As science marketers, we all want to create impactful content that resonates with our audiences. But before we can do that, we have to answer two crucial questions: What content is our audience already consuming? Is it meeting their needs?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my career, it’s that competitor research is essential — but you can’t let it become an obsession. Here’s how I approach competitive analysis, and how I recommend science marketers use it to inform their content strategies.
Don’t Chase Your Competitors
There’s a temptation in marketing to track competitors so closely that you start mimicking their every move. I’ve seen this firsthand when I worked at an organization in the financial industry. We’d test a change our homepage, and the next week, our competitor’s homepage would look suspiciously similar. Flattering? Maybe. But I’d also say it was a distraction from the real goal of serving their audience.
Think of competitive analysis as finding the Big Dipper in the night sky. Your audience is your North Star: the point you’re steering toward. But to find it, you need to understand the broader landscape.”
– Shanna Jimenez, ACS Director of Society Marketing
Instead of letting competitive moves directly impact your strategy, think of competitive analysis as finding the Big Dipper in the night sky. Your audience is your North Star: the point you’re steering toward. But to find it, you need to understand the broader landscape. That means seeing what content your audience is already experiencing day to day — and how your competitors fit into that.
Takeaways for Marketers:
- Focus on your audience first — not your competitors.
- Use competitor research to understand your landscape — not as a blueprint to copy.
- Resist the temptation to react to every competitor’s move; stay grounded in your own strategy.
Dive Deeper Than a Surface Scan
It’s easy to fall into surface-level competitive research: checking a few websites, glancing at social feeds and moving on. But if you don’t look deeper, you’ll never have a true sense of how competitive content is performing and resonating with your audience.
If a competitor is producing a high volume of videos, for example, the only thing that tells you is they like making videos. It says nothing about how their audience is responding. That’s why I always push my teams to dig deeper:
- Look at SEO results: What’s actually driving traffic?
- Use social listening: Where is engagement happening?
- Analyze the share of voice: Who’s leading the conversation?
Ultimately, it’s not just about the content you can find with a quick Google search. It’s about what’s driving engagement and where the gaps and opportunities lie.
Takeaways for Marketers:
- Measure competitor content performance — not just presence.
- Focus on signals of audience engagement: comments, shares, rankings — not just publish volume.
- Ask: Where can we fill a gap or add a credible voice that’s missing?
Prioritize the Right Competitive Set
Defining your competitors can feel overwhelming, especially in science marketing. Your audience isn’t just consuming content from direct competitors — they can be swayed by publications, influencers, newsletters and even peers and mentors. I recommend:
- Start broad: Make a long list of traditional and nontraditional competitors so you don’t miss emerging players.
- Then prioritize: Who’s really impacting your audience? Identify competitors that you can meaningfully analyze.
At ACS, I like to zero in on the top five competitors who truly compete for our audience’s attention. Those are the ones worth a deeper dive. Smaller players? Sure, keep an eye on them, but don’t over-invest your limited time and resources unless they’re starting to break through.
Takeaways for Marketers:
- Start broad, but focus your deep analysis on a small set of high-impact competitors.
- Monitor smaller players, but don’t let them consume your time unless they show real traction.
- Prioritize based on audience impact, not just competitor size or content volume.
Tools and Scrappy Tactics I Recommend
In my experience, you need both technology and good old-fashioned curiosity to do this right. At ACS, we start with tools like Meltwater, SEMrush and Competiscan. From there, we also use scrappier tactics like:
- Signing up for competitor newsletters
- Checking Google autocomplete to see what people are searching for
- Watching what’s getting engagement (not just views) on social
These small tactics help fill in gaps that big tools might miss. And they help you stay attuned to the real-time content experience your audience is having.
Takeaways for Marketers:
- Use both tech tools and hands-on tactics to get a full picture.
- Look beyond websites: Emails, direct mail and newsletters matter too.
- Prioritize tools and tactics that give you insight into actual audience engagement — not just output.
From Data to Actionable Insights
Research is the first step, but what can you do once you have the data? Remember that competitive data should drive real action, not just fill reports. That’s where the work and value lie. That means:
- Look for gaps. Where’s your opportunity to fill a need or correct misinformation?
- Consider audience and channel fatigue. If your audience is bombarded with emails, is social or organic search a better channel?
- Prioritize quality over volume. I’d rather have one high-value, credible, engaging piece of content than flood the market with sameness.
At ACS, for example, we balance our goals between immediate business drivers (like membership acquisition) and longer-term brand building. Competitive insights feed into both, but only when paired with clear KPIs and strategic planning.
Takeaways for Marketers:
- Don’t stop at data collection. Push for two or three clear insights that drive action.
- Consider your ROI when making decisions. Sometimes, reaching a small, highly qualified audience is far more valuable than chasing big numbers that don’t convert.
Putting It Into Practice
Competitive analysis is a valuable tool, but it’s easy to let go down the rabbit hole and copy your competitors. But following someone else’s lead kills innovation. Full stop. Don’t let it distract you from creating content that matters.
Instead, the key is to use competitive insights to:
- Inform your content strategy, not copy one.
- Be willing to pivot fast for best results. Low-investment experiments can tell you where to double down.
- Focus on impact. Competitors may drown in their own volume of content, but remember to stay focused and produce something meaningful.
As science marketers, it’s our duty to deliver credible, valuable information. That’s what builds trust and loyalty, and that’s what helps us stand out — no matter how crowded the space.
Be the Leader: Use Test-and-Learn to Make Competitors Chase You
At the end of the day, you don’t want to be the marketer chasing competitors; you want to be the one they’re trying to keep up with. The best way to get there is through consistent testing and optimization. Instead of guessing what will resonate, put ideas into the market, measure how your audience respond, and double down on what works.
How to Turn Competitor Research into a Competitive Edge:
- Run small experiments often. Don’t wait until you think your content is perfect. Test formats, messages and channels to see what sticks.
- Use real data to guide decisions. Let audience behavior tell you what works.
- Be nimble. The strongest strategies are built on iteration, not assumptions. If something falls flat, adjust, refine and move forward.
- Set the standard your competitors want to match. When you focus on testing and learning, you become the example others follow.
- Create a culture of experimentation. Ensure everyone on your team understands the value of testing and feels free to fail and try again, and integrate it into your daily operations.
The marketers who succeed are the ones who stay focused on their audience first and foremost, letting results, not competitors, shape their next move.
