One of the best ways to learn about your competition is to follow them and join them on their online communities on social media. Whether it’s a page, a group, or a discussion board – or even the comments on their blog posts – reading and learning from the engagement that happens there is educational. You’ll learn about your competition, the industry as a whole, and your shared audience.
The Channels That Get the Most Results
Knowing which platforms or channels the competition is using to engage with the audience is an excellent way to determine where you need to be. If you have limited resources, choosing the channel that gets the most result can eliminate your need to use other channels if you don’t yet have the resources.
Which Content Inspires Engagement
What type of content is the audience most engaged with? What kind of questions do they ask? Is there something about the content that makes them angry, sad, upset, happy, or another emotion? How can you use that information on your own website and with your own offers?
Find More Customers
When you follow your competition on social media, you can get to know the customers and audience following them by liking their comments and engaging with them in a non-sales way. When you follow them, they’ll likely follow you, and then you’ll get to share with them what you do.
Locate Potential Influencers
Watching social media and how your competition works with influencers is also a great way to find an effective influencer. Unless the influencer has an exclusive deal if they’ve reviewed your competitor’s product or a like product, they may also enjoy yours.
Communication Mistakes to Avoid
A great use for social media is also finding out what really does not work to communicate with the audience and the public. If you notice the competition getting into arguments or having a negative experience on their platforms, you will learn what to avoid.
About New Industry Trends
Social media is likely the first place a new industry trend will show up. Keeping tabs on your competition’s social media will also help you notice trends by paying close attention to topics of discussion, especially those that get the most engagement.
Learn Important Industry News
Likewise, you will learn a lot about industry news if you follow the industry movers and shakers and publications on social media. Often companies use social media as the first place for announcing new ideas, new articles, or trending topics.
You can learn even more than this by following and engaging with your competition’s customers and them on social media. Participation is the key to your success because the more you participate, the more your offers will resonate.
