Social competitor analysis: what it is, what it is for, and how to do it

Every post, every video, every interaction on social is a clue to the real tastes, habits, and needs of the audience: Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn bring together more than 5 billion active users, or 60 percent of the world’s population, and are now a central part of consumers’ daily lives and decision-making. No longer just places of entertainment, here brands dialogue directly with their audiences, test formats, content and strategies to reach increasingly diverse audiences, influence perceptions and create connections that often result in concrete decisions, such as buying a product or choosing a service. And a well-researched hashtag or creative reel can generate an impact that goes beyond a single platform, reaching cross-sectional audiences and even ranking in Google SERPs. Here’s where studying the moves of key rivals becomes essential to optimizing one’s digital presence: doing competitor analysis on social media means spotting hidden strategic signals in content, posting frequencies, the engagement they get and the preferences expressed by audiences. It is a process that returns useful data to improve one’s campaigns and, more a general, to intercept trends, optimize resources and communicate more effectively, tailoring the message to the real expectations of the target niche. This article delves into the basic steps to properly analyze competitors on social media, choosing tools, methods and approaches that can translate into a real and measurable competitive advantage. Obviously, the principle is that it is not a matter of trivially “observing to copy,” but studying to outperform!

What is social media competitor analysis

Competitor analysis on social media is a strategic practice to study, understand and enhance what is happening in the “digital space” occupied by competing brands. Through the structured observation of profiles, content, interactions and performance metrics of competitors, this activity becomes a valuable tool for those who want to refine their online presence.

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It is not limited to a generic comparison, but aims to gather useful data to optimize content, advertising campaigns and editorial choices in a targeted manner.

The importance of this analysis is growing with the evolution of social platforms, which now play a crucial role in a brand’s visibility and, more importantly, in sales strategies and audience relationship building. Knowing why a competitor’s content gets more engagement, what types of posts speak to its target audience or how it organizes its communication are answers that offer immediate competitive advantages.

Although the focus is the social context, competitor analysis makes an incisive contribution to supporting an integrated multichannel approach , in which social platforms do not remain isolated but work in synergy with websites, email marketing and other digital activities.

What does it mean to analyze social competitors: a clear and concrete definition

Social media competitor analysis is the process of examining the activities of key rivals on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and others. It includes observing published content (e.g., videos, posts and stories), performance metrics (such as engagement rate and follower growth) and positioning strategies (graphic choices, tone of voice, hashtags used).

The central goal is to collect and decode this information to optimize one’s marketing decisions. In fact, every relevant piece of data helps answer key questions: what types of content do audiences interact with most? Are there emerging trends that we haven’t noticed? What elements differentiate a winning brand from one that struggles to get results? The answers offer concrete insights to better calibrate your strategy.

Importantly, the analysis does not aim to replicate the strategies of others, but focuses on understanding the success dynamics applicable to one’s own brand. Observing competitors allows one to refine investments on communication formats, choosing more relevant content and thus improving one’s positioning with respect to the target audience. This approach combines quantitative aspects, such as monitoring metrics, with qualitative considerations of audience perception and emotional connection to content.

How it fits into the context of multichannel marketing

Today, social media do not work in isolation from other digital tools: they are part of an integrated ecosystem in which each channel communicates, interacts and contributes to a brand’s common goals. Platforms such as Instagram or TikTok are not simply an extension of the communication strategy, but are now central hinges in the user journey, influencing both initial interactions with the brand and purchase decisions.

In the context of multichannel marketing, social competitor analysis therefore becomes crucial to optimize each content and message in an interconnected logic. A video on TikTok, for example, can generate conversations that are reflected on other social platforms or even in Google SERPs, significantly amplifying the brand’s overall visibility. This is especially true for keywords related to creative trends, where high-performing social content can help garrison new traffic channels.

Without focused attention, however, there is a risk of poorly integrating the social component within the overall strategy. Analyzing competitors on social offers insights into how to make the most of each platform’s specific formats and languages, and the increasingly close link between performance on these platforms and their spillover into complementary realms. It is no coincidence that Google often rewards content from YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, recognizing them as valuable feedback for some search intent.

Thus, integrating social competitor analysis data into a multichannel approach means contextually improving several aspects: from producing more relevant content to optimizing organic positioning and more targeted advertising campaigns. For a brand, being able to connect with its audience across multiple touch points can make the difference between being perceived as consistent and authoritative or as fragmented and ineffective.

