Social Media Competitor Analysis Template: What Should You Track?

It doesn’t count as stalking to take a look at what your competitors are doing online; it’s just research. Using a good Social Media Competitor Analysis Template offers you a simple method for noting down what other brands post, the way people react, and the areas in which you can improve. You can think of it as a kind of cheat sheet, since it’s completely legal and your teacher won’t mind.

In this article, we’ll look at what should be tracked, explain why it is important, and show you how to get everything set up without having to spend your weekend on spreadsheets.

What’s the point of keeping an eye on your competitors?

(Source – OpenAI)

If you post without thinking about it, you’re just guessing. It’s possible that your videos will fail while a competitor’s receive thousands of shares. It’s also possible that they post at 7 pm and you at 2 am, which is why nobody shows up.

A proper analysis of your competitors on social media will show you what is working in your industry; it enables you to:

• Identify gaps.
• Prevent the mistakes that others have already made.
• Take smart ideas (please don’t copy them).
• Get actual figures that you can show to your boss, which is always a good thing.

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What elements should your template contain?

Keep it simple by ensuring that your template has a single row for each competitor and one column for each attribute you track. Choose three to five competitors; if you select any more, you’ll end up spending more time gathering the data than actually using it.

Let us now turn to the interesting part.

1. Follower Count and Audience Growth

You can’t learn much just from the number of followers; it’s like having a large sign in a shop that’s completely empty. What’s more important is audience growth, that is to say, how quickly the number of followers is increasing.

You should:

• Check follower growth on a monthly basis.
• Look out for any sudden increases.
• Investigate whether a spike indicates a campaign, a viral post, or a paid promotion.

2. Engagement Rate

Engagement rate refers to the number of people who actually interact with a post by means of likes, comments, shares, and saves. You can calculate it by adding up the interactions on a post, dividing the total by the number of followers, and then multiplying by 100.

It is one of the most useful metrics on social media since it indicates whether people actually care rather than merely following the account. A small brand with high engagement usually outperforms a large brand that has a dull and inactive audience.

Track the following interactions:

• Likes
• Comments
• Shares
• Saves

3. Posting Frequency and Timing

Keep a record of how often your competitors post and at what times of day. This is known as posting frequency.

Check:

• How often they post, such as daily or three times a week.
• Which times of day they prefer, such as mornings or evenings.
• Which days they post most frequently.

You needn’t copy them, but if all the other rivals choose to stay quiet on Sundays, that could be your opportunity to stand out.

Read More | Synthetic Influencers in India: What Brands Should Check Before Collaborating.

4. Content Types and Themes

What kind of content do they produce for their feed? Are they posting short videos, photo carousels, polls, or long text updates? Do they focus on offering tips, using memes, sharing customer stories, or showing product demonstrations?

Track these details:

• Content formats: Reels, photo carousels, polls, or text updates.
• Content themes: Tips, memes, customer stories, or product demonstrations.
• Top-performing content: Posts that receive the most responses.

If the Reels posted behind the scenes by a competitor are the ones that win, this shows you what your common audience likes.

5. Hashtags and Keywords

People can use hashtags to locate posts; therefore, you should write down the ones that your competitors use frequently and notice which of them appear to attract additional views.

• Record the hashtags your competitors use regularly.
• Identify keywords that appear in their captions and posts.
• Notice which hashtags seem to attract additional views or engagement.
• Look for relevant hashtags that other competitors are not using.

You might then come across a hashtag that no one in your circle is currently using.

6. Paid Ads and Promotions

On most platforms, there is a public ad library which allows you to see the advertisements that a brand is running. You can check:

• The offers and products they promote.
• The images and videos they use.
• The messages and calls to action in their ads.
• How long the ads remain live.

An ad that runs for months is generally one that is earning money. People don’t continue to pay for an ad that fails.

7. Customer Feedback and Brand Mentions

Look at the comments. I mean, they’re excellent. People will readily tell a brand about things they like and things that bother them. Furthermore, keep an eye on brand mentions, which are instances when people talk about a company without tagging it.

That’s where social listening comes in. To put it simply, social listening involves paying attention to the things people say about a brand on social platforms.

You can monitor:

• Positive and negative customer comments.
• Common complaints and questions.
• Customer suggestions and feedback.
• Brand mentions, including those without tags.

You can use free and paid tools to carry out this task, thus eliminating the need for you to scroll all day.

8. Share of Voice

The term ‘share of voice’ may sound impressive, but it simply refers to the proportion of the online conversation in your industry that belongs to your brand as compared to that of other brands.

For example, if 100 posts in your field refer to brands and 20 of them refer to yours, then your share of voice is 20 per cent. It’s a useful figure when carrying out competitor benchmarking, which involves comparing your own results with those of others to see where you stand.

How to Set Up Your Social Media Competitor Analysis Template

You don’t need any special software; a simple spreadsheet is quite adequate. Here is an example of how your social media competitor analysis templatemight look:

Note: The figures above are illustrative examples, not verified competitor data.

Complete it once a month and include a notes column for items that numbers can’t record, such as a funny campaign or a customer complaint that went viral.

You should also carry out a quick audit of your own accounts. This involves checking your own profiles using the same metrics, so that you can make a fair comparison.

Read More | Conversational Commerce India: From “Hi, Price?” to “Order Placed”.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

(Source – Magnific.com)

• Trying to track too many things: Having more columns doesn’t lead to greater wisdom. Limit yourself to those things that you actually need to use.
• Copying instead of learning: Choose to learn rather than copy. Your audience wants to hear your own voice, not a cheap imitation of someone else’s.
• Focusing only on big brands: Smaller and more rapidly growing competitors are often more instructive.
• Checking once and then forgetting about it: Trends change quickly, so having a review each month will keep you up to date.

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Final Thoughts

A template for analysing competitors isn’t about becoming obsessed with them; it’s about learning from them so that your own plan can become more effective. Make sure you keep track of the relevant points, regularly review them, and take action upon what you discover. If you do this, you’ll cease guessing and begin posting with a clear purpose.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How frequently should you update your analysis of your competitors?

For most brands, a monthly check is suitable. However, if you are running a large campaign or if your industry is changing rapidly, then you should check every two weeks.

2. How many competitors ought you to keep an eye on?

Three to five is an appropriate amount since it provides you with enough data to identify patterns without overwhelming you with numbers.

3. Is it necessary for me to use paid tools in order to carry out this task?

Not at all. You can begin by using a spreadsheet together with the free insights that each platform provides; paid tools only help save time as your business grows.

4. Which metric is the most important?

Engagement rate is generally the most useful since it indicates how much people care about the content, not just the number of people who follow the page.

5. Is it okay to copy a competitor’s content ideas?

Learning from them is fine. Copying is not. Use their success as inspiration, then add your own style and message.