How to do a competitor analysis in digital marketing

Competition in business is an amazing thing. Competitors push you to achieve more. Also, they show us what we are capable of achieving. But it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on your competition and do frequent competitor analyses. This is especially true in the digital marketing world where things change so quickly!

Competitor Analysis

Doing a competitor analysis helps you:

• To compare topics, tactics, and channels that drive market performance for you and your competition
• Find opportunities to differentiate your brand and beat your competition
• Gather digital consumer insights to make informed decisions about your digital marketing strategy
• Establish where you are in comparison to your competition, industry leaders, and market influencers.

Kenichi Ohmae said, “Without competitors, there would be no need for strategy,” So, to give you a head start on your competitors, here’s how to do a competitor analysis in digital marketing:

Choose the right key performance indicators (KPIs)

Analysing how your competitors’ audience is growing, how many times they are posting, and how their followers engage will give you incredible insights to build your digital marketing strategy.

Five simple steps to get started with a KPI framework

In order to get started with a KPI framework, ask the following five questions:

1. What is your business goal?
2. Do you have the relevant data and capacity to put together the framework?
3. How can you improve your performance metrics?
4. Who is going to be making use of your framework? Is it internal, or external?
5. How are they displayed?

Your KPI framework will never be the same as the next person’s. This is because it is personal to your brand goals and your strategy requirements. Keep the next points in mind when creating this framework:

• Are they measurable?
• Do they drive towards the benefits you are trying to deliver for the consumer?
• Do they align with your brand’s objectives?
• Are they realistic?
• Can you regularly measure and report on them?

It is important that you do not mistake certain measures – such as a positive review – for KPIs  because these are not measurable or quantitative. Set up an evaluation framework that you can review at the end of each month. Your measures will adjust as you work out what is valuable to your brand and what is not.

Once you have set up KPIs that are valuable, measurable and realistic for you and your brand, explain the relevance of these measures. KPIs can easily become null and void if teams outside of your brand, or even inside your brand, do not understand the importance of measuring and tracking performance.

Find the right marketing channels

Are your competitors using emails, blogs, social media, their websites or search engines to reach and engage with their target audience? Why is this important to know? Well, if they are on these channels and you are not, you are missing out on talking to your target audience.

Identify your competitors’ position in the market

Have a look at your competitors’ positioning strategy, and soon you’ll have a much-improved concept of what your target market is looking for. Ask questions such as, “Are their customers buying from them because of the price or experience?” or “What makes them unique?”

Review their social media

One of the best places to analyse your competitors is their social media. Social media pages show what works well and what doesn’t in terms of engagement. It also gives you access to their customers’ minds with reviews and comments.

Don’t get left in your competitors’ dust! Start doing competitor analyses and see how your business will benefit from it. Have you done a competitor analysis? What are some of the benefits you have experienced?

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Become a professional in digital marketing with the Digital School of Marketing’s (DSM’s) Digital Marketing Course. After completing this qualification, you will be an SEO expert, social media marketing specialist and digital marketer aficionado. If you are prepared to learn digital marketing and boost yourself in the fastest-growing occupation that we have yet to see, then this course is just for you!