The Power of Comparison – Using Industry Benchmarks to Enhance Social Media Marketing

Social media benchmarking can help businesses improve their performance and stay competitive. It can also help them set realistic goals and focus their efforts. However, it’s essential to be aware of the downsides of social comparison.

Continuous striving for improvement can drain a business’s resources. An AI-powered social media analytics solution can help businesses keep their metrics on track and define new strategies based on their beginning goals.

Benchmarking is a great way to improve your social media strategy.

A business that performs benchmarking will better understand how they stack up against the competition. This will allow them to make strategic decisions to improve their social media performance. The first step in this process is deciding what metrics to analyze. Management should consider their company goals and choose the most important ones to measure.

Once the relevant data is collected, it must be analyzed to conclude. This will help you understand what your competitors are doing well and where there is room for improvement. It is also helpful to compare the results of past marketing campaigns with those of your current ones.

You can create custom benchmark reports by industry, brand, or even network-level detail using a tool. These reports can provide a comprehensive picture of your social media program’s performance and growth. For example, if your competitor’s Instagram followers are growing faster than yours, this may be an opportunity to learn from them.

It helps you set realistic goals.

Benchmarking can be as granular as comparing specific metrics to a particular brand or as broad as evaluating industry performance through an average. Regardless of the scope, setting realistic goals that can be interpreted and achieved is critical. Whether you’re measuring year-over-year data for a strategic report or monthly data to track progress on specific campaigns, this is true.

In digital marketing, businesses often refer to social media industry benchmarks. This valuable tool allows them to gauge their performance against industry standards, guiding them in refining their strategies for better results.

Using industry benchmarks also helps you keep your company’s competitive edge. For instance, if you have the lowest sales close rate in your industry, it might be time to overhaul your internal process or find new ways to engage customers.

While it’s important to avoid comparing yourself to much larger or smaller businesses, studying competitors with similar revenue levels is essential. This will help you understand what they’re doing right and how to improve your strategy. For example, if a competitor can get more leads from their website, you might want to look into SEO or content marketing to improve your performance.

It helps you focus your efforts.

Industry benchmarks help you focus your efforts on measurable, achievable goals. They help you identify gaps and provide insight into how to close them. Benchmarking can also reveal opportunities that you may have overlooked. For example, if you realize that your sales process could be improved compared to the competition, you can improve it.

Internal benchmarking can compare operations and processes between departments or offices. This can help you establish standards and procedures company-wide. Alternatively, you can use external benchmarking to compare your business against direct competitors. This can help you identify areas of opportunity and improve your marketing strategy.

Tracking industry benchmarks alongside your historical data is essential, as the results can vary wildly. It would help to focus on metrics that matter most for your brand. This may include total traffic or the percentage of in-market visitors. These metrics can help you determine how your social media campaigns perform and what adjustments are necessary to reach your goals.

It helps you stay competitive.

Benchmarking can be a great way to keep up with competitors. By comparing your products and services to your competitors, you can find your strengths and weaknesses in the market. It can also help you identify opportunities for new business. Competitive benchmarking can involve analyzing internal operations as well as external processes. It can also include evaluating businesses outside your industry for inspiration and strategic orientations.

While tracking pre-existing KPIs is a good start, taking a more expansive approach to benchmarking is essential. For example, suppose your competitor’s sales numbers are increasing, but yours are stagnating. This may indicate that you should focus more on customer satisfaction initiatives or change your marketing strategy altogether.

This type of benchmarking can be as granular as pitting one specific metric against another or as broad as comparing overall performance through an industry average. By using a combination of internal and external data, it’s possible to create a comprehensive overview of social media performance.