Share of Voice

What is Share of Voice

Share of Voice (SoV) is a key metric used in social media marketing to quantify the extent of brand visibility or presence within a given conversation, platform, or market. It is a measure of the proportion of social media conversations and mentions related to your brand, as compared to those of your competitors. Essentially, a higher share of voice signifies a greater market dominance and resonance of your brand's message among the target audience.

Why Is Share of Voice Important?

Share of Voice is a critical component of a successful social media strategy because it provides a clear understanding of a brand’s standing in relation to its competitors. It allows marketers to gauge the competitiveness of their brand in the online space, offering insights into their market presence and the effectiveness of their communication strategy. A higher SoV can indicate that a brand is top-of-mind for consumers, which can translate into improved brand recall, increased customer loyalty, and ultimately, better sales performance.

Moreover, SoV helps in the identification of trends and shifts in the digital landscape. By monitoring changes in SoV, brands can swiftly adapt their strategies to maintain or improve their market position. For instance, a declining SoV might indicate a need to revamp social engagement tactics or reassess the relevance of the brand’s message. Thus, Share of Voice is not merely a measure of online visibility, but a powerful tool for strategic decision-making in social media marketing.

How Do You Calculate SoV?

Calculating Share of Voice varies slightly across different social media platforms due to their unique features, but the basic principle remains the same.

In general, Share of Voice is calculated as the percentage of your brand’s mentions (or other chosen metric) out of the total mentions of all brands within your competitive set. The formula for calculating SoV is:

SoV (%) = (Your Brand’s Mentions / Total Mentions of all Competing Brands) * 100

For example, if your brand received 500 mentions in a month, and the total mentions of all brands in your market (including your brand) were 5000, your SoV would be:

SoV (%) = (500 / 5000) * 100 = 10%

This means that 10% of the conversation in your market is about your brand. This helps in identifying where your brand stands in terms of visibility and engagement in comparison to your competitors.

Calculating SoV on Facebook and Twitter

For Facebook and Twitter, the SoV can be calculated by dividing the number of brand mentions by the total mentions of the brand and its competitors. This can be done manually by counting posts or using built-in analytics tools provided by the platforms themselves, or by leveraging third-party social media analytics tools.

Calculating SoV on Instagram

Instagram’s SoV calculation involves a similar approach but also takes into account the number of comments and likes on a post. To calculate SoV on Instagram, you would divide the total engagement (likes + comments) your brand receives by the total engagement of your brand and its competitors. Note that you’d need to use Instagram’s business tools or a third-party tool that can access Instagram’s API to get this data.

Remember, when calculating SoV, always consider the specific objectives of your campaign and consider segmenting your analysis to understand the SoV for different demographics, regions, or product lines.

Calculating SoV on LinkedIn

LinkedIn, being a professional networking platform, offers unique metrics for calculating SoV. Here, the focus is more on interactions such as likes, shares, comments, and clicks on posts.

To calculate the SoV on LinkedIn, you must divide the total engagement your brand receives (likes + comments + shares + clicks) by the total engagement of your brand and its competitors. LinkedIn offers native analytics tools that provide useful insights into these metrics. You may also opt for third-party tools that can access LinkedIn’s API data for a more comprehensive analysis.

Please remember to align your calculations with your campaign objectives and consider segmenting the data based on demographics, regions, or departments to better understand the SoV across different aspects of your brand on LinkedIn.

Examples of Share of Voice

Coca Cola

Coca-Cola’s 2019 ‘Share a Coke’ campaign is a stellar example of a brand increasing its Share of Voice. The campaign, which personalized Coke bottles with customers’ names, exploded on social media, with consumers sharing pictures of their personalized bottles – leading to a surge in brand mentions and, consequently, a significant increase in Coca-Cola’s SoV on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Nike

Another example is Nike’s 2018 ‘Just Do It’ campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, which sparked a massive conversation on social media. The campaign, with its distinct and bold message, led to a dramatic increase in mentions and conversations around the brand. As a result, Nike’s Share of Voice skyrocketed compared to other sportswear brands, illustrating the power of a well-executed, conversation-stirring campaign.

IBM

On LinkedIn, IBM’s thought leadership content strategy has played a pivotal role in amplifying their Share of Voice. By consistently publishing high-quality, industry-specific articles and encouraging employee advocacy, IBM has been able to increase their brand mentions and engagements, thus boosting their SoV on the platform.