Let’s be honest: every smart marketer “stalks” their competitors. You probably have a folder on your phone with screenshots of their best (and worst) posts. It’s a natural instinct.
But scrolling through their feed and noting down follower counts is only scratching the surface. It’s like looking at the front of a restaurant but having no idea what’s happening in the kitchen or what customers are saying in the reviews.
The real insights come from a deeper, three-layered approach. To truly understand your competition, you need to analyze what they say, what people say about them, and what they pay to promote.
Layer 1: What They Say
The Obvious, But Essential
This is the baseline: actively monitoring your competitors’ public-facing content. It’s the easiest step, but it’s crucial.
What to look for: Look for patterns. What are their main content pillars? How often do they post? What’s their tone of voice? And most importantly, what are their engagement rates? A post with 1,000 likes is impressive, but not if they have 2 million followers.
The goal: This gives you a baseline understanding of their content strategy and what their audience seems to enjoy.
Layer 2: What People Say About Them
The Real Insights
This is where the gold is. A brand’s own posts are perfectly curated marketing messages. The public’s reaction is the raw, unfiltered truth.
Where to look: Most brands stop at tracking comments on Facebook and Instagram. But the most honest, candid feedback often happens on platforms like Reddit and in the comment sections of YouTube reviews. This is where you find out if customers are actually happy.
The goal: To understand the sentiment behind the brand. Are people praising their new product or complaining about it? Are they frustrated with customer service? This is the data that reveals your competitors’ biggest weaknesses and opportunities.
Layer 3: What They Pay For
The “Secret Weapon”
A brand’s advertising budget reveals its true priorities. What they’re willing to spend money on is what matters most to their business. And the best part? You can see their ads for free.
How to do it: All major platforms now have “ad transparency” libraries. You can go there right now, search for your competitor’s brand name, and see the ads they are currently running.
- For Facebook and Instagram, use the Meta Ad Library.
- For TikTok, use the TikTok Creative Center.
- For YouTube ads, use the Google Ads Transparency Center.
The goal: This shows you the exact products they’re pushing, the promotional messaging they’re testing, and the landing pages they’re driving traffic to. It’s a direct look into their sales strategy.
Conclusion: From Stalking to Strategy
A complete competitor analysis isn’t about aimless stalking; it’s about strategic intelligence. By combining these three layers, you move from simply “watching” your competitors to truly understanding them.
Ready to stop just watching and start building a winning strategy? Whether you need a hands-on analysis from an expert team or a powerful tool to do it yourself, we can help.
