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Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

Influencer marketing is evolving, and so is the way brands measure success. That’s why Meltwater is proud to announce a new partnership with YouTube, integrating YouTube’s Creator Partnerships API directly into our Influencer Marketing platform.

Introducing Verified YouTube Data in Meltwater Influencer Marketing

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

You see your competitors crushing it on social media with tons of comments and shares, while you’re spinning your wheels trying to get a few likes. What’s their secret sauce? 

A social media competitor analysis can help you reverse engineer their recipe.

The truth is, your competitors might not make better content than you. They simply might be smarter about how they play the game. Analyzing your competitors can help you figure out exactly what they’re doing right — so you can do it, too.

This doesn’t mean copying their every move. Instead, in-depth competitive intelligence will help you uncover their playbook so you can outplay them. 

Maybe they’re posting at 7 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. Or maybe they’re using trending sounds or making content about specific topics. These clues can be your breadcrumbs to the strategy that draws your audience in, like a candy-covered house in an otherwise bland forest.

Here’s how you can create your roadmap to stronger content and better engagement with a social media competitor analysis.

What Is Social Media Competitor Analysis?

Why Is Social Media Competitor Analysis Important?

How to Identify Your Social Media Competitors

Key Metrics to Track in a Competitor Analysis

Best Tools for Social Media Competitor Analysis

Analyzing Competitors’ Content Strategies

Using Competitor Insights to Improve Your Social Media Performance 

The Role of Al in Social Media Competitor Analysis

Conducting Your Social Media Competitor Analysis with Meltwater

Doing a competitor analysis on social media involves looking at what your top competitors are doing on social media. An in-depth analysis includes:

Content format (e.g., photo, video, text-only content)

Engagement rates (e.g., likes, shares, comments, views)

The purpose of each post (e.g., does the post include a call-to-action and link?)

Brands can look at all of these things together to dissect and benchmark their competitors’ strategy on social media. This gives you an inside look at how they might be outperforming you, inspiring you to improve certain areas and boost your social media efforts.

TIP: Download our free Social Listening for Benchmarking Guide to easily gauge how to stack up against your competitors on social media, in the press, and more!

You could spend all day creating and posting content on social media and have nothing to show for it. Social media success requires more than being active; you need to know what your audience cares about and what they’re most likely to respond to.

That’s why a competitor analysis on social media can be so powerful. It’s an inside look at what others are doing and the results they’re getting.

Here’s why a competitor analysis for social media matters:

See what’s working and what’s not. It’s easier to spot trends, high-performing content, and even mistakes to avoid.

Get inspired. Find fresh ideas for posts, topics, and hashtags.

Get a better understanding of your audience. Learn what they engage with so you’re not wasting time and money on subpar content.

It’s all about gaining the insight you need to run a more effective social media marketing strategy. You can learn a lot by looking at your competitors, even if it’s discovering what not to do.

Before you can analyze your competitors, you need to know who they are. They’re not always as obvious as you might think, either.

You probably know your biggest rivals, but some of your strongest social media competitors might be brands you haven’t noticed yet. Here are some ways to find them.

Search your social media channels for keywords or hashtags you might use in your own posts. See who else comes up for those same terms, then dig into their feed to see what they’re posting. The accounts that show up consistently for these terms likely share your audience.

Take a look at the brands your audience is already engaging with. If they have your target customer’s attention, they might be worth watching.

Find competitors using social media tools

Social media monitoring platforms like Meltwater can help you surface your social media competitors based on audience factors or similar content. You can also use free tools like Google Alerts to see who’s publishing content on keywords related to your business, then check out their social channels to learn more about their strategies.

Read industry round-ups or “best of” lists

Articles or blogs that highlight brands in your niche can help you find top performers. If they’re getting media attention, it’s a good idea to watch them.

Click here and fill out the form below for a Meltwater demo to see quickly you can identify competitors and analyze their social strategies! 

Once you have a shortlist of social media competitors (aim for about 4-5 competitors to track), you can start benchmarking your performance. You’ll want to look at a few key metrics to compare:

Audience size: Number of followers who have opted in to see the competitor’s content

Engagements: Number of likes, shares, comments, and views per post

Posting frequency: How often an account is posting (e.g., per day, per week) and times of day they post

Content analysis: Types of content posted, hashtags used, post length, and messaging style

Top-performing posts: Posts that get the most attention and the common denominators between them (e.g., videos, product-focused posts, links to blog articles)

Social media growth: Number of new followers acquired (or lost) each day, week, month, or year

Keep in mind these metrics are constantly changing. Plan on doing a social media marketing competitor analysis on a regular basis to ensure you have the latest data.

You can collect some of your social media competitor data manually, but this can be a time-consuming process. It’s easier to use social media tools that can aggregate this data from multiple platforms in real time. 

Let’s look at a few of the best tools that will help you learn how to do a social media competitor analysis the right way.

Meltwater’s AI-driven intelligence suite combines social listening with audience intelligence to help you better understand social media conversations. The platform does the heavy lifting of finding your social media competitors. 

