How can you use a competitor SWOT analysis to improve your content marketing?

It's a framework where you can determine what they do well versus what they do less well and where you can win. It's divided into 4 quadrants where the first letter of each word is where it got it's name: Strengths: What they do well, like engaging stories and great visuals. Weaknesses: Where they fall short, such as inconsistent messaging or outdated info. Opportunities: Areas for improvement, like trying new content formats or reaching new audiences. Threats: External factors that could harm their content, like new competitors or changing consumer preferences. You can use the results to shape your content strategy and decision-making around for the biggest impact possible.

Incorporate User Experience (UX) benchmarking into your competitor SWOT analysis, evaluating how competitors structure content for user interaction, considering factors such as readability, page loading speed, and mobile responsiveness. This holistic approach enhances overall user experience, capturing attention in a crowded digital landscape and guiding adjustments for more effective resonance with your target audience.

Dissecting rivals' content helps sharpen strategies - like analyzing sports opponents to gain advantage. Study their topics, formats, and engagement. Identify content gaps you can fill or replicate successful elements, then expand upon them. Use insights to validate and inform creative directions and outreach. With informed content moves, you outmaneuver the competition. Now cue the training montage - let's win with counter content tactics! 💪

A competitor SWOT analysis assesses a rival company's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It helps businesses understand their competitive landscape, identify areas for strategic advantage, and anticipate challenges, enabling more informed decision-making and improved market positioning. Take these learnings and apply a marketing lens to it - e.g. which channels are they on?

Understanding your competitors is a great starting point for your content strategy and should be combined with a SWOT of your own company/Products and a thorough analysis of what interest there is in the subjects. A weakness in competitor content may not be a weakness if there is no interest in the market so establishing keyword analysis and traffic analysis is key to truly understand what content you should produce to win.

Keep current on how they promote their brand and top-of-mind awareness, ongoing engagement tactics, etc...all designed to be there at that moment of need.

In the age of #BusinessTikTok and meme-worthy LinkedIn posts, your competitor's SWOT can be the ace up your sleeve! 🃏 SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. By studying how your competitors present themselves and where they might lack, you can craft content that's ahead of the curve. It's not about copying, but rather understanding market dynamics and filling the gaps competitors are missing.

Drawing from my experience, this process encompasses four pivotal steps: firstly, identifying your primary competitors; next, scrutinizing their content for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; then, conducting a side-by-side comparison with your own content; and finally, distilling insights and actions to enhance your content strategy. This comprehensive analysis serves as a compass guiding your content marketing efforts, facilitating the identification of your unique value proposition, setting you apart from your competitors, and optimizing your content to resonate with your target audience. In the realm of content marketing, a competitor SWOT analysis is the compass that navigates you towards success

It's important to note that a SWOT is fairly useless without actionable outcomes. It will be the actions that come out of creating a SWOT that adds the value to time taken in researching and conducting the actual SWOT.

SWOT analysis (or SWOT matrix) is a strategic planning technique used to help a person or organization identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to business competition or project planning. Strengths: characteristics of the business or project that give it an advantage over others. Weaknesses: characteristics of the business that place the business or project at a disadvantage relative to others. Opportunities: elements in the environment that the business or project could exploit to its advantage. Threats: elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or project.

The fastest, most effective ways to identify main competitors, is to look for comparison sites: Fx. do a Google search for "[Your Brand] vs". The organic results are what Google has determined is your competitor. The paid ads, are the competitors bidding on your brand. Those are worth checking out. The second one is to go for review sites like G2, Capterra etc. and check your product vertical. Remember to sort on something else than sponsored, for a realistic overview. Lastly, it's not important to make an exhaustive list, it's important to get started. As your business evolves, so too will your competitors as they change and evolve. Which means that the key is to have ongoing research, not a one-off set and forget thing.

Extend your competitor identification strategy by incorporating social listening tools. Monitor social media platforms for discussions, mentions, and trends related to your industry or niche.

This is industry, product, and customer-dependent. For an industrial B2B company that has been in the market for 15 years, interviews with customers may be crucial. In the case of a startup preparing to enter the market, online research, social media groups, review sites, and expos could be useful.

Market Research, Customer and Community Feedback, Online Searches (GA helps with this), Trade Shows and Events, Social Media (LI and FB library will help with this), and Online Review Sites (G2) are a few ways to identify your main competitors.

People are doing more research than ever on what their options are before buying - your prospects are asking their network, they're doing their own research online, they're going to events, they're getting hit up by different sales people and seeing all sorts of ads. But whoever is standing out to them is who you should be focusing on in your SWOT. A great way to find out who you're coming up against is by looking at your own first party data. Ideally it's a part of your sales team's discovery process to understand who else your prospects are talking to and recording that in your CRM (if not - start doing this today!). Pay attention to the ones that come up the most often, especially any that you're losing deals too - focus here.

Identifying competitors can be a challenge especially if you are a startup. Try and label down your Ideal Customer Profile ("ICP") and your product category (or use-cases). Once you have this, the following will help you make a list of competitors A) talking to a few ICP folks can help you uncover the competition B) Basis your categorisation, look at Gartner, G2 and other review sites C) Do a Google search for your use case. Remember the goal is to not be exhaustive but figuring out who you will be pitched against.

