Watch and learn: why competitor content scans are crucial for your brand
Competitor content scans might not be the most exciting part of a content team’s responsibilities, but for comms leaders wanting to boost their editorial strategy, they can be hugely worthwhile. Explore how this process can provide a source of story inspiration, give you a fresh perspective – and find out why the insights you gather could help inform your strategy.
Are you running out of fresh content ideas? Have you lost sight of conversations happening in your industry? Or are you struggling to improve your existing comms strategy? Then it may be time to make competitor channel scans a core part of your editorial strategy.
For anyone unfamiliar with content scanning, it involves going through the online newsrooms, social channels and blogs of your competitors with the aim of capturing an overview of how other companies or outlets are approaching content.
Depending on the aim of your scan – and the criteria you’ve set for it – there are several ways to approach the process. You might focus on getting an overview of the content of a particular channel, best practices around infographic design or how others are approaching stories on a certain subject.
While working your way through online feeds might not be as exciting as conducting ‘on the ground’ interviews – or as quick as scheduling social media posts – it can be a data goldmine if you invest proper time and regular resources into the practice.
It’s a method that is a central newsroom process at Speak, helping us spot opportunities to improve our editorial output and to ensure that our work is best in class. Being curious about content – and how other people create it – is essential for us, so we know first-hand that this sometimes-tedious effort can be a valuable tool for brands wanting to up their editorial game.
If you still need convincing that channel scans are worthy of your time, find out how this process can give you fresh inspiration, an outward-looking perspective – and an understanding of editorial processes outside of your company.
An endless source of new ideas
A top priority for most comms leaders is to have a steady stream of timely and fresh content ideas. But brands will struggle to achieve this if they always search for the same things and don’t think outside the box. Channel scans force comms teams to look at content more closely, considering the topics, editorial choices and storytelling techniques that have been used. These are granular insights that you can’t get from a quick flick through competitor sites.
When you analyse how other brands are tackling content and look at subject matters that they are covering, what do you find? Perhaps their output includes the different ways that they’re supporting local communities. Maybe they’re producing thought leadership pieces in response to topical news items. Or their focus might be on sharing a range of colleague-focused stories.
Use these as prompts to consider if there are similar stories inside your business that are waiting to be told – stories that will support your overarching comms strategy. Looking at what brands are covering and how they are presenting content will put new ideas on your radar that you might not have otherwise considered.
Keeping your eyes and ears open will also help you to identify trends that have got people in your industry talking. Being aware of these topics is crucial to ensuring you stay relevant in your sector. Comms leaders can also develop an understanding of how different brands are communicating around these themes, which will help them to understand how they can use their own knowledge, networks and expertise to stand out from the crowd – and add genuine value for their audience.
A sense of what works (and what doesn’t)
When you look at any form of media, whether it’s a written article, social post or podcast episode, listen to your gut instinct around what draws you in – and what doesn’t.
Each month, Speak Media’s visual experts on our picture desk produce a monthly roundup to showcase the strongest examples of audio, video and images they have encountered – from playful social assets to striking photo stories. This hugely useful resource prompts discussions about what we liked, what we didn’t – and what that could mean for our own content output in the future.
Speak’s copy team conducts competitor content scans on a regular basis too. When clients approach us for help shaping a new series of content, we look at a range of external sources to investigate similar formats. The findings help us to identify trends and effective storytelling methods, scrutinise what stands out to our team – and consider how some of those insights could inform our work.
An outward perspective
As Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, famously said: ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got’. So, if you’re reshaping your strategy, working towards different targets or trying to reach a new audience, you might need to shake up your approach.
This means looking beyond what your brand – and even what your industry – is doing. Set your sights further afield to find out how publishers in other sectors are going about storytelling. If you’re only looking inwards at what you currently do, you won’t discover the platforms, formats or approaches that other content creators are using. As a result, you risk neglecting to think about how the digital landscape is evolving – and your brand’s voice is less likely to be heard.
An open-minded and outward-looking approach will allow you to identify trends and best practices and find alternative ways to enhance your output. And, ultimately, the insights you gather could help you to stay ahead of the content curve.
6 steps to conducting a competitor content scan
1. Establish your aim: identify what you want to find out through the scan.
2. Choose your brands: pick a range of organisations and publishers to focus on. Make sure there’s a strong and consistent rationale behind your options here.
3. Create a spreadsheet: add the brands and map out the information you’ll input into the document.
4. Scan external channels: fill out your spreadsheet, adding screenshots and hyperlinks to content so that you can review your findings afterwards.
5. Identify key themes: make a note of any patterns or trends around output or performance that are in line with the aim of the scan. Make sure any insights are backed by specific examples and data.
6. Discuss with your team: share your findings and start to consider how these could be used to strengthen your own output.
Want to find out how to implement a best-in-class editorial strategy that connects your organisation with your always-on audience?
Contact Gabrielle from our client services team: gabriellebridle@speakmedia.co.uk