Why do competitor analysis on social

Analyzing competitors on social media therefore allows you to better understand the market you are in, making more informed decisions about how to position your brand through valuable strategic insights into interpreting user needs and emerging trends.

Each observation provides useful signals to intervene more precisely in one’s communication and choice of channels to preside over.

Monitoring competitor strategies helps, for example, to assess which content attracts the most interactions, how often it is published, and how it reaches specific audiences on different platforms. Data collected in this way can support a reallocation of digital resources toward more effective formats and channels with more opportunities. This type of analysis does not just measure performance-it becomes a tool for identifying areas where one’s brand can differentiate and expand.

Taking such an approach means answering questions central to digital strategy: which attractive levers are getting the best results? Where are under-exploited niches emerging? How can you refine your message to better intercept audiences? Each piece of data collected, when integrated in a targeted way, helps to reinforce brand strengths and fill any gaps in online positioning.

Understanding the market and intercepting new needs

Observing social competitors is the equivalent of having a permanent focus group, where each interaction offers useful data to improve one’s proposition and allows for an up-to-date snapshot of the market that is not limited to static data. It is a way to discover emerging trends and to clarify what the target audience’s new needs are. For example, if a rival is having particular success with short-form content on TikTok, this may indicate a change in user preferences that prefer fast, direct messages.

Timely analysis also helps identify what is missing. What are users looking for that they are not finding from our brand or competitors? Observing posts with many comments requesting additional details or specific insights can reveal needs not yet fully met. This kind of knowledge is invaluable in guiding content production and positioning the message more precisely.

We also do not underestimate the importance of knowing the language of the audience. Analyzing the tone of voice and topics addressed by rivals provides insights into how to adapt our content to be more relevant and relevant.

Differentiate yourself and build a unique strategy

It is not enough to know what works for others: you need to translate those insights into a distinctive strategy that reflects your brand identity. One of the main risks of competitor analysis is the temptation to replicate the same tactics, but this approach often leads to an inauthentic and ineffective result. Instead, the goal is to identify untapped opportunities and areas where you can uniquely position yourself, perhaps starting with identifying your Jung archetype to have a clear pattern with which to stand out through symbolic messages that resonate with your audience.

For example, if a competitor focuses on exclusively visual content you may decide to differentiate yourself with a mix that includes informational videos or interactive formats. Or, if there are competitors that neglect a certain audience segment or do not preside over a specific platform (such as LinkedIn), you can fill that gap by offering more targeted messages or preside over that very channel.

In addition, the analysis offers insight into inefficiencies in rival strategies. If a piece of content gets poor results despite a high advertising budget, this could indicate a poorly designed message or inadequate targeting. Understanding these limitations allows you not only to avoid them, but to outperform competitors at critical points in their strategy.

Improve positioning on multiple platforms

Successful competitors use social media not only to establish direct relationships with audiences, but also as levers to strengthen their positioning in an integrated digital ecosystem. Understanding how they leverage these platforms can provide useful insights to increase their effectiveness not only on social, but also on Google and other digital touchpoints.

For example, social content that generates a lot of engagement (such as a viral video on TikTok or a YouTube tutorial) tends to improve brand visibility in SERPs as well. This happens because Google positively values strong signals of user interest, promoting content that comes from sources that are considered relevant or authoritative and offering them wider resonance.

In addition, the analysis highlights synergies between platforms: if a competitor promotes a piece of content with paid campaigns on multiple channels, it can be analyzed which messages are most successful and how these manage to transfer audiences from one social to another or to a website.

Basically, we need to understand that integration between social and other platforms is now a requirement for an effective strategy, and systematic competitor analysis helps us plan a coherent multichannel presence, making the most of both original content and interaction between the various channels used.

The preparatory steps: how to choose the right competitors

Before starting any analysis, the key step is to define which competitors to observe. A common mistake at this stage is to widen the field too much, including activities that do not offer relevant insights, or to narrow it down too much, risking losing useful information. Instead, the targeted choice of competitors allows you to focus your efforts on those who directly or indirectly affect your positioning, offering concrete strategic data.