From there, you can do in-depth analyses on their content, including:

Meltwater’s social listening platform helps you connect the dots between competitors’ content so you can see how they’re holding an edge (or not). Knowledge is power, and you can use these insights to tailor your strategy to reach more people and deliver impact.

Sprout Social primarily functions as a social media management tool. It allows you to create, plan, publish, and report on content and campaigns across your social presence. 

It can also help you learn what your audience is talking about, which can lead you to new competitors. It includes a social media competitor analysis template to help you get started.

Sprout's listening tools use AI to learn the context behind conversations happening on social media. You can set up multiple keywords to track, then get alerts whenever someone mentions those terms. See who’s driving conversations and how they’re discussing topics to help you inform your content strategy.

Tip: Take a look at other Sprout Social alternatives.

Hootsuite also specializes in social media management, but it can also help you conduct a competitive analysis. You can set up “streams” for different social media channels to keep tabs on your competitors. 

These streams will show you new content, when they’re posting, and how their audience engages.

Streams can also track industry-related keywords and hashtags. This can help you spot new competitors on social media and gauge how they’re performing.

Tip: Take a look at other Hootsuite alternatives.

Once you have a list of your top social media competitors, you can start comparing your benchmark data and content to see how you stack up. 

Let’s review some key areas to pay attention to.

Look for common themes in your competitors’ content. For example, are they posting more videos or static content? What type of content is getting the most traction? What times of day are they posting, or does it vary?

Tracking content over time will give you the best idea of what your competitors are getting right and where they’re falling short.

As you explore competitor content, look at how their posts align with their messaging, tone of voice, and branding. You can use these examples to strengthen your own posts and ensure your audience remembers more than just your content.

Understand audience sentiment and engagement patterns

AI-powered tools like Meltwater don’t just show what your competitors are posting; they also analyze content performance. You can gauge how audiences feel about content beyond likes and shares and even detect patterns in sentiment and engagement to get the full picture of a post’s performance. 

The more you learn from others’ content wins and mistakes, the better you can adjust your own performance. But don’t just copy their approach; find ways to put your own spin on similar ideas while infusing your brand’s uniqueness.

As you continue collecting data on competitors, you can use your insights to:

How to Do a Social Media Competitor Analysis: Full Guide

Market research isn’t just collecting data. It’s a strategic tool that allows businesses to gain a competitive advantage while making the best use of their resources. Research reveals valuable insights into your target audience about their preferences, buying habits, and emerging demands — all of which help you unlock new opportunities to grow your business.

When done correctly, market research can minimize risks and losses, spur growth, and position you as a leader in your industry. 

Let’s explore the basic building blocks of market research and how to collect and use data to move your company forward:

What Are Common Market Research Questions?

What Are the Limitations of Market Research?

Improving Your Market Research with Radarly

Market Research Definition: The process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information about a market or audience.

Market research studies consumer behavior to better understand how they perceive products or services. These insights help businesses identify ways to grow their current offering, create new products or services, and improve brand trust and brand recognition.

You might also hear market research referred to as market analysis or consumer research.

Traditionally, market research has taken the form of focus groups, surveys, interviews, and even competitor analysis. But with modern analytics and research tools, businesses can now capture deeper insights from a wider variety of sources, including social media, online reviews, and customer interactions. These extra layers of intel can help companies gain a more comprehensive understanding of their audience.

With consumer preferences and markets evolving at breakneck speeds, businesses need a way to stay in touch with what people need and want. That’s why the importance of market research cannot be overstated.

Market research offers a proactive way to identify these trends and make adjustments to product development, marketing strategies, and overall operations. This proactive approach can help businesses stay ahead of the curve and remain agile.

Market research examples abound — given the number of ways companies can get inside the minds of their customers, simply skimming through your business’s social media comments can be a form of market research.

A restaurant chain might use market research methods to learn more about consumers’ evolving dining habits. These insights might be used to offer new menu items, re-examine their pricing strategies, or even open new locations in different markets, for example.

A consumer electronics company might use market research for similar purposes. For instance, market research may reveal how consumers are using their smart devices so they can develop innovative features.

Market research can be applied to a wide range of use cases, including:

Gaining insights into competitors via competitive intelligence

Ultimately, companies can lean on market research techniques to stay ahead of trends and competitors while improving the lives of their customers.

Market research methods take different forms, and you don’t have to limit yourself to just one. Let’s review the most common market research techniques and the insights they deliver.

One-on-one interviews are one of the most common market research techniques. Beyond asking direct questions, skilled interviewers can uncover deeper motivations and emotions that drive purchasing decisions. Researchers can elicit more detailed and nuanced responses they might not receive via other methods, such as self-guided surveys.

Interviews also create the opportunity to build rapport with customers and prospects. Establishing a connection with interviewees can encourage them to open up and share their candid thoughts, which can enrich your findings. Researchers also have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions and dig deeper based on individual responses.

