A Business’s Guide To Finding And Beating Competitors On Instagram 

Competitor research helps you learn why your target customers buy from other brands. This process allows you to monitor how your direct competitors are promoting their products or services, and how they respond to their respective audiences. Over time, you’ll be able to identify their weaknesses, which will help you improve your strategies by discovering opportunities to serve the needs of your ideal buyers. Once you beat your competitors, you can attract more leads and increase your market share.

You can use social media channels, like Instagram, to find your direct competitors and assess their promotional tactics. In turn, you might gain more followers and boost audience engagement as you learn more about their winning strategies. 

This article provides a five-step guide to finding and beating competitors on Instagram. 

• Conduct An Audience Survey

When conducting competitive research, you have to know what your target buyers think of your direct competitors. This will let you know your brand’s strengths and weaknesses compared to other businesses. Aside from that, you’ll understand how your consumers perceive your organization, helping you adjust your strategies accordingly. 

When surveying your customers, you can ask about their favorite brands related to your industry. As you develop questions, you may include what channels they often use to interact with their favorite brands. Then, you may allow them to enumerate how offers from their competitors make them feel, and whether they’d want to have another business transaction with them.  

• Assess Posting Schedule 

After surveying your audience, you can now type the names of your competitors into the search bar on Instagram. However, you might discover that some accounts are private, so you must send a request before you can spy on them. If they refuse, you won’t be able to snoop into marketing strategies. 

This is where a private Instagram viewer can come in handy. With its help, you can assess your top competitors‘ posting schedules, and see how often they interact with their followers, among other activities. Based on the data you’ve collected, you may then alter your posting dates so you can generate more engagement. 

• Determine Frequently Used Content Types 

Once you’re able to study the public accounts and view private Instagram pages of your competitors, you can already figure out the most effective content types. This knowledge allows you to experiment with different media forms that might boost your promotional campaigns’ engagement rates. As a result, your account might reach a broader audience on IG and expand your brand’s online presence. 

For instance, you might learn that most of your competitors are taking advantage of user-generated content (UGC) to nurture their relationships with their customers. With that, you must encourage your existing clients to share photos or videos of your products, share them on their IG Stories or feeds, and mention your brand. Alternatively, you could develop a unique community hashtag to track the posts that have tagged your username. Once you collect such posts, you must compile them and create a customer testimonial campaign to encourage your prospects to buy your products. 

• Develop Better Content 

After learning the types of content your competitors use, you must produce better advertisements to stay ahead of them and receive more interactions. Doing so will make your brand more active on Instagram, which makes it more approachable. In turn, more online users will visit your page and consider following your highly engaging content, which they can also share on other platforms. 

For example, you may publish daily challenges on your Instagram stories to give your audience something to look forward to. However, to boost your gamification strategies, keep in mind to give away enticing rewards, like limited edition products from your brand. Aside from that, you may also post how-to tutorials or do a weekly livestream showing some behind-the-scene actions. 

• Collaborate With Influencers 

Collaborating with credible influencers is one of the best ways to get ahead of your competitors on Instagram. These online celebrities have the power to influence the purchasing decision of your target buyers by boosting your brand value. Beyond receiving more followers, you might increase your sales and improve your standing in your industry, which will help you stay ahead of the competition. 

Before signing a partnership contract with any influencer, you should check their followers and assess their posts. Doing so will help you determine if they can effectively promote your brand and uphold your reputation. Once you find the right one, always communicate with them and treat them like a professional endorser to maintain your relationship.

Key Takeaway 

As a modern entrepreneur, you should always find ways to improve your digital marketing strategies to generate more customers. Therefore, you must consider following this five-step guide to finding and beating your direct competitors on Instagram. Once you do so, you’ll receive more followers, boost your online presence, and achieve success in no time.