Engagement rate is an important metric used by marketers and content creators to measure the level of engagement and interest that their content generates. It is calculated by dividing the total number of interactions on a piece of content by the total number of impressions (views) that the content received.
There are a few key factors that go into calculating engagement rate:
Total interactions
This includes the total number of actions that users took on the content. The main interactions tracked for engagement rate are:
- Likes
- Comments
- Shares
- Clicks
So the total interactions is the sum of all the likes, comments, shares, and clicks that the content received. Other interactions like dwell time can also be included but likes, comments, shares and clicks are the main ones.
Total impressions
This is the total number of times the content was viewed. On social media, it’s usually the number of times the post was shown in someone’s feed and they had the opportunity to interact with it. For websites, impressions refer to pageviews.
Total impressions serve as the denominator in the engagement rate formula. A piece of content can receive a large number of interactions but if the total impressions is very high, it will still have a low engagement rate.
Engagement rate formula
Putting this together, the formula for calculating engagement rate is:
Engagement Rate = (Total interactions / Total impressions) x 100
Or in other words:
Engagement Rate % = (Likes + Comments + Shares + Clicks) / Impressions x 100
Example calculation
Let’s say a post received:
- 500 likes
- 100 comments
- 300 shares
- 8000 clicks
And this post was viewed 60,000 times (had 60,000 impressions).
The engagement rate would be calculated as:
(500 + 100 + 300 + 8000) / 60000 x 100 = 15%
What is a good engagement rate?
The average engagement rate varies widely based on platform and industry. Here are some benchmark engagement rates to aim for:
| Platform | Good Engagement Rate |
|---|---|
| 2-4% | |
| 2-4% | |
| 1-2% | |
| 2-5% | |
| Blogs | 5-15% |
As you can see engagement rates tend to be higher on platforms like blogs where users spend more time consuming content. On social platforms with quick scrolling feeds, short attention spans lead to lower engagement.
Engagement also varies significantly based on factors like:
- Topic and content type – some topics naturally spark more interest.
- Call-to-actions – posts that encourage engagement get higher rates.
- Time of day and week when content is posted.
- Use of visuals like images and video.
Knowing the average rates for your industry is key. But it’s also important to analyze how engagement differs across topics, formats, CTAs, etc. to create content that resonates most with your audience.
Why is engagement rate important?
There are a few key reasons why engagement rate is an invaluable metric for any content creator or marketer:
It measures audience interest and connection to your content
Engagement shows that your content strikes a chord with your audience. If people are liking, commenting and sharing, that’s a sign they find it valuable and relevant to them.
It helps improve future content
Analyzing engagement rates over time, across different topics and formats, allows you to iterate and improve. You can double down on content styles and topics that spark high engagement.
It optimizes social media algorithms
On social platforms like Facebook, high engagement helps boost future reach and distribution in the algorithm. Creating engaging content that gets likes, comments, clicks shows the platform your content adds value.
It avoids vanity metrics like views and followers
Raw impressions, views and follower counts can be misleading. 5000 followers won’t matter if your content never engages them. Engagement rate is a ratio that cuts through vanity metrics to focus on actual interest and connection with your audience.
It improves conversions and sales
Ultimately engagement leads to more conversions and sales for brands. When done right, better engagement leads to building an audience that is more likely to buy from you and become loyal customers.
Tips for improving your engagement rate
Here are some proven tactics to improve engagement rates on content:
Create content around topics your audience cares about
Research interests, questions and pain points your audience has. Address those needs with helpful and actionable content.
Use strong calls-to-action in your content
Give people clear directions for interacting – tell them to like, comment, click, share, tag a friend. Tie CTAs to their motivations.
Optimize when you publish based on analytics
Study historical analytics to find times and days when your audience is most active and engageable.
Use images, infographics and video to make engaging visual content
Visuals make content more eye-catching, easier to digest and more likely to engage audiences.
Respond and interact with your audience
Reply to comments, answer questions, jump into conversations. This drives further engagement.
Experiment with new content formats and ideas
Try new types of posts like polls, quizzes, user-generated content. See what resonates then do more of what works.
Analyze and improve continuously
Use analytics to make ongoing improvements. Double down on areas that drive engagement.
Conclusion
Calculating engagement rate is essential for marketers and content creators looking to truly connect with their audience. While goals and benchmarks vary, improving engagement rate comes down to understanding your audience and using that insight to create high-quality, relevant content and conversations.
By monitoring metrics like likes, shares and comments, you can iteratively improve and optimize to build an audience that engages more deeply with your brand.