Benchmarking
Share of voice in the Gulf: measure the market that matters
41% of what, exactly? Share of voice is only useful when the denominator is your market, your language and your sources.
Share of voice is the simplest benchmark there is: your mentions divided by everyone’s. It is also the easiest to get wrong, because “everyone” is a choice.
Three choices that change the number
Market: a regional competitor with a global parent will swamp you if you count their worldwide mentions. Language: Arabic only, English only or both — the answer differs by sector, and by whether your customers write reviews in the language they complain in. Sources: social alone flatters brands that run campaigns; add news and forums and the picture changes.
Pair it with sentiment
A rising share of voice during an outage is not good news. Read the share next to the sentiment mix for the same window, and next to who is driving it — three creators can move a share point in an afternoon.
Fix the denominator once, write it down, and report the same number every month. A benchmark that moves its own goalposts is a story, not a measure.