Not all competitors have the same weight or relevance. This is why it is necessary to categorize them, distinguishing those who operate in our industry in a similar way (direct competitors) from those who might have a more indirect impact, perhaps intercepting a part of our audience with a different offer. In addition, an accurate assessment must also consider platform specificity: a relevant competitor on TikTok might have little relevance on LinkedIn or vice versa.

The preparatory phase, then, is to build a clear picture of the “players” to be monitored, based on both market dynamics and behavioral characteristics of the audience. Only in this way can we obtain a truly useful map for setting up the analysis.

Identifying direct and indirect competitors

To navigate the choice of competitors, it is necessary to distinguish between two main categories-direct and indirect competitors-because both provide different cues for strategy.

Direct competitors are those operating in the same industry and for the same target audience, offering a similar offering to ours. Their content, advertising activities, and social interactions reveal valuable information about strategies that work or fail in a context that directly affects us. For example, a sustainable clothing store will monitor other specific brands that sell green products to an audience with environmental sensitivities. These competitors are the most relevant because they share both the market niche and potential customers with us, and their success or failure provides clear indications of what to improve or focus on to stand out.

Indirect competitors, on the other hand, offer products or services different from ours, but still intercept the same target audience as us with complementary propositions. A typical example might be a company that sells natural dietary supplements, which finds fitness brands or organic food producers among its indirect competitors. These actors are not in direct competition with our core business, but they capture the attention of our audience with similar needs to those our product addresses. Analyzing them means identifying possible alternatives, intercepting opportunities for differentiation, and understanding how audiences distribute their interest among different solutions.

A useful method for identifying these categories is user journey analysis . Let’s ask ourselves: which brands or social profiles does our audience follow? What themes or topics related to our products are central to their preferences? Starting from audience behavior allows us to outline a more precise and structured list of competitors, avoiding waste of resources or analytical distractions.

Finally, it should be remembered that the concept of “relevance” should also be read through the lens of each platform. A very active and influential brand on Instagram might be marginal on TikTok, while a strong competitor on LinkedIn might have no influence on Facebook. Analyzing these specifics allows you to segment competitors more accurately, focusing on the profiles that really matter.

Tools for researching and selecting competitors

Once you have established the categories of competitors to analyze, you need to move on to specific tools to identify and monitor their social media activities. Technology offers different solutions and alternatives, which provide detailed data on activities, published content and active campaigns, helping to build a comprehensive overview of others’ strategies.

• Facebook Ad Library: This free Meta tool allows you to view all active ad campaigns of competitors on Facebook and Instagram. It provides visibility into competitors’ messages, targeting and ad investments, allowing you to understand which advertising approaches are getting the most attention. Analyzing sponsored content can reveal useful data on which messages or formats the most resources are being invested in, offering immediate insights into the types of audiences competitors are targeting.
• BuzzSumo: Useful for discovering the most successful content on social, BuzzSumo shows which articles, posts or videos are gaining wide engagement on platforms such as Facebook, X and LinkedIn. It provides engagement data and identifies trending topics, helping to identify which topics are most appealing to audiences, adapting to the needs of those doing competitor analytics that produce editorial content or storytelling.
• Not Just Analytics: This Instagram-specific tool provides a comprehensive snapshot of competitor accounts. It allows you to analyze detailed metrics such as follower growth, average interaction per post, and hashtag usage, and also allows you to assess the level of engagement of competitors, offering a glimpse into the best-performing formats and strategies.

Combining these tools allows you to build a clear picture of relevant competitors, both from an organic and paid perspective, providing insights into both the specific dynamics of each social media outlet and their integration into a broader multichannel strategy.

How to do social media competitor analysis: a practical guide

Turning to the practical aspects, we have said that doing social media competitor analysis means going beyond a casual and superficial observation of rivals, or limiting oneself to a direct comparison, to adopting a structured approach that integrates different perspectives, allowing one to build a data-driven strategic vision. Interpreting the actions of competitors requires method, precision and dedicated tools that help put what you observe into practice in a way that is relevant to your audience and brand goals.

The process starts by identifying who to analyze and which platforms they preside over most effectively. Precise elements need to be catalogued: the formats they use, the consistency of their publications, the type of topics they address, how their communication changes based on the stage of the user’s marketing funnel, or on which element of the funnel they are focusing their efforts primarily. The analysis should consider how often they interact with their audience and what tactics they use to induce interactions, such as comments, shares or saves. These signals do not simply offer a direct snapshot of the market, but highlight trends, user expectations, and communication gaps that we can turn into opportunities.

