Share of voice vs market share
The short answer
Market share is your slice of a category's sales. Share of voice is your slice of its conversation or advertising. One measures buying, the other attention.
| Share of voice | Market share | |
|---|---|---|
| Measures | Attention: mentions, ads, conversation | Sales: revenue or units |
| Formula | Your mentions / all mentions in the set | Your sales / all sales in the category |
| Data source | Social posts, ad spend, press | Retail scanner data, company reports |
| How fast it moves | Weekly | Quarterly |
| Tends to | Lead | Follow |
What is the difference between share of voice and market share?
Share of voice is the share of attention, market share is the share of money. A challenger brand can own a fifth of the category conversation on Instagram while selling a twentieth of the category's units. That gap is the interesting number.
Does share of voice predict market share?
The long-standing argument in advertising is that it tends to lead. A brand whose share of voice sits above its market share usually gains share over time, and one below it usually loses. The original work was on advertising spend, not social mentions, and it is a tendency across many brands rather than a rule for any one of them.
The useful part for a brand team is the comparison, not the prediction. If your voice share is below your sales share, people are buying you without talking about you, which is a habit that a louder competitor can break.
How do you calculate share of voice on social?
Pick the competitive set first, because the answer depends entirely on it. Count mentions of each brand over the same window. Divide yours by the total. A share of voice quoted without the set it was calculated against is not a number you can use.
Share of voice from measured mentions
Every brand page with a competitive set shows mentions across the set side by side, counted from the same collection on the same days, so the share is comparable. We do not publish market share; that needs sales data we do not hold.
Share of voice vs Market share: questions people ask
What is a good share of voice?
Relative to your market share. A share of voice above your share of sales is generally read as a sign of growth to come; below it, as a risk.
Is share of voice the same as share of search?
No. Share of search counts searches for a brand name against searches for its competitors. It is a third measure of attention, from search engines instead of posts or ads.