How to research competitors on social media without scraping

Some tools collect competitor data by scraping social media profiles. Scraping breaks most platforms' terms of service, the data is often unreliable, and it can get accounts suspended. You can learn most of what you need from official sources and careful observation instead.

Here's how to research competitors on social media the right way.

Use official APIs where you can

Some platforms share public data through official APIs. YouTube's Data API, for example, provides a channel's public statistics and recent videos. Other platforms only share this kind of data with apps they've approved. Use the official data that's available, and label it as verified.

Record what you can see, and label it

For platforms without an official API, a team member can note what's publicly visible on a sample of posts: how often the competitor posts, which formats and topics they use, and visible engagement. Label these numbers as estimates. They're useful for spotting patterns, but they aren't exact measurements.

Look for patterns

The most useful findings are usually patterns rather than exact numbers. Ask:

• Which formats does the competitor use most, and which get the best response?
• What do their customers ask in the comments?
• Which topics do they ignore that your client could cover?
• How often do they post, and has that changed recently?

Compare fairly

A competitor with ten times more followers will usually get more likes. Compare engagement rates and the mix of formats instead of raw totals. Compare the same platform with the same platform, such as Instagram with Instagram.

Turn findings into content ideas

Finish every competitor review with two or three content ideas, each based on something you found. For example: "Competitors don't answer pricing questions, but our client's customers ask about pricing every week."

Keep your research ethical

Don't create fake accounts to follow competitors, don't copy their content, and don't present estimates as exact figures in client reports.

How Ogasocial handles competitor research

Ogasocial's Market watch gets YouTube data through the official API and marks it as verified. Numbers your team adds by hand are marked as estimates, Ogasocial doesn't scrape websites, and AI content ideas that quote numbers not found in the data are discarded.