To pinpoint your main competitors, you can leverage a variety of approaches, such as keyword searches related to your industry, niche, or solution, perusing industry directories or publications, seeking input from your valued customers or prospects, or harnessing tools like SEMrush or SimilarWeb. It's important to note that you need not scrutinize every player in your market; instead, direct your focus toward those that hold the most relevance, similarity, or influence within your target audience. In an ideal scenario, you should aim to have 3-5 competitors to serve as the basis for your comparative analysis. The compass for your competitive journey begins with this strategic identification.

Be very wary of relying on third-party tools to define or determine who your competitors are. Too often in B2B, we leverage biased assumptions to build out a list of who we think our competitors are. But in reality - our customers often compare us to solutions we haven't thought of - both direct and indirect. And if customers are drawing their own conclusions about who your competitors are - marketers need a plan to solve that. So definitely conduct some searches to see what's trending - but you need to get out from behind your dashboards to figure out who your real competitors are.

In addition to the usual tools and techniques, it is important to consider both direct and indirect competitors. This is because indirect competitors, such as stronger players in the same market, can influence trends and redefine the rules that we should be aware of and closely observe. Moreover, there may be instances where you find yourself competing for customer funds against products or services from completely different categories. Identifying, analyzing, and comprehending this is crucial in order to maximize future profits.

Ideally, you would want to know not only who your competitors are, but what prospective customers think of those competitors. For a relatively small investment, you can run a brand study to understand what awareness, perception, and perceived value are for your brand and your competitive set. You will learn on which factors you are outperforming and underperforming on. As they say, if you don't know where you are, how can you plan a path to where you are going? Highly recommend a brand survey of target customers.

To analyze competitors' content, you should review quality, relevance and originality. Do they write original content that is relevant to your ICP? Do they have consistent messaging and tone of voice etc. If you create a SWOT analysis to identify strengths and weaknesses, you can use those insights for strategic improvement. If you check out the post in the topic above called "What is a competitor SWOT analysis?" there are practical, hands on tips on how to succeed with them.

Enhance your competitor content analysis by integrating sentiment analysis tools. Beyond quantitative metrics, delve into the emotional impact of their content on the audience. Identify sentiments expressed in comments, reviews, or social media discussions related to their content.

To analyze competitors' content, assess its type, quality, uniqueness, SEO, and audience engagement. Identify gaps and audience feedback (explicit or implicit) and use this to your advantage.

A lot of blog posts aren't always a sign of strength. Dive deeper. 🔍 Analyze their content not just for engagement metrics but for actual value. A viral post with no substantial takeaways is a weakness you can exploit with quality, value-driven content. Depth over breadth. Quality always wins in the long run.

In alignment with my experience, this entails a comprehensive assessment of various dimensions, including the quality, quantity, variety, relevance, consistency, and overall effectiveness of their content. To delve into the evaluation, scrutinize the types and formats of content they produce, whether it be blog posts, webinars, or other mediums. Explore the topics and keywords they cover, delve into the tone and style that characterizes their content, and examine the design and layout elements at play. Moreover, gauge the performance and engagement their content garners. Leveraging tools such as BuzzSumo, Ahrefs, or Google Analytics provides invaluable data to inform your analysis.

I like to use the TOWS method here, which is mainly used for internal analysis but can easily be applied to competitors. Look at there internal S and W and the external O and T to see where they might be focussing. i.e If they have a strength that maximises and opportunity, it's likely that they will look to exploit this in the same way a weakness and a threat will be defended / avioded.

You can also use meta ads library. Using a meta ads library for competitor analysis: Identify competitors. Access the library. Analyze competitors' ad creatives. Identify trends and messaging. Understand audience targeting. Assess landing pages. Evaluate ad performance. Adapt your strategy based on insights. Continuously test and optimize. A meta ads library helps you gain insights into competitors' advertising strategies, inform your own campaigns, and stay competitive

I think it's not the right approach. You shouldn't analyze and copy what your competitors are doing, because it puts you behind, not ahead. Not to mention that you don't know how successful their content is, and even if it works, they're probably a few steps ahead of you. Instead, your content strategy should rely on customer research and a deep understanding of what your buyers care about and the types of content they want to consume.

Utilize the same methods above to spot content opportunities (niches, engagement improvements, unfilled content pieces) and threats (strong competition, SEO dominance, budget dominance). Don't be afraid to be creative.

There are a lot of tool that can give you a list of keywords to aim for, what's missing and what your competitors have written about. However, when you create content (of any form), please focus from a customer perspective. Understand what the customer would like to read, hear or listen. This is done via primary research followed by analytics form your own journey. Competition's content can give you an idea on where to start or a lay of the land, but do not make it the anchor around your strategy

Remember these are external to a competitor so there is a high likelihood that these are also your opportunities and threats.

