In the crowded digital marketplace, the loudest brand doesn’t always win — but the brand that commands attention in the right spaces often does. One of the most useful metrics for measuring that attention is Share of Voice (SOV). In influencer marketing, SOV helps brands understand not just their own presence, but how they stack up against competitors in the battle for audience mindshare.

What is Share of Voice (SOV)?

Share of Voice is the percentage of total brand mentions, conversations, or visibility within a given market compared to competitors. In the context of influencer marketing, it reflects how much of the influencer-driven conversation your brand occupies compared to other brands in your niche.

For example:

If influencers in your industry collectively post 1,000 pieces of content in a month, and 150 of them mention your brand, your influencer-driven SOV is 15%.

SOV isn’t just about raw numbers — it’s a proxy for how influential your brand is in the ongoing conversation.


Featured Influencer: James Clewlow
ello I am a 19 year old university student studying BsC Psychology at The University of Sheffield. I love blogging, specifically I have a new blog where I am looking at how to balance fitness, studying and a social life whilst being a student aiming to help young people achieve the lifestyle they want. However, I am interested in blogging as a whole and others areas I may look to start blogging about in the future may include fashion and travel. My main hobbies are football and fitness and I love meeting new people and doing new things.

It measures both volume (how often your brand is mentioned) and visibility (how many people see those mentions).

How to Calculate Share of Voice

The exact calculation depends on the channel and the type of data you track, but the general formula is:

SOV (%) = (Your Brand Mentions ÷ Total Mentions in Market) × 100

Here’s an example:

  • Your brand: 500 influencer mentions in a month
  • Total mentions for all competing brands: 5,000
  • SOV = (500 ÷ 5,000) × 100 = 10%

If you want to calculate share of voice in terms of reach or impressions rather than mentions, you can adapt the formula:

SOV (%) = (Your Brand Reach ÷ Total Market Reach) × 100

This method factors in the size of the audience reached rather than just the frequency of mentions, which can give a more accurate picture in influencer marketing where one post from a mega-influencer can outweigh dozens from smaller creators.

Why Share of Voice Matters in Influencer Marketing

1. Benchmarking Brand Awareness

SOV tells you how visible your brand is in comparison to others. If your SOV is low, it’s an early indicator that your brand isn’t being talked about enough to compete.

2. Tracking Campaign Effectiveness

When you run influencer campaigns, you can measure changes in SOV to see if your initiatives are actually increasing visibility.

3. Performing Competitive Analysis

By monitoring share of voice over time, you can spot competitors gaining traction, identify shifts in market conversation, and adjust your influencer strategy accordingly.

4. Informing Budget Allocation

If your SOV is lagging behind despite high spend, it may mean your influencer partnerships aren’t delivering enough visibility for the cost.

SOV and Competitive Analysis

In influencer marketing, SOV becomes even more powerful when used to evaluate the competitive landscape. By tracking not just your own influencer mentions but those of your competitors, you can identify:

  • Which influencers are driving the most visibility for competitors — potential partners for your brand.
  • Content formats that generate the highest reach — such as tutorials, unboxings, or reviews.
  • Market gaps — audiences and niches where competitors aren’t active but could be reached through strategic influencer partnerships.

For example, if a competitor has a strong SOV among lifestyle influencers but a weak presence among fitness creators, you could target that gap to gain visibility in a new audience segment.

Leveraging Influencer Reach to Grow SOV

Growing SOV isn’t just about working with more influencers — it’s about working with the right influencers whose reach and audience alignment amplify your brand’s voice.

Strategic Alignment Steps:

1. Audience Overlap Analysis: Partner with influencers whose audiences match your target demographic, ensuring that mentions actually contribute to meaningful visibility.

2. Tiered Influencer Strategy: Combine macro-influencers for broad reach with micro-influencers for deeper engagement and niche penetration.

3. Consistent Brand Messaging: Ensure influencers deliver a consistent brand narrative to reinforce recognition and recall.

4. Long-Term Partnerships: Repeat collaborations increase both frequency of mentions and perceived authenticity, which can improve your SOV over time.

Action Steps to Increase SOV with Influencer Marketing

Here’s a step-by-step framework brands can follow:

1. Define Your Competitive Set

Identify the direct competitors whose SOV you’ll track. Include both established brands and emerging players. This sets the baseline for your analysis.

2. Choose the Right Measurement Tools

Use social listening and analytics platforms that allow you to monitor share of voice across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other relevant platforms. Popular tools include Brandwatch, Sprout Social, and Meltwater.

3. Track Both Mentions and Reach

Mentions measure conversation volume, while reach shows potential audience size. Track both for a full view of SOV.

4. Map Influencer Impact

Tag influencer-generated mentions separately so you can see how much of your SOV is directly influenced by partnerships.

5. Identify High-Impact Influencers

Look for influencers whose content generates disproportionate reach or engagement compared to others. They are your visibility multipliers.

6. Fill Content Gaps

If your competitors are dominating video content, experiment with influencer-driven short-form video. If they’re strong in one niche, target a different one.

7. Run Multi-Influencer Campaigns

Coordinated campaigns with several influencers at once can create a wave of mentions, temporarily spiking SOV and grabbing attention in the market.

8. Optimize Based on Performance

If a campaign doesn’t meaningfully increase SOV, assess whether it’s an issue of influencer choice, content style, or frequency.

Example: Increasing SOV Through a Fitness Product Launch
Let’s say you’re launching a new smart water bottle in the fitness market.

Baseline:
Your influencer-driven SOV is 5%. Competitors have 12%, 15%, and 8% respectively.

Action Plan:
1. Partner with 3 macro-influencers in fitness and wellness for launch week.
2. Recruit 20 micro-influencers for ongoing daily lifestyle content featuring the product.
3. Ensure each influencer uses a branded hashtag and tags your account for easy tracking.
4. Push content in formats competitors aren’t using — e.g., hydration challenges on TikTok.

Results after 1 month:
Your SOV rises from 5% to 11%, moving you into second place in the category.

This spike not only increases immediate visibility but lays the groundwork for more brand searches, follower growth, and eventual market share.

How to Maintain and Grow SOV Over Time

A single campaign can temporarily increase SOV, but to maintain it, brands need consistency and adaptability.

  • Consistency: Maintain a steady drumbeat of influencer mentions to keep your brand in the conversation year-round.
  • Adaptability: Shift tactics when competitor activity or platform algorithms change.
  • Relationship Building: Long-term influencer partnerships tend to produce more authentic and frequent mentions, which boost SOV sustainably.

To Sum Up

Knowing how to calculate share of voice and actively tracking it in influencer marketing gives brands a competitive advantage. It’s not just a number — it’s a lens into brand visibility, competitive positioning, and campaign effectiveness.

When used correctly, SOV data can inform influencer selection, guide campaign strategies, and measure success far beyond likes and comments. Brands that commit to monitoring share of voice consistently, aligning with the right influencers, and strategically filling visibility gaps will not only speak louder than their competitors — they’ll be the ones the audience actually hears.