Written by ContentPowered.com
Building the reputation of a brand online has a lot to do with standing out over the competition. Take a look at their social media presence to gain insight on which tactics are the most successful. There are 25 important things you can learn from taking a thorough examination of a major competitor’s Facebook.
Business Strengths
The unique strengths of a brand is the reason that customers become a fan of one business over another in the same industry. Get acquainted with the competitor’s good points to stay above their level and eventually win customers over by adding to that success.
Business Weaknesses
Every brand has areas that they do not perform as well as the customers may like. Perhaps they charge too much for a service, or there are not enough options to customize a great product. Make note of key weaknesses to find solutions that entice customers choose to stray from the competition.
Positive Customer Feedback
On the main page of a business, there is an option for viewing the most recent customer comments. A follower typically gets very specific in identifying the reason they became a fan, either through great service or a new product that they cannot live without. No matter what type of brand it is, loyal customers do stop in to let them know how great they are doing in certain aspects.
Negative Customer Feedback
The most satisfying way to resolve anger or disappointment in an established company is to sound off in the same way that happy customers do. This exposes flaws that drive a person to seek a more suitable alternative in the same industry. It is easy to gain a new follower by simply solving the issues they have with the competitor.
Positive Interaction Etiquette
Facebook changed the way that a business is able to make contact with fans and potential customers. If they feel that there is a real person on the other side listening to their words, there is a unique sense of involvement. Use a competitor’s interactions to learn how to communicate effectively without stepping over boundaries or sounding too robotic.
Responses To Negative Criticism
The worst thing to do in response to a bad comment is to engage in a heated debate. Identify the way that the other company handles negativity to come up with a way to let the consumer know that their voice is being heard. Taking responsibility for an issue is not an admission of personal fault, but merely a way to make the customer understand that someone is listening.
Page Design
This one is pretty straightforward in terms of why it is useful to know. Strive to be different by standing out rather than follow similarly and blend in.
Prices
Find out how your current prices stand up against the competition by doing a side-by-side comparison. This is the easiest way to know when you may be able to charge more, or you are driving people away by charging too much.
Services Offered
A similar business is going to offer the same services that you do, but with their own unique variation. Stay on top by adopting any new ideas they come up with and adding an innovation or better value.
Popular Products
Selling products can be a lot of trial and error for a business that is just getting its feet wet in the world. The competitor already has experience with narrowing down products that sell the best.
New Industry Trends
A successful business does the constant work to stay ahead of emerging trends within their specific industry. Pay attention to news that they share to get hints on what they are working on next.
Where They Get New Information
New businesses are usually not aware of insider secrets pertaining to their industry in the very beginning. The Facebook profile may mention attending seminars, training schools, or conferences that could be useful to you.
Appreciation For Diversity
It is not necessary to mimic every business practice of the competition in order to succeed in the big picture. Only adopt services that can be confidently performed, and find a way to be unique in your own way
How To Market
A major recall or newsworthy issue involving the other business is the perfect time to market your superiority. For example, a seafood company is exposed for an outbreak of food poisoning among recent patrons. Advertise that your food is delivered daily and cooked fresh for a chance to win over concerned customers.
Tactics That Gain The Most Page Likes
Observe the number of fans a page has, and compare every once in a while with exactly what changed for the amount to grow. If people respond when a new product is announced or a contest is started, use that to help your own page. It never hurts to know how to get jump start in attracting new people.
Page Insights
An exclusive Facebook feature that tracks raw statistics constantly monitors the amount of fan likes a page has. This includes gaining and losing indicators to helps to encourage you work toward the numbers that you have the potential to reach.
Promotions That Pay Off
Sponsoring a contest or major giveaway with a good reward must be worth the sacrifice in the end result. There is no need to experiment with which promotions are the most effective when there is a competitor out there providing the research data. Taking the time to gauge the interest of fans in specific promotion types is much better than wasting money unnecessarily.
Facebook allows for content uploads in a choice of either status, photo, or video. Check the number of shares and comments received on each type to decide where to put the most focus. It is smart to mix in the other two types, but if people are more interested in pictures, give them what they want.
Frequency and Timing Of Updates
There are statistics that prove days and times that people of certain age groups are more likely to be online. Rather than dig into numerical evidence, take the lead from the timing that the competition uses in posting their updates. Use the frequency pattern that they use to determine how to implement your strategy. If they post too often or not enough, it can easily be corrected when running your own Facebook.
Who The Audience Is
The personality and age of the people most interested in the goods or services of a brand is extremely important in communication. Use the competitor to find out the age, sex, and personality type of typical individuals your business is going to appeal to.
Locations Of Customers
Internet marketing opens up the entire world as a potential customer base. Use the competition’s fans to find out where the majority of people are located. This is important for giveaways, contests, and overall outreach to consumers that may not be local.
Who They Follow
Using the competition is not a brand new idea, and it is likely that the brand you are learning from has done the same. Check out their favorite pages to observe the practices by more than one relevant competitor.
A Good Balance Of Information
The ability to easily expose weak business practices in competitors helps you to keep from sharing too much. Be open about positive things, and come up with a way to avoid obvious criticism from being displayed.
Blog and Content Strategy
A lot of successful businesses have a presence over every platform possible to use the numbers to their advantage. If consumers are most frequently interacting with written content, perhaps it is best to run a blog alongside the Facebook. Find out what is the most interesting to your specific demographic and use those hints to form a content strategy.
Additional Platforms That Work
Check out the other social media networks that have a large fan base for a similar company before deciding to branch out. A lot of brands simply use identical content across multiple platforms for optimal exposure.
