Have you ever used social media to “creep” on someone before? The answer is yes, everyone has. Using social media is a great way to find out what people or businesses are up to. You can figure out their likes and dislikes, their goals, and understand how they “run” things. As a small business owner, you must visit your competitor’s social media sites and figure out how they are doing in your industry. You can learn a lot from your competition, so make sure you frequently “creep” on them.
By visiting your competitor’s social media sites, you can see which social media site performs the best in your industry. Not every social media platform is the best, sometimes one may be a better fit for a company. This allows your business to focus your social media efforts on one or two particular sites. If a small business does not have help from an outside source, it can get overwhelming to be on multiple social networks. Investigate which social network sites work best for your competitors and choose the network sites that will gain the most engagement with your target audience.
Have you ever been completely stumped and could not come up with new content? It’s okay, it happens to everyone. Look to your competitors to find inspiration. Of course, do not copy their work, but gather ideas to create new content. See which images or posts got your competitors the most likes and comments, then try to draft up something similar. And hey, Thomas Edison would have never invented the lightbulb if it wasn’t for Ben Franklin’s discovery of electricity.
Figure out when and where your competitors post their content. Some businesses have found the perfect time to post content, knowing they will get the most likes and engagements. You should also use these days and times for your small business’s content. The main purpose of social media is to get the most likes and shares and struck up conversations with your consumers. Many businesses discovered lunch hour and morning/evening commute to work, was the best time to post to social media.
Another great tip to learn from your competitors is discovering what posts may not have worked for their businesses. Some of their posts may have shown the least amount of social engagement with a small number of likes. You can avoid mistakes they might have already encountered. Remember to always visit your competitor’s social media sites, and never feel weird to “creep” on your competition.
Do you visit other businesses’ social media sites for content ideas? Please comment your thoughts in the box below.
Use Social Media to Keep an Eye on Your Competitors