SWOT Away The Competition

Now you may be thinking “this dude is a fool…he can’t even spell SWAT right!” In this particular case I am not swatting away the competition as you would do to a fly (however exciting that may be), and I am definitely not talking about a group of policemen who are trained to deal with violent and dangerous situations (thank you Webster’s for that definition).

I am however referencing a S.W.O.T. Analysis, the strategic planning method created by management consultant Albert S. Humphrey. In just about any venture, whether business, sports, finding a great place to eat, or even dating – you will want to analyze the competition. A S.W.O.T. Analysis is one such way of doing this. SWOT Matrices come in various form and fashion, but what is most important is the content.

I could ramble on about exactly what this is and how it is used, but instead I will focus on how this handy dandy tool can be used in social media (if you want to know what just do a quick Google). As soon as you define what your objective or goal is you can use this tool to figure out which factors impact that goal.

Strengths and Weaknesses are Internal Influences; 
Opportunities and Threats are External.

eMentorMarketing discusses how important it is to understand your strengths when creating a social media marketing strategy. Areas of strength may include:

• Large Market Reach
• Great Customer Service
• An Engaging Community
• You Are the “Go-to” Person
• Your Customers are Open to Future Offers

All of these strengths tie into the overall importance of having a clean, overall objective in what you are trying to accomplish. No matter what the content ends up being, it is important to ask yourself “Self…do my strengths match up with the desired end results I want?” As you begin to assess all areas of a SWOT Analysis you can see where you need to most work and where you have a competitive advantage.

Despite what you think your advantage may be, Channel Ship suggests that strengths can also be weaknesses. For example, “being very personal.” If you do not have the right people at the helm of creating your social media content, it could become a liability rather than a strength. How do you make sure you are not committing social media suicide? You get a plan…and I suggest starting with a SWOT Analysis THEN make your plan.

As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish”