Social media accounts with larger followers are going to see more interactions on their posts. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean their content is better.
The engagement rate gives us an assessment of the quality of the content, independent of the number of followers an account has.
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What is the Engagement Rate?
Engagement rate is a metric used to assess the average number of interactions your social media content receives per follower.
The engagement rate is calculated as the total number of interactions your content receives divided by your total number of followers, multiplied by 100%.
In simpler terms, it’s a measure of how well your content performs independently of your follower count.
What counts as an interaction depends on the platform, but most often refers to likes, reactions, shares, and comments.
Why Should You Track Engagement Rate?
Because you’re factoring in the number of followers you have, your engagement rate provides an honest assessment of the quality of your content.
For example, if a brand has millions of followers, but only receives a few dozen interactions per post, it’s likely they’re not producing high-quality content.
Contrast that with an account that only has a few thousand followers but gets tons of shares and comments every time. That would gain a high engagement rate.
The engagement rate can also shed light on the differences between digital commerce vs ecommerce strategies. If you have a low engagement rate, it’s possible that you’ve gained a large following that isn’t your target customer, highlighting the importance of aligning your content with your specific audience’s preferences and interests.
Or perhaps, you have been able to reach a following from brand recognition alone, but you’re not creating the social media content your audience wants.
Try experimenting with a content creation tool and create posts that establish credibility, connect with your audience, and increase your engagement rate.
How to Calculate Engagement Rate
The engagement rate is calculated as total engagement divided by total followers, multiplied by 100%.
The engagement rate formula is:
Engagement Rate = Total Engagement / Total Followers x 100%
In this case:
- Total Engagement = the sum of all interactions (shares, comments, reactions, etc.)
- Total Followers = the number of people who follow your account
For example, if Company A posted on Facebook to their 10,000 fans and received:
- 200 likes
- 100 comments
- 50 shares
This means that their total engagement would be 350 (200+100+50). Let’s plug this into the equation:
Company A’s Engagement Rate = 350 / 10,000 x 100% = 3.5%
And there you go! Now you can create your own engagement rate calculator with this easy formula.
What is a Good Engagement Rate?
In order to determine if your engagement rate is good or bad, it must be benchmarked against something else. And you can start by asking yourself what is your end goal, and measure accordingly.
- How your content performs in a given time period (benchmark against your own engagement rate over time)
- Compares your performance against competitors (benchmark against your key competitors)
- Create a benchmark for your industry social media engagement performance (benchmark against top industry players)
- Compare your performance on different social media platforms. (benchmark against your own social media profiles)
Usually, this would take hours of calculating or reporting. However, a tool like Keyhole would calculate your engagement rate in real-time and within seconds. You can also see how your content has performed over time, as well as use “Comparisons” to stack your profiles against each other and competitors.
This is one of the many ways in which Keyhole users can unlock powerful social media ROI specifics, and save over 5 hours every week from manual reporting, calculating, and benchmarking.
Final Words
However, just calculating the engagement rate is not enough. You need a social media analytics tool to decipher all crucial metrics to understand your impact on social media.
Keyhole is the tool you might need to make data-driven decisions while streamlining social media management efforts. On top of campaign tracking, influencer marketing, and social listening, you can also schedule and publish your social media posts on one platform.
Take its free trial and get started now!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate engagement rate?
Engagement rate is calculated as total engagement divided by total followers, multiplied by 100%. The engagement rate formula is:
Engagement Rate = Total Engagement / Total Followers x 100%
Why is engagement rate so important?
The engagement rate is an essential indicative of a mismatch between the content you’re producing and your audience. This metric provides an honest assessment of the quality of your content.
What does a low engagement rate mean?
If you have a low engagement rate, you may have gained a large following that isn’t your target customer. In that case, you have to tweak your content marketing strategies to head in the right direction.
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How Do I Calculate Social Media ROI?
How Do I Calculate Social Media Conversions?