Beyond their content's internal dynamics, it involves a comprehensive examination of external factors that influence their content performance. This encompasses industry, niche, or market trends, as well as identifying gaps or unmet needs in the audience's content journey. Simultaneously, consider external factors, such as innovations in content marketing and best practices, which can present opportunities, along with potential risks and challenges like algorithm updates, competitors' strategic moves, or negative feedback. Sources like industry reports, surveys, podcasts, newsletters, forums, and social media platforms can be invaluable for tracking and analyzing these opportunities and threats in the content landscape.

Yes! Your competitor's content gaps can be your next big opportunity 🚀 Opportunities can be found in topics your competitors haven't covered, audiences they haven't targeted, or even formats they haven't explored (e.g., podcasts or infographics). These are untapped areas waiting for your unique touch. The market has room for more. Find the gaps and pave your path.

Using user research for content competitor analysis involves gathering insights from your target audience to better understand their preferences and expectations. For example, analyze your competitors' content to identify the topics and formats they cover. Cross-reference this with your audience personas to ensure your content aligns with what your target audience values. And pay attention to direct feedback from your audience. Comments, emails, and social media interactions can provide valuable insights into what your audience appreciates or criticizes in your content and your competitors' content.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose content reigns supreme of them all? 🪞 Comparison is more than just numbers. It's about voice, value, and vision. Assess how your messaging stands against your competitors. Does your content resonate more authentically? Are you more consistent? Reflect on your uniqueness. It's your competitive advantage.

Strengths: High-quality and engaging blog posts Strong brand voice and personality Effective lead magnets and CTAs Weaknesses: Lack of video content Inconsistent content frequency Poor content design and layout Opportunities: Growing interest in your niche topic Untapped keywords and questions Innovative content formats and channels Threats: New competitor entering the market Negative reviews or feedback Algorithm changes or penalties Creating and visualizing these SWOT matrices can be done effectively using tools like Excel, Google Sheets, or Canva, with the option to use colors, icons, or labels for emphasis.

Be very cautious here when comparing your content to your competitors. You can easily be led astray, thinking that "something is working", when in reality - it is very challenging to know exactly how a competitor's content is performing. That said - many B2B teams don't put in the work of deeply understanding how their solution fits contextually inside the business and processes of their target buyer. If you have done the work of mapping out the full buying journey, and the information that your target market needs to influence their buying decisions, you will quickly see where gaps exist in the content of your competitors.

Here's a secret sauce to refine your content strategy: your competitor's SWOT! 🌶️ Understand your competitor's strengths and infuse what works into your strategy. Capitalize on their weaknesses, tailor your content to the opportunities they miss, and preemptively address threats they face. Their SWOT can be your guidelines. Navigate with care, but always keep your brand's essence at the forefront.

Remember that one portion of your competitor SWOT analysis is-customer inertia. Your potential customer may not know he/she/they are a potential customer. They may not believe they need your services. Or even if they do acknowledge needing the service/product, they may not yet be ready to act:purchase. In fact, they may never be ready. How is your competitor approaching inertia/lack of readiness to engage or purchase?

It can be useful to know what the competition is up to but, ultimately, what you should focus on is your actual audience and ideal clients' needs and challenges.

It's always useful to know where your competitors are strong or otherwise. That data can help you refine your positioning, potentially taking advantage of competitor weaknesses. However, unless you are in an incredibly saturated marketplace, this all falls a distant second place to getting your OWN content marketing in order. Clearly define your message, develop a go-to-market strategy and use content marketing to execute it. And then, to put a bow on it, do a SWOT analysis on YOUR content marketing efforts ;-)

By understanding your competitors' strengths, you can determine what works well in your industry and try to incorporate similar strategies. Analysing weaknesses can help in identifying gaps in their content, which you could fill with more comprehensive or better-quality information. Opportunities might arise from technological advancements or market trends that competitors haven’t leveraged yet. Lastly, being aware of threats like emerging competitors or changing market preferences enables you to adapt your content strategy proactively.

Analyzing competitors on its own doesn't lead us any further, in fact, it often leads us into a dead end. However, a well-chosen competitor analysis can map out those weaknesses that may be important considerations or pain points on the client side. This, in turn, can refine our positioning, potentially leading to valuable insights and content.

Hot take...don't focus too much on your competitors at first. Focus on your story, your values, your audiences and what they need. Be creative, tell your story, and you'll immediately begin standing out more.

Use these insights to be proactive in emphasizing where you win vs. competition. Don't let your competitors actions drive a reactive response.

If you are an early stage company, devoting resources to compete is not often worth the time and money (in the beginning) Get the foundations in place and find scrappy ways to build traction. Once you hit certain levels of maturity - both in product adoption and predictable revenue, then start to look more seriously at the competitive landscape.

I gotta say, leveraging a competitor SWOT analysis for content marketing involves more than the basics. While understanding the concept, identifying competitors, and analyzing content strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are crucial, consider these non-obvious aspects: Content Gap Identification: Find unexplored topics or unique angles. Content Amplification: Explore distribution and promotion strategies. Audience Insights: Understand audience demographics and preferences. Content Evolution: Track competitors' content changes over time. Cross-Channel Integration: Ensure consistency across marketing channels. Content Differentiation: Highlight unique selling points and brand voice.