Before the digital age, share of voice— a metric that measures brand awareness in relation to competitors— offered limited insight into a brand’s actual position. Traditional methods of assessing brand awareness through print, radio, social media, or TV ads primarily reflected how brands perceived themselves. Today, however, share of voice has evolved into a crucial and sophisticated metric, providing significant benefits to brands that can analyze the data effectively. Understanding “why share of voice matters for your business” is essential, as overlooking this metric can lead to missed growth opportunities and an inability to stay competitive.
Understanding Share of Voice
What is the share of voice? Share of voice is a method of evaluating the success of your digital and public relations efforts. It looks at discussions surrounding your brand, along with the sentiment— whether positive or negative— expressed in those conversations. Modern ways of measuring share of voice include tracking website traffic, social listening, pay-per-click advertising, organic search, and online mentions. Brands use this metric to gauge their presence and dominance in industry conversations.
The Importance of Share of Voice in Business
Share of Voice (SOV) is an essential metric for businesses, as it reflects a brand’s visibility and market presence in comparison to its competitors. It measures the percentage of conversations, ads, or mentions a company receives relative to its competitors, whether through traditional media or digital platforms.
Understanding why share of voice is important can highlight that a higher share of voice often results in better brand recognition, increased consumer trust, and, ultimately, a larger market share. By securing a strong SOV, businesses are positioned to dominate their niche, influence purchasing decisions, and build long-term customer loyalty. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, maintaining and growing SOV ensures that a brand stays top-of-mind and relevant to its target audience.
Why Measure Share Of Voice?
Measuring share of voice offers valuable insights into public perceptions of your brand. This data is often correlated with your market share and revenue, helping you gauge how your brand compares to competitors. In essence, it shows you where you stand and your growth potential, equipping you with the information to meet your goals.
Understanding share of voice provides valuable insights into:
Competitive Analysis
One of the primary reasons to measure the share of voice is competitor analysis. You not only want to know if people are talking about your brand but also how to spark more discussions about it. To do this, you need to steer the conversation in your direction. Share of voice and competitor metrics help reveal the strengths and weaknesses of your competition, enabling you to refine your strategy. Incorporating best practices for conversion rate optimization can also improve your competitive positioning.
Campaign Effectiveness
Share of voice goes beyond just measuring brand awareness; it also evaluates the success of your marketing campaigns and initiatives. By tracking this metric, you gain a deeper understanding of your target audience, which enables you to craft more effective and impactful campaigns in the future. This is a key reason why share of voice is crucial for your business.
Consumer Insights
While customers can offer some insights about your brand, they can also reveal much more about their own behaviors. Monitoring customer engagement alongside share of voice provides valuable insights into consumer behavior. This data can help you better understand your audience and discover ways to engage with them more effectively, especially in line with current digital marketing trends.
Public Relations
Boosting your share of voice brings multiple advantages, including the potential to enhance public perception of your brand. For example, analyzing your market share of voice might reveal a strategic gap, such as a competitor ranking higher in search results due to positive reviews. Encouraging customers to leave reviews can help close this gap, increasing your brand’s credibility and trustworthiness.
How To Calculate Your Share Of Voice
Determining your share of voice is vital for evaluating your brand’s position in the broader market. The basic formula involves dividing your brand’s measures by the total market measures. These brand measures could include social mentions, website traffic, and paid ad clicks, including SEO efforts. While the calculation might seem complex, several marketing tools can simplify the process, such as:
- Hootsuite
- Sprout Social
- Google Ads
- Ahrefs
- Semrush
- Brandwatch
- Talkwalker
It’s important to understand how to interpret these figures and analyze competitor differences, such as the platforms they excel on, where they have strong visibility, and who holds a larger share of mentions.
How To Increase Your Share Of Voice
Knowing your current market standing is valuable, but it’s just as important to strategize on how to boost your share of voice. Here are some strategies to help you generate more discussions in your favor:
Create High-Quality, Engaging Content
Producing compelling content not only captivates your audience but also encourages sharing. Videos can attract new customers and increase social media mentions, while optimized blog posts can improve your website’s search ranking. Content that resonates with your audience can make a significant difference in your brand’s success.
Spark Conversations
Don’t just join the conversations—start them. Brands that ignite discussions can better control the narrative and steer conversations in their direction. As social responsibility becomes more valued by consumers, taking a stand on relevant issues can be a powerful strategy. For example, Ben & Jerry’s effectively participates in social justice discussions through their branding.
Be Active on Social Media
Social media offers real-time access to your audience. Maintaining a strong and visible presence allows you to engage in conversations as they happen.
Engage With Customers
Customers prefer interacting with real people, not faceless corporations. By responding to inquiries and showing empathy, you can cultivate positive perceptions of your brand, strengthen customer relationships, increase loyalty, and collect valuable feedback. This highlights why share of voice is crucial for your business.
Conclusion
Understanding the importance of share of voice is key to measuring your brand’s health. It provides insights into what your competitors are excelling at and where you may need to improve. By focusing on these areas, you can increase the number of conversations around your brand, ultimately enhancing your digital marketing strategy and boosting your business.
