What Is Share of Voice?
Share of voice measures your brand's visibility relative to competitors across marketing channels. Learn how to calculate and use it.
Key Takeaways
- Share of voice measures how much of the total market conversation or advertising your brand owns.
- Research shows that brands with share of voice exceeding their market share tend to grow.
- SOV can be measured across paid media, organic search, social media, and earned media.
What share of voice measures
Share of voice is a metric that quantifies your brand's presence in a market relative to competitors. Originally it measured the percentage of total advertising spend or impressions in a category that belonged to one brand. Today it extends to organic search visibility, social media mentions, press coverage, and any channel where brands compete for attention. A 30% share of voice means your brand accounts for roughly a third of all category visibility.
SOV and market share relationship
Research by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising found a strong correlation between excess share of voice and market share growth. When a brand's SOV exceeds its market share, it tends to gain share over time. When SOV falls below market share, the brand tends to lose ground. This relationship makes SOV a leading indicator of future growth, giving marketers a framework for setting investment levels.
How to calculate SOV
For paid media, divide your impressions or spend by the total category impressions or spend. For organic search, use SEO tools to compare your keyword visibility against competitors. For social media, track brand mentions as a percentage of total category mentions. In African markets where digital advertising data may be less transparent, social listening tools and search visibility provide the most accessible SOV measurements.
Using SOV strategically
Compare your SOV to your market share to identify growth opportunities. If your SOV is 15% but your market share is 10%, you are investing ahead of your current position, which typically leads to share gains. If your SOV has dropped while competitors have increased theirs, investigate which channels they are winning and whether your content or media strategy needs adjustment. Track SOV quarterly to spot competitive shifts early.