Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Three social media giants racing towards success were copying each other to dominate the online market.
When Snapchat hit the market, it was a tremendous success. So thriving that Instagram started to duplicate some of its features, making Instagram even more popular. Snapchat is too big of a company to be completely upset by this.
Today, Snapchat is still a success. And Instagram has grown so much after copying Snapchat’s features. According to EarthWeb, Instagram is now worth more than $100 billion.
On the one hand, Facebook is successfully copying Instagram. Eventually, TikTok surfaced. TikTok is the latest social network taking over the world. It includes original, user-generated content in mixes of singing, dancing, comedy, and vlogging. TikTok’s own app itself provides a platform for users to create content and share it with others.
Then other social media platforms followed TikTok’s pursuit. Fast forward to 2019, and YouTube is becoming the TikTok of video. Just like TikTok, YouTube is coming out with short videos that are usually less than a minute long.
They’re similar to TikTok but instead of making money from ads (or maybe because TikTok still hasn’t figured out how to make money), YouTube is throwing a ton of cash at creators making it easier for “influencers” to make money from viral videos.
Now, YouTube Shorts was estimated to have more than 30 billion views according to Statista.
Social media is changing. The next major social media platform is coming in the next few years.
We are living in an era of disruption. The internet is no longer a tool that you have to use, but it’s part of your everyday life. When you miss out on something new and important, you don’t win. It only costs you money in the long run.
Look at the social media landscape and analyze where people are going. So, what can learn from Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok? Social networks are being excelled in their success by each other as they start to clone each other. One platform is copying another to succeed.
If you are in business, you are going against companies that are greatly outpacing you. Here’s what I want you to do:
Look at what your competitors are doing.
I would say that the most important thing is to look at what your competitor’s doing. You can use tools like Ubersuggest or Google Trends to figure out what your competitors are doing and try to copy it.
Look at what they’re doing, copy it, and see if you can figure out what’s working and then do something different. You can also use tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Analytics to perform this survey and get a better insight regarding your customers’ feedback or preferences.
You see, even though people come to a website to browse it, they’re not looking to just look through that website. They’re really coming there knowing what they want. And so if you’re not giving them that experience, somebody else is going to step in and show them something more powerful than what you currently have. And so, you have to look for the patterns. You have to do research on your audience.
When you’re creating a new product, it’s important to think about how your competitors are tackling the same problem. Where can you make improvements? Which features do most people want? And what do they not like? Once you’ve found those patterns, you’ll know exactly what needs changing.
Hire Better Talent
Some of your competitors are growing faster. Look at their work history and look at the talent that they have. You can also hire better talent if you know what businesses they are in charge of, and you should also look to make sure they get promotions every once in a while.
The saying goes, “You get what you pay for.” When it comes to hiring great talent, this is 100% true. If you don’t hire and promote the best people, then you will likely not be able to keep up with your competitors or grow at a quicker rate than them. You will be stuck where you are today and wonder why it has been so difficult.
And if they’re not amazing, they won’t stick around so you need to find them! Find out what company is getting the great results and go find those people. Then hire them and move on from there because the competition will be hard-pressed to keep up with you!
Begin Experimenting
Sometimes the best way to get ahead of your competition is to start experimenting. You’re going to make mistakes, and possibly a whole lot of them, but that’s how you learn, adapt, and succeed over time.
It’s one thing to copy your competitors and the culture of their sites. It’s something else entirely to start learning what you need to do in order to win.
If what your competitors are doing is right, you can beat them. But if they’re truly innovating, you’ll have to take creative risks and run at least one experiment a month, and ideally one a week. This way, over time, you’ll learn how to create a better product or service and even win over your competition.
Today’s stream of content consumers expects sophisticated social media experiences that are built upon insights into their interests. To build loyalty and market share, companies must build products or services that are not only useful but engaging.
Don’t get demotivated by the failures. Just keep in mind the more you fail, eventually, you’ll go down a path that leads you down the right way and helps you win.
This is what will happen with Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok whether you like it or not. When I say copy, it doesn’t mean it is a pixel-for-pixel copycat of what they are doing. It is an idea, and strategy designed to exceed your competitors in the market.
