Share of voice is one of the most-quoted and least-defined metrics in marketing. This methodology produces a number you can defend in a board meeting.
Define the conversation
Share of voice is meaningless without a defined conversation. Document the topic, time window, geography, and source set before any measurement begins. Changing any of these mid-measurement breaks comparability — a discipline frequently violated by reporting tools.
Source weighting
Not all mentions are equal. Apply a documented weighting model: tier-one outlets and analyst reports at 1.0; tier-two trade press at 0.6; tier-three blogs and aggregators at 0.3; user-generated content at 0.1. The exact weights are less important than that they exist and are consistently applied.
The competitor set
Define the competitor set explicitly and review it every six months. New entrants and category exits both distort the metric. The most common error is using a competitor set that is convenient for the current narrative, not the actual competitive reality.
Reporting cadence
Monthly directional reporting. Quarterly analytical reporting with full source-set documentation. Annual recalibration of weights and competitor set with an external audit where the metric is reported externally.
Last updated May 2026 · Filed under Tools