A belly full of Thanksgiving turkey is a sure sign the new year is on its way. With 2017 just around the corner, how are you evaluating your competitors and effectiveness on social media? Don’t spend all of your time on the new gaming feature in Facebook Messenger, and check out these interesting tips to make 2017 your most successful year.

Hootsuite recently shared an article on how to conduct a competitive analysis on social media. They offer a few key tactics you can easily employ:

• Start by Google searching keywords your brand or destinations hopes to lead, and see who makes it to the top of the search (i.e. “Small town Midwest destinations”, or “Best state to visit in the winter”, etc.) .
• Once you find your competitors, find out what channels they occupy, how often they post, how fast their audience is growing, and where they rank with engagement.
• Conduct a simple SWOT analysis, and use the information to inspire your strategy, not duplicate.

There are several tools listed throughout the blog to make this an even easier process, so be sure to read it before your holiday break. While you are pondering on your competitors, check out these tips from Social Media Today on 6 Tactics to Instantly Boost Social Media Reach For Your Brand or Business. Hint: The first one is video.

Last but certainly not least, have you tried the Instant Games on Messenger feature? Facebook makes another bold move to completely take over the internet by adding Pac Man, Words with Friends, and Space Invaders to Messenger.

Did you come across any interesting articles or social media news? Share them with the TwoSix Digital team by Tweeting us or posting on our Facebook. While you’re there, giver a shout out to the newest member of the TwoSix Digital team – Marissa Conniff. Thanks for reading!