How to run a competitor analysis on social media

Studying competitors on social media tells you what your shared audience responds to, which formats are working in your niche and where there's an opening. It's research, not imitation. Done monthly, it takes a couple of hours.

1. Choose who to track

Pick 5 to 10 accounts across three groups:

• Direct competitors: same product, same customer.
• Indirect competitors: different product solving the same problem.
• Category leaders and creators: accounts your audience follows regardless of product.

Include a couple of smaller, fast-growing accounts; they often show what's newly working.

2. Record the basics

For each account, note:

• Platforms and handles
• Follower counts and growth over time
• Posting frequency
• Main formats (slideshow, talking head, carousel, thread)
• Content pillars and recurring series
• Tone and style
• Calls to action and where they send people
• Use of creators, UGC or ads

A simple spreadsheet is enough.

3. Find what's actually working

Don't rely on likes alone. Look for outliers: posts that perform far above the account's usual level. Record for each:

• The hook (first line or frame)
• The format and length
• The topic and angle
• Engagement relative to follower count
• Comments: what did people say? Questions, objections, requests?

Then ask why it worked. Was it the hook, the topic, the format, timing or a trend?

Some tools rank posts by outlier score (views compared with followers), which speeds this up.

4. Read the comments

Comments are free market research. Look for:

• Repeated questions you can answer better.
• Complaints about the competitor's product or service.
• Features people request.
• Words customers use to describe the problem.

Use this for content ideas and positioning. Avoid targeting individuals or posting anything that misrepresents a competitor.

5. Look for gaps

• Topics your audience asks about that nobody covers.
• Formats competitors don't use.
• Segments they ignore.
• Weak quality: thin, outdated or overly promotional content.
• Platforms where they're absent.

Gaps are opportunities to differentiate, not just to match.

6. Turn findings into actions

For each insight, decide:

• Adopt: a format or topic that works and fits you.
• Adapt: a mechanic you can rebuild around your own product (remixing without copying).
• Avoid: something that consistently flops.
• Differentiate: a gap you can own.

Add the resulting ideas to your content calendar.

Ethics and legality

• Use only public information.
• Don't copy content, scripts, images or footage.
• Don't impersonate or mislead.
• Follow platform terms about data collection.
• Keep claims about competitors accurate and fair.

A monthly routine

1. Refresh the spreadsheet (30 min).
2. Review top posts from the past month (30 min).
3. Skim comments for insights (20 min).
4. Write three to five action items (20 min).
5. Share highlights with the team.

What not to do

• Copy a competitor's whole strategy. Their audience, budget and goals differ.
• Obsess over their follower count.
• Ignore your own data. Your analytics matter more than theirs (TikTok analytics).