A staple of the social media sphere, Facebook is no longer just a social network; it has become a fully-fledged media outlet that needs no introduction. The behemoth has more than 1.7 billion users worldwide, including approximately 31 million in France.
With such potential, it offers new opportunities for businesses (50 million companies present in France). And with this mass of businesses entering the race, how can you stand out from the crowd? So before diving in head first, it's important to study what others are doing on their Facebook pages: what they post and how they operate. There are different methods to achieve this.
1/ On Facebook
As an administrator of a Facebook page, by going to the "Statistics" tab, then "Overview" at the bottom of the page, Facebook offers you a list of pages to monitor. This list is based on the area of activity of your page. You can add about 5 pages to your watch list and then compare them to your own page, which is at the top of this list.
The advantage of competitor suggestions on Facebook is that they are highly targeted, suggesting pages that are very similar to the one you manage.
The data presented is that which is publicly available: number of fans, growth of fans, number of publications.
This allows you to compare your audience growth with others at a glance, and to monitor the editorial rhythm of other pages. This information is therefore more quantitative than qualitative.
Stay organized!
To help you find your way around, you can create lists to list the pages you want to monitor; these will appear on the left of your news feed. To do this, go to the "Browse" column (1), then "Interests" (2), and all you have to do is create your list (3). Once you've made your selection, you'll need to name this list and assign it a privacy level. Choose the "Only me" level to remain discreet.
Moreover, these lists are independent of the traditional news feed and therefore you will not be polluted by publications from other pages, as well as being subject to Facebook's capricious algorithm.
Unlike the pages to monitor (previous paragraph), by looking at the lists of competitors you will have an overview of the latest publications, and therefore a vision in terms of content (what worked or not).
2/ Third-party tools
Of course, there are various solutions, some more effective than others, for identifying and analyzing competition on Facebook. BuzzSumo remains a very good tool for identifying the most influential Facebook pages.
Here I would like to introduce you to a free and easy-to-use tool (and alternative to BuzzSumo), the LikeAlyzer service.
Not only does LikeAlyzer allow you to analyze any Facebook page, but it can also provide the most interesting Facebook pages by industry (with much more choice than Social Baker).
There are free and relevant statistics to consider, including "Recent Analytics", "Likes", and "PTAT" (Fans Talking About It).
Source: LikeAlyser
The main parameters to remember are:
- Likes: The total number of likes the page has received
- PTAT: Fans who talk about it
- TE: the page engagement rate (i.e. the PTAT divided by the number of likes)
"It's important to understand that what makes a Facebook page successful or not is not just about the number of likes. While that's a factor, it's equally important that users talk about your brand and interact with your page."
In conclusion, identifying and observing the competition are two essential steps in developing a digital strategy (as in general) in order to position yourself well on the market.
Although it may seem simple to you, analyzing the presence of your competitors sometimes requires specific skills, which companies do not necessarily possess or have difficulty understanding.
This is why it is important, to be effective, to call on professionals: asking yourself the right questions and clearly identifying your target will allow you to get off on the right foot.
If you also want to optimize your customer relations, we offer you a list of 8 practical tips to boost your customer loyalty.
