can help you establish a solid understanding of your account.

2. Identify which platforms to analyze

There are many social media platforms out there today. Lucky for you, not every competitor will be on every platform. Here are some helpful pointers for this part of your social media competitor analysis:

• Look at your buyer personas: This will help you push the channels where your target audience is likely to spend more time.
• Then see where your most active competitors spend their time: This will be an easy indicator of where your target audience likes to hang out.
• Focus on emerging channels: New platforms can quickly become big players (just look at TechTalk), so if you see initial traction from competitors on a new channel, take that as a signal.
• use Social listening Tools: These can show you what conversations are already happening about your brand or industry, which can help prioritize platforms.

Very important Social media platform Consider in your analysis.

3. Audit their profile-level information

The competitive insights you gather in your analysis will fall into a few buckets. The first is a profile-level bucket, which you should cover before diving deeper into content. This includes:

• Follower Count: Note that having lots of followers doesn’t always equate to high engagement, but it’s useful for context.
• Branding: What do they look like and feel like? How permanent is it?
• Bio/Description: What keywords or value proposition do they highlight?
• Links and CTAs: Where are they driving traffic from?
• Overall Positioning: What comes out loud from a glance at the profile? Skills? Personality? Convenience? Quality?

This high-level review will set a good foundation for the rest of the data.

for that Instagram biothe personality definitely comes through in the loud voice.

4. Analyze their content strategy

Well, now you’re ready for the heart of your social media competitor analysis. This is the part where you look at 10-20 recent posts and note patterns. Here’s what to look for:

• Content format: Which format dominates? Images, carousels, reels, stories? If it’s a mix, provide an approximate breakdown, such as 50% stories, 25% static images, 25% reels.
• Content Types: Same thing here. Think in terms of relatable or funny memes, POV posts, educational posts, or promotional materials. You can also get a refresher Here are the types of social media content.
• Messaging Themes: What topics are they focusing on? What is their accent? Are they educational? Want fun? You can learn more about brand voice and messaging here.
• Posting Frequency: Do they post daily or weekly? How permanent are they?
• Creative Style: What is their visual aesthetic? What colors and fonts do they use? Is it intentional and consistent?

You can tell When a business Has intent behind its social media aesthetic.

5. Evaluate their engagement and performance

As I mentioned earlier, a large follower count, or even a large posting volume, does not equate to large engagement. This metric is a clear indicator of what your audience actually cares about. Here’s what to look for:

• Average Likes, Comments, Shares, or Saves: For example, “Most posts average 40-50 likes, 1-2 comments, almost no shares.” Find out more about you Social media engagement metrics here.
• Follower count versus engagement: This can be a common diagnosis. For example, “45K followers but only 30-40 likes per post → low engagement.”
• Types of high performing materials: Videos and reels get more engagement than static posts, so keep it one level deep. For example, “Instant Canva-created animations get more traction than self-styled videos.”
• What titles outperform others: Promotional posts often get less engagement than educational posts, so keep it at a deeper level. For example, “POV posts on industry trends drive more engagement than evergreen academic posts.”

6. Identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities

Now that you’ve gathered all your data, it’s time to zoom out and look for patterns. The best way to understand this is to go through some examples.

• Competitor strengths may include: High production value, strong brand voice, frequent posting, high engagement, clearly defined messaging, or unique creative forms.
• A competitor’s weaknesses may include: Rapid posting, inconsistent messaging, low engagement despite a high follower count, too much promotional content, lack of format variety, or no emotional appeal.
• Opportunities for you may include: New content formats, messaging angles, platforms where competition is low but interest is growing, or engagement strategies may allow you to adapt or improve.

This is an important step, because this is where you turn observations into strategic thinking.



This is swot section of your social media competitive analysis.

🛑 Free resources! How to conduct a SWOT analysis (with examples and a reusable template)

7. Summarize your findings

If you have completed all the above steps, you have all your information. But don’t stop there! Now it’s time for the most important step, which is to create a digestible summary that you can share with your manager or team, and for your own easy reference. have Your summary should include:

• Important platforms that matter
• What types of content drive the most engagement?
• Benchmark for frequency, tone and shape
• Gaps in the market that you can fill
• Recommendations on how to move your brand forward

Now you have what you need to turn your social media strategy into decisions and actions.

Note! Most businesses review their analysis quarterly or twice a year. This helps you stay on top of rapidly evolving trends (which move at lightning speed in the social media world) and your competitors’ activity.

Social Media Competitive Analysis Template

Here is one Copy and edit template It reflects all the key data points listed in this post and will give you a solid foundation to run your analysis on. You can use it, but I encourage you to modify it to fit your business and way of thinking.



Use it Social Media Competitor Analysis Template To organize and track all your new data.

Start your social media competitive analysis now

With this social media competitive analysis, you’ll need to begin assessing—and strategizing—on expanding your online presence in the ever-growing social sector.

Use it to get a clear picture of what your audience actually responds to and how well it’s navigated, so you can make smart decisions that move the needle. Do this a few times a year, and you’ll be on the path to a more intentional social presence.