What is Share of Voice?
Share of voice (SOV) is a marketing metric that quantifies how much attention your brand gets compared to competitors. It is typically expressed as a percentage and can be measured across multiple channels, including:
- Paid advertising (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, TV, radio, billboards, etc.)
- Organic search (Google rankings, SEO visibility, etc.)
- Social media (mentions, engagements, hashtags, etc.)
- Media coverage (press mentions, blog articles, influencer posts, etc.)
For example, if your business has 30% of all industry-related social media mentions in Nigeria while competitors share the remaining 70%, your SOV is 30%. This gives a tangible way to assess how visible your brand is and how effectively your marketing efforts are reaching audiences.
For food and beverage companies, and other companies out there, share of voice is always about knowing how often and how prominently your brand is mentioned compared to others in your industry. Understanding how to calculate share of voice (SOV) is key to measuring your visibility in the market and refining your marketing strategies for better results.
This article will explain what SOV is, how to calculate it, and how Nigerian businesses can use it to gain a competitive edge.
Why is Share of Voice Important in Nigeria’s Market?
SOV is more than just a number—it’s a strategic tool. Here’s why Nigerian brands should track it:
- Market Positioning – Knowing your SOV helps you understand whether your brand is leading or lagging in the industry. If your SOV is low, you may need more aggressive marketing or PR strategies.
- Competitive Benchmarking – Nigerian industries, from fintech to FMCG, are highly competitive. By monitoring SOV, you can track how well your marketing campaigns perform relative to others.
- Optimizing Resource Allocation – If competitors dominate organic search but are weak in influencer marketing, you can allocate resources accordingly to fill that gap.
- Growth Tracking – If your SOV increases over time, it indicates that your marketing efforts are effective. A decline signals the need for adjustments.
How to Calculate Share of Voice
To calculate SOV effectively, follow these steps:
1. Identify Your Competitors
The first step is identifying competitors within your industry. Consider direct competitors (offering similar products/services) and indirect competitors (alternative solutions). Use tools like Google Trends, SEMrush, or Nigerian social listening platforms to track competition.
2. Define Your Metrics
SOV can be calculated across multiple channels. Here are key metrics:
- Brand mentions: The number of times your brand is mentioned in comparison to competitors.
- Impressions: How often your content (ads, posts) is seen by your target audience.
- Paid search SOV: Your brand’s visibility in paid search compared to competitors.
- Organic search SOV: The percentage of search traffic for key industry terms that your brand captures.
- Social media SOV: The share of mentions, engagements, and hashtags associated with your brand.
3. Use Social Listening & Analytics Tools
Tracking brand mentions and engagement across social media is essential. Use tools like:
- Google Analytics – For organic search and website traffic.
- Sprout Social – For monitoring social media engagement.
- SEMrush & Ahrefs – For SEO and paid ad performance.
4. Track Paid and Organic Search Performance
Beyond social media, measure how visible your brand is in search results.
- For paid search, use Google Ads to check your Impression Share.
- For organic search, use Google Search Console and Moz to track ranking visibility.
5. Apply the Share of Voice Formula
To calculate SOV, use this formula:
SOV = (Your Brand’s Metric / Total Market Metric) × 100
For example, if your food and beverage company in Nigeria has 2,000 mentions out of 10,000 total industry mentions:
SOV = (2,000 / 10,000) × 100 = 20%
This means you own 20% of the conversation in your industry.
6. Monitor and Optimize
SOV is not static. Competitor campaigns, trends, and customer interests shift. Regular monitoring ensures your marketing strategies stay effective.
If your SOV drops, consider:
- Increasing advertising spend
- Partnering with influencers
- Enhancing SEO efforts
- Running social media campaigns
Real-World Example: HOW PurpleStardust is Increasing SOV for Honeywell
A Nigerian company Honeywell needed creative strategies to improve Share of voice across social networks and as well to launch their new product.This was done by revitalizing the Bambamlala jingle and introducing a redesigned noodle product.
The challenge was to create a compelling campaign that would resonate with consumers and effectively launch the updated product, which was done effectively.
Understanding how to calculate share of voice is a game-changer for Nigerian businesses. Whatever industry you’re in, tracking SOV helps refine strategies, benchmark competitors, and drive brand growth.
For creative solutions to improve share of Voice, contact us
