How Social Media Helps You Understand Your Competition

With the prevalence of social media, where the conversation between businesses and consumers is public and online, you have a greater chance than ever to learn what your rivals are up to. But all that monitoring takes time that you probably don’t have.

But easy-to-use services can help you track your competition by setting up automated monitoring of social media sites:

• Google: The easiest step, if you haven’t already taken it, is to set up Google Alerts. Just fill out a short form and Google will give you e-mail updates of the latest Google results on the companies and industries that you list. You can tell Google how often you want the alerts sent to you, including “as it happens” if you are exceptionally curious. Sometimes the best information, such as an important resignation, is buried in an article or column. This is what Google is good at uncovering.
• Facebook: Go to the Facebook pages of key companies in your industry. Check out their fans to see people and organizations that you might want to “like” or invite to “like” you. If you want to be more overt, you can click Like on the Facebook pages of companies you want to watch. Once you get into their Facebook groups, you can see how companies might be wooing fans and bragging about themselves. Their messages will show up on your Facebook feed under Most Recent. Don’t forget to read the comments from consumers, which tend to be more direct and revealing.
• Twitter: To get insight into what is being tweeted by your rivals and about them, you can use Tweetbeep.com. This free service lets you keep track of conversations that mention companies you name, along with their products and comments from consumers. You can even keep track of who is tweeting their websites or blogs, even if they use a shortened URL (e.g., bit.ly or tinyurl.com).
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn, the professional networking site, monitors who joined a company, who got promoted recently, and who left. On the Companies page, you can see profiles of your rivals, their hires and fires, and details about the companies they are doing business with. It is a good way to check the truth about rumors of internal changes.
• Company profiles: For hard-to-find small companies, get to know Manta.com. This site collects and compiles data about companies and specializes in small businesses and private firms. You can use its free membership to find details about competitors, such as annual revenue, key contacts, affiliates, and number of employees. Premium financial reports can be had for a fee.

While you are monitoring your rivals, it doesn’t hurt to keep a sharper eye on your own exposure in the online world, using the same tools. Companies and people that do business in your industry may be watching you as well, so you need to stay one step ahead.

Business journalist Joan Voight covers marketing, social media, and technology for MediaPost Publications, ClickZ, and other publications. Previously she was the editor of two West Coast business magazines aimed at small and midsize companies.