Monitoring Your Competitors on Social Media — Without Breaking the Rules

It may seem sneaky to be keeping an eye on your competitors, but it really is the only way to stay updated while improving your own strategies. You should note that there is a way to monitor your competitors on social media — without breaking the rules.

 

The world of PR and marketing is incredibly fast-paced, which is why it is vital to monitor your competitors so that you can gain crucial insights — from campaign timing and messaging to audience engagement tactics and brand tone. But it must be done ethically and strategically.

 

What Is Competitive Social Media Monitoring?

This is the process of tracking your competitors’ online activity, mentions and strategies. The key difference between monitoring and spying is:

• monitoring is where you gather public data, and 

• spying is when you make use of unethical practices like data scraping behind paywalls or private groups.

 

What You Can Legally and Ethically Monitor

So, what can you legally and ethically monitor on social media? 

• public social media posts (tweets, Instagram posts, Facebook page content)

• engagement metrics (likes, shares and comments)

• branded hashtags and campaign tags

• mentions and sentiment around competitor brands

• influencer partnerships and promotions, and

• content formats and publishing frequency.

 

What You Should Avoid

It’s important to note that there are some things you should avoid at all costs because this can damage your brand image, such as:

• monitoring private accounts or closed groups

• impersonating users to gain access to closed competitor info

• automated scraping of sensitive or private data, and

• engaging in negative commenting or trolling on competitor posts.

 

How to Use Competitive Insights Strategically

Now that you have the insights, how can you use them? You can:

• identify content gaps or opportunities your brand can capitalise on

• benchmark your engagement versus your competitors

• see what campaigns are working for them — and why

• understand which platforms they’re focusing on, and

• track share of voice in industry conversations.

 

If you are interested in social media monitoring, click here!

If you enjoyed this blog, take a look at Eight Essential Tips to Work Smarter on Social Media.

*Image courtesy of Canva