A hallmark of a structured analysis is the ability to distinguish between vanity metrics (total likes or followers) and data of real strategic value, such as engagement rates, hashtags that facilitate organic discovery, and the impact of promotional campaigns on major social. Integrating this data into an overall picture allows the relationship between competitor behavior and audience response to be visible, turning superficial observations into a guide for optimizing resources, budget and content.

A frequent mistake is to emulate the flashiest actions of competitors (e.g., highly visible brand awareness campaigns on TikTok) without assessing their relevance to one’s own brand values. Analyzing does not mean copying, but identifying applicable dynamics, reinterpreting competitors’ success to build a unique position in the market. It is only in comparison with industry data that this critical reinterpretation becomes a real differentiator.

Each step of a well-constructed analysis involves the interplay of multiple levels: observing behavior on the platform, interpreting the impact on audience perceptions, and applying the data in practice to optimize one’s digital communication. Addressing this process with a scalable method means turning a competitor analysis into a strategic lever capable of constantly improving the brand’s presence on social media.

Steps to analyze presence on platforms

The first step for effective analysis is to identify on which social platforms competitors are most active. We have already mentioned-and it is also quite intuitive-that not all channels have the same relevance for every brand: while Instagram or TikTok might be a priority for a company focused on visual content, for example, LinkedIn will carry more weight for brands aimed at the B2B world.

In addition, we should not overlook a “psychological” aspect: each platform responds to different user needs-we can roughly say, for example, that on TikTok people look for playful and immediate content, while on LinkedIn they prioritize networking and professional growth. This also ties in with the idea of Maslow’s pyramid, which emphasizes how users’ needs (from entertainment to self-actualization) determine the platforms on which they choose to interact most.

Observing the “presence” of competitors means evaluating several parameters. First, it is useful to understand which platforms they preside over and how often they post content-for example, a competitor who posts twice a day on TikTok and only once a week on Facebook is clearly investing more heavily on the former platform. Frequency helps to understand which channels they consider most strategic for reaching their audience.

Another aspect to monitor concerns continuity and consistency in their activity. Profiles that alternate periods of high activity with long breaks could signal a lack of strategic planning, while a consistent presence suggests a well-structured editorial plan. The total volume of content published also offers important indications: a competitor that produces a lot of content on one platform could dominate in terms of visibility and engagement, influencing a significant segment of the target audience.

Assessing content and its effectiveness

A central element of competitor analysis concerns the type of content they publish and its ability to attract audiences. The goal is to understand what works, why it works, and how to replicate or exceed that model in a customized way.

First, you need to categorize the content you publish: is it mostly video, posts with images, stories, or carousels? Each format meets a different need, and observing a competitor’s preferences helps to intuit what types of content generate the most interaction for their target audience. For example, a brand that is active on YouTube with detailed tutorials shows that it wants to educate its audience, while a brand that invests in Instagram Stories shows an intention to create immediate and light engagement.

In addition to the format, it is crucial to analyze the message being conveyed: what themes do they address? What tone of voice do they use? Do they focus on entertainment, education, or explicit product promotion? Each choice tells a precise strategy of positioning and optimizing the customer experience, tailoring content according to what is most effective in capturing interest and emotion. For example, a competitor that frequently publishes informational content may want to educate and build audience loyalty, while another that focuses on emotional or lifestyle posts wants to create emotional closeness. This approach is also supported by the principles of neuromarketing, which studies how visual and cognitive stimuli influence users’ choices and behaviors on social media.

Data provided by social media analytics tools such as BuzzSumo or Sprout Social can offer accurate metrics on the effectiveness of this content, such as share and view rates. Having this information allows you to understand not only the best-performing content, but also to evaluate whether and how to incorporate it into your strategy in an original way.

Study engagement rate and audience engagement

Engagement is one of the most direct indicators of the effectiveness of a social strategy. Understanding how much and how audiences interact with competitor content helps you assess its impact and identify the most engaging formats. Interactions generate loyalty and bring the audience closer to the brand, building a lasting relationship, and this allows you to discover the most effective levers for building brand loyalty, retaining audiences over the long term.

