Share of voice
Share of voice (SOV) is a brand's percentage of the total conversation in a defined competitive set during a defined period. If five brands in the European beauty mid-cap segment generated 100,000 mentions in Q1 2026 and one brand drove 35,000 of them, that brand has 35% SOV. The metric matters because it is the simplest way to see whether a marketing push expanded the brand's share of attention or just its absolute volume.
What it is
Share of voice is a ratio. The numerator is the brand's mentions, posts, ad impressions, or comments in a window. The denominator is the same metric across the chosen competitive set in the same window. SOV is reported as a percentage and is most useful when tracked weekly or monthly.
The competitive set drives everything. Five direct competitors give a tight, useful number. Twenty competitors with different positioning give a noisy one.
Why it matters
Absolute mention volume rises when the category rises. SOV strips that out. If the category doubled and the brand's mentions also doubled, SOV is flat and the marketing team did not move the needle relative to peers. If SOV jumped from 28% to 35%, something worked.
SOV pairs well with calibrated engagement: a brand can have rising SOV and falling engagement, which is the classic signature of a paid push that moved volume without moving sentiment.
How Sentia uses it
Sentia computes SOV inside every monitor against the user-defined competitor list. The number splits by surface (organic posts, paid ads, creator partnerships) so a 7-point SOV gain shows whether it came from organic earned media or from the brand opening its wallet.
Related concepts
Related Reading
Start with one monitor. Free.
Add a brand, paste a couple of competitor handles, and see your first calibrated readout in under five minutes.