Guide · social media research
How to do a social media competitor analysis
A social media competitor analysis compares what your competitors post, how often and what works for them, so you know which formats and topics to test. Pick three to five competitors, record each one’s followers, posting cadence and formats on every platform, then measure each post against that account’s own usual views, not against yours: the posts far above their usual are what’s working. Finish with the gaps nobody fills. Or ask Oneirosea for the whole brief in one prompt.
Find your real competitors
- List the brands your customers compare you with, not only the biggest names in your category.
- Search the words your customers use on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube and note the accounts that keep coming up: they compete for the same attention, even if they sell something else.
- On Instagram, open About this account on a competitor’s profile. For some accounts it lists the public accounts that share the most followers with it, which are often competitors you hadn’t found.
- Keep three to five. More, and the analysis turns into a spreadsheet nobody reads.
Source: Instagram Help Center
A social media competitor analysis template
Copy these rows into a sheet, with a column for each competitor and one for you.
| What to record | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Followers on each platform | Their profiles. YouTube rounds public counts above 1,000, so 123,456 subscribers shows as 123K. |
| Posts a week, by platform | Count their posts over the past four weeks. |
| Formats | Which they post most: Reels, carousels, Shorts, long videos, LIVE. |
| Usual views per post | The median views of their last 20 to 30 posts. |
| Top posts | Posts far above their usual views, with each one’s hook and topic. |
| Content pillars | The three or four topics they keep returning to. |
| Offers and calls to action | What their posts ask viewers to do, and the link in their bio. |
| Ads running | About this account on Instagram, which links to the account’s active ads, or the ad libraries. |
| Account history | About this account: the date joined, how many times the username has changed and, for some accounts, the country it’s based in. |
Source: YouTube Help, Instagram Help Center
Measure each post against the account’s own average
A brand with a million followers out-views a small one on an ordinary day, so comparing raw views tells you who is bigger, not what works. Compare each post with its own account instead: find the median views of the account’s recent posts, then divide each post’s views by it. A post at five times its account’s median worked, whatever the account’s size.
Use the median, not the mean: one viral post drags the mean up and hides everything else.
Then read the posts at the top of each competitor’s list for what they share: the hook, the format, the length, the topic. A pattern that repeats across several competitors is the first thing to test.
See the ads they run
On Instagram, About this account links to an account’s active ads in the Meta Ad Library. It shows the ads, but not their targeting, budget or spend. The library gives each ad’s start date: one that has run for months is one the competitor keeps paying for, and worth reading closely.
Find the gaps
- Questions nobody answers. Read the comments on competitors’ top posts for questions they leave hanging.
- Formats that do well where few competitors use them.
- Platforms they neglect. A competitor posting daily on Instagram and twice a month on TikTok leaves room on TikTok.
- Hooks they all repeat. When every account opens the same way, a different first line stands out.
Turn each gap into a test: one post, one format, one number to beat.
The whole competitor analysis in one prompt
Oneirosea works like ChatGPT for social media, answering from live public data. Name your competitors and it reads their profiles and recent posts on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Threads and Bluesky, measures every post against its own account’s baseline, and hands back a brief: audience and posting cadence side by side, each competitor’s pillars, formats, hooks and top posts, the patterns they share, the gaps, and the content tests to run first, every post linked to its source.
My client sells specialty coffee online. Compare their three biggest competitors on Instagram and TikTok: how often they post, which formats they use, which posts beat their usual views and why, and the gaps my client could fill.
Agencies run it for each client before a pitch or a quarterly review.
Common questions
What is a social media competitor analysis?
A comparison of what your competitors post on social media, how often, and which of their posts work, so you can see what to test and where they leave gaps.
How do I do a social media competitor analysis?
Pick three to five competitors, record their followers, posting cadence, formats and top posts on each platform, measure each post against that account’s own median views, and list the gaps nobody fills.
Is there a free social media competitor analysis template?
Yes: the template on this page. Copy its rows into a sheet with one column per competitor and one for you, and fill it in from their profiles and recent posts.
How do I find my competitors on Instagram?
Search the words your customers use and note the accounts that keep appearing. Then open About this account on one competitor: for some accounts it lists the public accounts sharing the most followers with it.
Can I see how much a competitor spends on ads?
Not on Instagram: About this account shows an account’s active ads but not their targeting, budget or spend. The Meta Ad Library shows spend only for ads about social issues, elections or politics.
Sources
- What is “About this account” on Instagram and ThreadsInstagram Help Center, read October 26, 2026
- Check your YouTube subscriber countYouTube Help, read October 26, 2026
- About the Meta Ad LibraryMeta Business Help Center, read October 26, 2026