Key metrics to be analyzed include comments, likes, shares and saves. Comments, in particular, offer qualitative information: reading user responses can reveal what needs or expectations are being met (or ignored) by the competitor-and conversational marketing leverages these direct interactions to create an ongoing, meaningful dialogue, driving both user and brand toward a more authentic connection. The sharing rate-that is, the frequency with which a piece of content is circulated by users-also indicates which topics or formats generate the most interest.

To support this process, tools such as Hootsuite or Social Blade enable detailed monitoring of competitor engagement and segment data by platform. Such a study makes it possible to identify not only the periods of highest interaction, but also any peaks related to particular advertising campaigns or specific events.

Monitor the use of hashtags and social keywords

Long an inescapable symbol of social language, today hashtags are undergoing an evolution that reshapes their strategic value. Their usefulness continues to be debated, especially in light of recent changes on major platforms. On X, for example, the “#” symbol has been dropped as an active element, highlighting a radical shift in the platform’s philosophy. At the same time, Instagram has eliminated the “Follow Hashtags” feature, making clear how the algorithm is gaining more and more weight in content discovery, downsizing the contribution of hashtags themselves.

Despite this context, some platforms continue to use them as levers to attract specific segments. On Instagram and TikTok, for example, niche hashtags still play a role in connecting with targeted targets, although their direct impact on visibility is less reliable than in the past. Analyzing which hashtags are selected by competitors-and with what results-is still a significant step when monitoring their social strategy. This includes cataloging not only the most used ones, but more importantly assessing their consistency with their content and target audience.

A practical example is the differentiated use of generic versus specific hashtags: if a competitor in the wellness market is using #Yoga as the main tag, but integrating highly targeted hashtags such as #YogaForPrincipals, they are clearly targeting a sub-segment of the audience that is more receptive to the specific content. This practice presents a scholarly opportunity to discover new niches or strengthen one’s focus on underattended topics. However, monitoring hashtags alone is not enough: it is essential to identify the real impact these tags have on audience reach and engagement.

Tools such as Not Just Analytics or Hashtagify are useful for observing how certain hashtags contribute to competitors’ social strategies. They make it possible to identify which tags continue to generate meaningful interactions and which, on the other hand, are used more out of habit than actual effectiveness. In contexts where hashtags lose centrality, such as on X or with recent Instagram updates, it becomes even more evident that analytics must be integrated with the platforms’ new algorithmic discovery tools.

Strategic observation of hashtags can also be linked to keyword monitoring in SERPs where social content has significant relevance. For example, SEOZoom’s Social Opportunities feature provides useful insights into what types of social posts or videos are already visible on Google for specific queries, helping us identify topics where the success of a piece of content is not limited to social channels, but extends to the entire digital ecosystem, creating more impactful multichannel strategies.

Not just social: virality today is multichannel

Today, however, the analysis of competitors on social media can no longer stop at just evaluating their performance on social platforms: there is a new form of “virality ” that crosses the boundary of Instagram or TikTok and is intertwined with organic traffic from Google, creating a synergy that shifts the dynamics of visibility. Again, the key word is multichannel: content that works not only generates interactions or shares on a single platform, but also becomes a driver of visibility in SERPs, reaching audiences and traffic from different sources.

This implies that it is necessary to create content that can have a longer life, expanding its reach beyond the boundaries of the source social, taking an approach that expands the potential audience and develops an integrated system that turns each piece of content into an opportunity to generate visibility through increasingly connected digital pathways.

This evolution is driven by Google’s trend of placing posts and videos from social networks directly in search results. Platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and even Pinterest regularly appear in the Top 10 for specific keywords, offering brands that preside over these channels an organic boost that goes beyond the boundaries of the original platform.

We must then keep in mind that our analysis of a piece of content must evaluate the impact it generates on the social platform where it is published but, if possible, also the effect it can have in gaining organic visibility through Google.

This new concept of virality makes the integration of social and SERP analysis a must for those who want to maximize results. Viral content is not only that which gets millions of views on TikTok or Instagram, but it is also that which intercepts new traffic opportunities because it is visible to a wider audience through Google. This is one of the opportunities presented by the meeting of social media and search engines: content designed to be attractive on one platform can become a means of amplifying visibility through mixed sources.

