Share of Voice Formula
Your Brand Mentions ÷ Total Market Mentions (You + Competitors) × 100 = SOV%
For example: if your brand is mentioned 500 times in a month and your top 4 competitors are mentioned 1,500 times combined, the total is 2,000 mentions. Your SOV = 500/2000 × 100 = 25%.
Why SOV Matters
SOV connects social media activity to competitive position. A brand that grows its follower count but loses SOV may be growing more slowly than the category. A brand that maintains SOV while the category grows is actually gaining relative ground.
Research by Les Binet and Peter Field (cited in "The Long and Short of It") found that brands with excess share of voice (spending SOV > market share) tend to grow market share over time. The same principle applies to organic social presence.
How to Grow Share of Voice
- Increase content volume and quality: More high-quality content → more engagement → more mentions
- Social listening campaigns: Actively engage in category conversations, not just your brand mentions
- PR and partnerships: Media coverage and influencer mentions boost SOV rapidly
- Community building: Brands with active communities generate more peer-to-peer mentions
SOV Measurement Tools
SOV requires social listening tools that track both your mentions and competitor mentions simultaneously. This is more complex than single-brand monitoring and typically requires a dedicated tool or service.
Aibrify's social listening capabilities include competitive monitoring, allowing you to track your SOV trend over time.