CompetitorAnalysisforTuitionClub Lola Olson
Sample Question: How do we connect with parents in London? Blog Utilising a blog is important for growing an audience and creating genuine content you can post and share across social networking sites. Having a blog allows you to update your website frequently, and thus make it appear more active and relevant in search engines. In terms of connecting to parents in London, your blog should reflect entries that will appeal to parents such as subjects that go in line with school events (exams, revision times, back to school times, etc.). Since this is a sample report, I’ve just put general information about how to utilise a blog, the time commitments, and competitors and will target specifics about parents in London in a broader report.
Time Commitment and Result If you want to fully commit to having a blog and angling it towards London parents you should first lay out a content plan for a few weeks, have someone who can update twice a week minimum, and browse the web for repositories of information you can use. Here are a few tips with regards to getting that started: • • •
Draw up a content plan from the beginning and schedule certain employees to write articles by a deadline. Have a running list of content ideas sitting by your desk so that you can write them down when you think of them. Utilise Google Reader to subscribe to various websites that could provide content or things to link to.
Competitors Since I don’t have your competitors, this is just an example of what it might say. Your current competitors are using their blog to connect to their parents considerably well. Competitor #1 updates three times a week with educational content that is highly engaged. Parents seem to get involved in this site when question are asked. Competitor #2 is updating once a week with a high level of commenting and engagement online. All of their articles have small plugs and connections to services they offer. Competitor #3 is posting three times a week with little engagement on their direct website. However, where they link to other articles shows that they engage parents through social media.
Twitter Twitter can be a great place to expand and connect with all sorts of audiences. You can search for relevant topics, follow industry leaders, and find ways of connecting with individuals easily. However, Twitter also has the challenge of being a high potential for spam. Companies that update frequently, almost robotically, without much interaction, who have more people they are following than people that are following them look spammy and distrustful. It’s always best to establish these networks with the audience you have. Since this is a sample report, I’ve just put general information about how to utilise Twitter, the time commitments, and competitors and will target specifics about parents in London in a broader report.
Time Commitment and Result How often you wish to tweet depends on what you have to offer. Never make updates robotic, but do link to content that you’d like to share. How often you update depends on what you have to offer and to whom. Here are a few tips with regard to getting started: • • •
Don’t follow just to follow. There is no point crowding up your twitter feed with news organisations or anything else official that you’re not honestly going to read. Engage with your audience on a low level. Don’t hit anyone with hard sales pitches, or you could be deemed a spammer. Make sure people can see why they would want to follow you and what you have to offer.
Competitors Since I don’t have your competitors, this is just an example of what it might say. Your current competitors are utilising Twitter differently. Competitor #1 automatically shares Facebook updates on Twitter and has a low level of followers and engagement. Competitor #2 generates discussions using topics and involving themselves in daily trends. Competitor #3 has no Twitter account. Competitor #4 solely utilises Twitter to advertise sales, which may or may not be effective. There seems to be a low level of engagement but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are not seeing increased sales.
Competitor Analysis for Tuition Club
Lola Olson
Facebook Facebook is a more personal network with a specific way of sharing content that companies usually have to work around or work to their advantage. Due to the advent of the news feed, how your audience sees you depend on how you rank and what you have to offer. Companies that do things like cross post updates automatically from Twitter without much of a level of engagement won’t find themselves showing up in many News Feeds. Using advertising numbers or even advertising to your advantage can prove to drive a lot of traffic and business if you know how to look. Since this is a sample report, I’ve just put general information about how to utilise Facebook, the time commitments, and competitors and will target specifics about parents in London in a broader report.
Time Commitment and Result Sharing frequently on Facebook can be a downfall. If your content seems too repetitive and there is a very low level of engagement, it can be seen as uninteresting and put you down in the chances of appearing in newsfeeds. Here are some general ideas of how to get started: • • • •
Find groups or affiliations of people you know in person and introduce your company. Social networks aren’t usually the place for uber-corporate lingo. Appear friendly and personable in your interactions and answer questions as best you can. Utilise ads for promotions, sales, or to find out the numbers of an area you’re looking for. While you don’t need a specific content plan for Facebook, you do need to have some ideas for semi-frequent posts. Keeping aware of the news of your industry can at least give you something to share that may be of interest to your audience.
Competitors Since I don’t have your competitors, this is just an example of what it might say. Your current competitors are utilising Facebook in different capacities. Competitor #1 has a large following and actively advertises regular sales in order to get people to “Like” them. They also have a high level of engagement. Competitor #2 has a ghost town Facebook which they don’t update very often with and they don’t respond to questions. Competitor #3 has 200 Likes and is medium in popularity. They seem to be figuring out which posts get the most engagement.
LinkedIn LinkedIn is a professional network that is semi-active. How people engage with it depends on their background and their goals. It seems that many use LinkedIn just a CV repository without interacting much in the groups or the more social aspect of the network. LinkedIn may not be the ideal place for you to reach your target audience in this instance Since this is a sample report, I’ve just put general information about how to utilise Facebook, the time commitments, and competitors and will target specifics about parents in London in a broader report.
Time Commitment and Result At the very minimum, LinkedIn may be a good place to find new tutors or connect professionally with people you already know. Here are a few tips with regard to getting started: • • •
Set up a company page and get connected. Make sure it’s clear that your company is on LinkedIn to your employees. Depending on what you want to achieve, you may want to set up a group where people can share or link discussions. How active people get involve in this depends on the objective of the group. Offer incentives for employees to follow you and spread the word about your company.
Competitors Since I don’t have your competitors, this is just an example of what it might say. Your current competitors are utilising Facebook in different capacities. Competitor #1 has no LinkedIn presence whatsoever. Competitor #2 has a small company page with a relatively small following. Most people who are following the company page are employees. Competitor #3 has an established group on LinkedIn with a high level of engagement. Most of that engagement is coming from within the company, rather than without outside parents or anyone who might lead to a potential sale.
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