SEOZoom’s Social Opportunities feature does just that: identify the topics and keywords that “activate” this synergy. It analyzes which queries already see social content ranking in SERPs and suggests the most relevant formats to intercept both social and organic traffic, offering the right insights to build a multichannel strategy that harnesses the potential of well-optimized social content to give additional visibility on Google, connecting different audience touchpoints in a consistent and effective way.

How to use Social Opportunities to expand visibility

It is from “times not suspected” that at SEOZoom we have sensed the growing importance of social content in the organic context, integrating specific tools to support more informed and targeted planning.

The reference is, as mentioned, Social Opportunities, which analyzes, within a given industry or for a set of defined competitors, which keywords already see social content occupying relevant positions in Google SERPs. The results can come from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or even UGC platforms such as Quora or Reddit, providing a detailed overview of the queries where social is demonstrating a strong impact in terms of organic rankings.

The practical application of this data is clear: If Google is ranking social content for a certain keyword, it is a sign that it has identified those formats (e.g., short videos, visual posts, or tutorials) as an effective answer to meet the user’s search intent. For brands, this translates into the ability to diversify their approach and invest in similar content, maximizing both social engagement and organic traffic.

The multichannel scenario and the benefits of an integrated strategy

We can no longer work on individual platforms and think in “watertight compartments”: today, audiences move plastically between social media, search engines, YouTube videos, and posts that randomly appear in their SERPs, and the ability to integrate into this nonlinear path is what distinguishes a well-positioned company from one that risks falling behind.

An effective multichannel strategy must work on multiple levels, maintaining a consistent message while adapting to the specifics of each platform. Competitor analysis plays a key role in this process, as it allows one to identify the channels manned by rivals and understand which configurations yield the best results. For example, if a brand is using LinkedIn to build authority among professionals and TikTok to generate creative engagement, it is taking full advantage of the peculiarities of each social.

Data collected on social, when combined with data from SEO tools, further amplifies these insights. A concrete example? Identify keywords with strong performance on both Instagram and Google, then invest in creating content that can simultaneously rank organically and gain social visibility. This dual function not only strengthens the brand’s authority, but also places it at multiple points in the user journey, intercepting different needs with the same message.

In addition, multichanneling allows leveraging the different strengths of platforms: from interactive reels on Instagram that increase brand awareness to long-form videos on YouTube that educate and convert, to SEO-friendly content that presides over informational queries. This integrated approach enhances the value of each piece of content produced, preventing resources invested in one channel from being scattered or ineffective.

The key is to build a digital presence that is not just multiplatform, but one that can seamlessly connect the various assets. Analyses such as those offered by the Social Opportunities feature allow you to identify keywords where competitors are already using multichannel content, paving the way for editorial plans that weave together the best formats of each platform with the ability to also rank organically on Google.

Common mistakes to avoid in social competitor analysis

Social media competitor analysis offers a significant competitive advantage, but only if conducted critically: conceptual or methodical errors can turn this activity from a strategic opportunity to a waste of time and resources. These mistakes are not just about mismanagement of analytics, but often stem from a lack of clear objectives, blind imitation of others’ tactics, or superficial interpretation of collected data. Recognizing the obstacles and learning how to avoid them enables truly useful analysis based on concrete and applicable insights.

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One of the main mistakes is to reduce analysis to a passive comparison exercise. To simply look at metrics such as follower count or post frequency without questioning the strategies and goals that drive these actions is to forgo the real value of this process. Metrics should always be contextualized: a high follower count or seemingly high engagement may not have a significant impact if the content does not meet clear intentions or if the audience generated is not really interested.

Another common mistake is to emulate competitors’ strategies without adapting them to one’s own brand and positioning. Copying formats or content might seem like a shortcut to similar results, but it risks damaging alienating audiences and compromising brand identity, which is precisely the ability to stand out through an authentic message and image consistent with values. An effective strategy starts with critical analysis: observing not to imitate, but to understand what works, why it works, and how to reinterpret it in a way that is consistent with one’s values and goals.

Also often missing is a clear definition of goals before starting the analysis. Without establishing KPIs to monitor, the analysis risks becoming a scattered and unproductive activity. It is essential to ask: What do we want to improve? Increased engagement? Presence on new platforms? Optimization of content for a specific audience? Only with defined objectives is it possible to convert collected data into informed and actionable strategic choices.