Market research surveys provide an easy entry into the consumer psyche. They’re cost-effective to produce and allow researchers to reach lots of people in a short time. They’re also user-friendly for consumers, which allows companies to capture more responses from more people.

Big data and data analytics are making traditional surveys more valuable. Researchers can apply these tools to elicit a deeper understanding from responses and uncover hidden patterns and correlations within survey data that were previously undetectable.

The ways in which surveys are conducted are also changing. With the rise of social media and other online channels, brands and consumers alike have more ways to engage with each other, lending to a continuous approach to market research surveys.

Focus groups are “group interviews” designed to gain collective insights. This interactive setting allows participants to express their thoughts and feelings openly, giving researchers richer insights beyond yes-or-no responses.

One of the key benefits of using focus groups is the opportunity for participants to interact with one another. They spark discussions while sharing diverse viewpoints. These sessions can uncover underlying motivations and attitudes that may not be easily expressed through other research methods.

Observing your customers “in the wild” might feel informal, but it can be one of the most revealing market research techniques of all. That’s because you might not always know the right questions to ask. By simply observing, you can surface insights you might not have known to look for otherwise.

This method also delivers raw, authentic, unfiltered data. There’s no room for bias and no potential for participants to accidentally skew the data. Researchers can also pick up on non-verbal cues and gestures that other research methods may fail to capture.

One of the newer methods of market research is the use of AI-driven market research tools to collect and analyze insights on your behalf. AI customer intelligence tools and consumer insights software like Meltwater Radarly take an always-on approach by going wherever your audience is and continuously predicting behaviors based on current behaviors.

By leveraging advanced algorithms, machine learning, and big data analysis, AI enables companies to uncover deep-seated patterns and correlations within large datasets that would be near impossible for human researchers to identify. This not only leads to more accurate and reliable findings but also allows businesses to make informed decisions with greater confidence.

Tip: Learn how to use Meltwater as a research tool, how Meltwater uses AI, and learn more about consumer insights and about consumer insights in the fashion industry.

No matter the market research methods you use, market research’s effectiveness lies in the questions you ask. These questions should be designed to elicit honest responses that will help you reach your goals.

Examples of common market research questions include:

Product or service usage market research questions

How long have you been using [product/service]?

How frequently do you use [product/service]?

What do you like most about [product/service]?

Have you experienced any problems using [product/service]?

Why did you choose [product/service] over a competitor’s [product/service]?

Brand perception market research questions

What words do you associate with our brand?

What sets our brand apart from competitors?

What would make you recommend our brand to others?

Buying behavior market research questions

What do you look for in a [product/service]?

What features in a [product/service] are important to you?

How much time do you need to choose a [product/service]?

How do you discover new products like [product/service]?

Do you prefer to purchase [product/service] online or in-store?

How do you research [product/service] before making a purchase?

How important is pricing when buying [product/service]?

What would make you switch to another brand of [product/service]?

Customer satisfaction market research questions

How happy have you been with [product/service]?

What would make you more satisfied with [product/service]?

How likely are you to continue using [product/service]?

Bonus Tip: Compiling these questions into a market research template can streamline your efforts.

Market research can offer powerful insights, but it also has some limitations. One key limitation is the potential for bias. Researchers may unconsciously skew results based on their own preconceptions or desires, which can make your findings inaccurate.

Depending on your market research methods, your findings may be outdated by the time you sit down to analyze and act on them. Some methods struggle to account for rapidly changing consumer preferences and behaviors.

How To Do Market Research: Definition, Types, Methods

More momentous milestones as mobile makes moves

We already saw a wealth of digital milestones in the first six months of 2024, but the big headlines keep coming as we enter the second half of the year.

Our new Digital 2024 July Global Digital Statshot Report – published in partnership between Meltwater and We Are Social – delivers plenty of impressive numbers and trends, together with a rich selection of insights into how the world’s digital behaviours are evolving.

7 in 10 people on Earth are now using mobile phones

Competition between TikTok and Instagram is heating up

Roblox continues to build impressive momentum

AI is booming, but headlines don’t tell the full story

Reddit, Snapchat, and Pinterest have all grown ad reach

Competitive Intelligence

How to Do a Social Media Competitor Analysis: Full Guide

How To Do Market Research: Definition, Types, Methods

Digital 2024 July Global Statshot Report Analysis

The Ultimate Guide to Competitor Monitoring

How to Gain a Sustainable Competitive Advantage with Porter's 3 Strategies

How To Use Meltwater As A Research Tool: Agency Edition

The Importance of Competitive Benchmarking in PR Strategy

Competitive Intelligence

How to Do a Social Media Competitor Analysis: Full Guide

How To Do Market Research: Definition, Types, Methods

Digital 2024 July Global Statshot Report Analysis

The Ultimate Guide to Competitor Monitoring

How to Gain a Sustainable Competitive Advantage with Porter's 3 Strategies

How To Use Meltwater As A Research Tool: Agency Edition

The Importance of Competitive Benchmarking in PR Strategy

Interested in learning how Meltwater can help you? Fill out the form to learn more.