Finally, not using appropriate tools is a limitation that slows or undermines the entire process. Existing analytics tools offer a wealth of data that far exceeds what can be collected manually. Ignoring this opportunity fails to focus on key aspects such as audience behavior, campaign performance or the effectiveness of hashtags chosen by competitors. Technology, when used correctly, speeds up analysis and enables the identification of recurring patterns on which to build strategic decisions.

Emulating instead of adapting strategies

One of the most common mistakes in analyzing competitors is to fall into mere imitation of their tactics. It is natural to be attracted to strategies that seem to work, especially when a rival achieves significant results with a piece of content or campaign. However, imitating without proper personalization leads to negative consequences: you lose the authenticity of your brand and risk communicating a message that is inconsistent with your identity.

Every brand has a unique positioning and interacts with its audience in a specific way. Replicating a format or style without considering one’s own characteristics and target audience can give the impression of a brand lacking personality. For example, a competitor that publishes humorous and light-hearted content might gain great engagement, but imitating this strategy without a connection to one’s brand voice could be contrived and counterproductive.

Emulation also does not take into account organizational resources and internal constraints. A competitor with a large budget can afford high-level video campaigns, but trying to replicate the same mode without having the same means can lead to disappointing and frustrating results. The key is to observe and understand the “why ” of a winning strategy and then tailor it to your own needs and capabilities.

A correct approach is to identify what makes a given tactic effective-be it format, content, or mode of interaction-and reinterpret it according to one’s own identity. Monitoring competitors’ mistakes is equally useful: poor audience response or frequent changes in strategies can indicate flaws that one’s brand can avoid, thereby strengthening its presence in a more informed and original way.

Doing analysis without clear objectives

Analyzing competitors without a clear direction is tantamount to collecting unusable data. Often, those who initiate an analysis focus on superficial aspects, such as the number of competitors’ likes or followers, without connecting them to concrete goals. This approach not only makes information gathering sterile, but risks generating confusion or strategic choices based on meaningless metrics.

To avoid this mistake, it is essential to start by clearly defining your KPIs and establishing what you want to achieve from the analysis. Goals can vary: from improving content engagement, to strengthening your organic visibility, to identifying new formats or channels to invest in. Once the KPIs are defined, any data observed during the analysis must be measured against these metrics.

For example, if the goal is to improve the frequency of the target audience on TikTok, the analysis should focus on metrics such as video views, comments, and the type of content that attracts the most attention. Looking only at a competitor’s number of followers without examining actual audience interaction will not offer any useful information for structuring a targeted strategy.

Time is also a crucial variable. Without clear objectives, analysis risks becoming a repetitive and wasteful activity with no real return in terms of strategic learning. Instead, with a structured plan, specific timeframes and approaches can be established to gather periodic information that provides up-to-date, actionable insights.

Analyzing competitors on social media: FAQs and doubts to clarify

Gathering information about competitors on social media is a process that often raises practical questions and doubts. How to set up an effective analysis? What tools to use? What data have a real impact on a strategy? The complexity of platforms and the constant evolution of algorithms make it necessary to have a structured, yet flexible approach that can adapt to the specific needs of one’s brand.

In this section we answer the most frequent questions that arise when dealing with the topic of competitor analysis on social, trying to provide concrete, immediate and applicable answers. The goal is to clarify the main doubts and offer practical support to start or improve this activity. From the most useful technologies to methods for integrating the collected data into a broader strategy, we will analyze the key questions most often asked by marketers and content creators.

1. What is social competitor analysis?

Social competitor analysis is the process of observing and evaluating the activities of competing brands on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn or Facebook. This process allows you to collect data on content, engagement and communication strategies to better understand your market and optimize your campaigns. It is not just about monitoring competitors’ actions, but interpreting their successes and difficulties to create customized strategies consistent with one’s goals.

2. What is meant by benchmarking?

Benchmarking is a process of analyzing and comparing one’s company’s performance with that of key competitors or industry standards. In the context of social media, it means measuring metrics such as engagement, follower growth or content quality against the performance of direct or indirect rivals. The goal is not to emulate, but to identify areas for improvement and optimize one’s strategies to gain competitive advantages in visibility and engagement.

3. How to understand what social competitors are?

To identify social competitors, you need to start by looking at those who operate in the same industry and address your target audience. It is useful to distinguish between:

• Direct competitors: brands that offer services or products similar to your own.
• Indirect competitors: brands that meet the same audience needs, but with different offerings.

Analyzing industry keywords or observing Google SERPs allows you to identify brands that effectively rank on the social platforms most relevant to your niche market.

4. How to analyze competitors on social?

To effectively analyze competitors on social, it is necessary to follow a structured approach:

• Identify key competitors (direct and indirect).
• Monitor the platforms on which they are active and the content they publish.
• Assess metrics such as engagement rate, posting frequency and targeting strategies.
• Use tools such as Not Just Analytics or BuzzSumo to collect useful data.

Integrating this data into the strategic plan allows you to intercept trends and improve brand performance.

5. What tools are essential for social competitor analysis?

Essential tools include platforms such as Not Just Analytics, useful for monitoring follower growth and hashtag usage on Instagram; BuzzSumo, ideal for analyzing engagement generated by content; and Facebook Ad Library, for discovering active ad campaigns on social. For a multichannel perspective, using SEOZoom – Social Opportunities helps link social data to organic visibility on Google.

6. How to include social analytics in a broader strategy?

To integrate it effectively, social analytics must dialogue with other areas of digital marketing. The data collected must be converted into actions that also involve SEO, paid advertising and content marketing. For example, if we observe that competitors perform well with short videos on TikTok associated with strategic keywords, we can leverage this data to create similar content that presides over both social and SERPs.

7. How often should competitors be analyzed?

Analysis should be a recurring process, but the frequency depends on the dynamic nature of the industry. For highly competitive and fast-paced industries, such as fashion or tech, we recommend a monthly review to stay up-to-date on trends and any changes. In more stable segments, a quarterly review accompanied by timely monitoring at seasonal events or new product launches may suffice.

8. Is it better to focus on a few competitors or a large list?

It depends on the objective of the analysis. A narrow list of direct competitors allows for more in-depth monitoring, while a broader approach can include insights from indirect competitors and market trends. The key is to balance the amount of information gathered with the ability to analyze it effectively.

9. Is it possible to measure whether competitor engagement is genuine?

Yes, there are tools to analyze the quality of engagement. For example, Not Just Analytics provides information on the percentage of genuine followers and the ratio of interactions to a competitor’s community size. If the number of likes appears disproportionate to the comments or traffic generated, it could indicate the use of bots or non-organic practices.

10. Does it make sense to analyze competitors who are not in my industry?

Yes, it can be useful if the target audience is similar. Indirect competitors allow you to capture trends and techniques that could be adapted to stand out in your market. For example, a company that sells wellness items might take cues from fitness brands for visual content or seasonal campaigns.

11. Which metrics are most important to monitor on social?

Specific metrics vary from platform to platform. However, key measurements include engagement rate (likes, comments, shares), follower growth , average number of interactions per post, and effectiveness of hashtags used. Tools such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social help collect this data in a systematic way.

12. How to leverage social data to improve Google rankings?

Observing social content that ranks in SERPs allows you to plan more effective multichannel campaigns. For example, SEOZoom’s Social Opportunities feature highlights which keywords see social content within Google’s SERPs. Creating videos or posts optimized for those keywords allows you to preside over both social media and organic search with the same content.

13. How important are hashtags in the current era?

The role of hashtags is shrinking, especially on platforms like X (where they are no longer functional) or Instagram (where the “Follow Hashtag” feature has been removed). However, they remain useful on platforms like TikTok, as long as they are carefully chosen to foster visibility with specific audiences.

14. How to avoid copying competitors’ strategies?

Rather than imitating, one should analyze the “why” behind successful tactics and see if they can be reinterpreted in a way that is consistent with one’s brand. For example, if a competitor uses an ironic tone of voice and gets results, the answer is not to copy it, but to figure out how to attract the same audience while remaining authentic in communication.

15. How long does an in-depth analysis take?

The duration depends on the depth of the analysis and the number of competitors monitored. Basic monitoring may take only a day’s work, while a more detailed analysis involving tracking and reporting tools usually requires a week of planning and study. Automating some parts of the process with dedicated software can greatly reduce the time.

16. How to manage analysis for multiple platforms in parallel?

Using aggregated tools such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social allows you to centralize data and track activities more efficiently. However, it is crucial to remember that each platform has specific dynamics and metrics: an analysis on TikTok will require a different approach than on LinkedIn, which is why monitoring should be customized for each channel.