What is social media engagement?

Social media engagement is an umbrella term that refers to any type of interaction a person has with a brand on a platform like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Each platform is somewhat different in terms of what is measured and what matters.

The main types of social interaction

Across most social platforms, you’ll see measurements for:

Posts Comments Likes

You may also be able to track and see information related to:

Click through Signs Brand hashtags Followers/audience growth

On video platforms like YouTube, you will also be able to see how many times your content has been viewed and how long users watch each video before they leave.

Why is engagement on social media important?

Nearly two-thirds of business executives believe brands without a strong social media presence will not succeed in the long term, according to Forbes research. Nine out of ten also say that those who do not invest in it will fall out of the competition.

Although there is agreement on the importance of social media, there appears to be some disagreement. Businesses often try to measure their success on social media in terms of new leads or new sales. While you can get leads and sales through social media marketing, it’s more about building your brand and relationships.

Why should you invest in engagement?

First and foremost, good social media engagement means you’re investing your time and marketing budget wisely. You can use engagement metrics to determine what’s working and what your audience likes, so you can create more similar content.

The more customers engage with your brand, the more loyal they become. In addition, the algorithms that social networks use to determine who your post reaches are often based on engagement. The more engagement a post has, the more people will see it.

If your brand has consistently high engagement, your posts will be seen by more people.

You’re actually getting word-of-mouth marketing through all those likes, comments, and shares. Your reach depends largely on engagement. By increasing engagement on social media, you build a stronger brand and reach new audiences in an efficient and inexpensive way.

How is engagement measured on social media?

Calculating engagement rate on social media can be a bit confusing because each network defines engagement differently, and when engagement rate is given, it is calculated according to the platform’s own method.

For example, the engagement rate of a Facebook post includes clicks, comments, reactions, and shares. Twitter counts engagement as any clicks on your Tweet, including retweets, replies, likes, poll votes, and hashtag clicks.

Some platforms calculate engagement rates for you and use formulas that include reach or impressions, while others don’t. There are also special tools like Sprout Social and Hootsuite that can track and aggregate data. These tools may take the original engagement rate from the platform or use their own formulas to provide you with engagement metrics.

For greater continuity and clarity, use the following formula:

Engagement rate = total engagement / total followers x 100

How to measure engagement on Facebook

Average Facebook engagement rate by post = Total Engagement / Posts / Total Fans x 100 Or Facebook interaction rate by reach = total interaction / posts / reach The engagement rate by post formula is used to help determine if your content is engaging your audience, while calculating the engagement rate by reach gives you deeper insights into how your audience is interacting with you.

To get the data you need from Facebook, search for Insights. Next, you’ll see a section that gives you an overview of the page and displays statistics about post reach and engagement. You can also monitor the page itself through metrics like page views, likes, followers, and call-to-action button clicks.

How to measure engagement on LinkedIn

LinkedIn will take the guesswork out of it by providing you with the engagement rate. Their formula is:

Engagement rate on LinkedIn = (total interactions + clicks + followers gained) / total impressions Or you can calculate average engagement by post as follows: Average LinkedIn engagement by post = Interactions / Posts / Total Followers x 100 To get the data you need from LinkedIn, visit the Post Analytics section.

How to measure engagement on Twitter

Average Twitter engagement rate per tweet by followers = (Likes + Retweets) / Tweets / Total followers x 100 To collect the data you need from Twitter, visit the Analytics section, which can be accessed from the “More” button in the menu. Keep in mind that Twitter’s native engagement rate includes everything from follows to hashtag clicks, so it may not necessarily give you a clear picture of what’s going on. Additionally, impressions are included in the engagement rate calculation.

How to measure engagement on Instagram

Average Instagram engagement rate per post by followers = (Likes + Comments) / Posts / Total Followers x 100 or Average Instagram engagement rate per post by reach = (Likes + Comments) / Posts / Reach x 100 You can use Insights to collect the data you need from Instagram.

What is the rate of good social interaction?

With many formulas available for calculating reaction rate, there is wide variation in average rates as well. If you use a formula that calculates follower engagement, it will need to be at or above average as Social Insider reported. This includes:

Facebook: 0.13 percent Twitter: 0.05 percent Instagram: 0.83 percent

The company used a different method to determine the average engagement rate on LinkedIn, choosing to calculate impression rate, which yields a much higher result of 3.16 percent.

How to improve engagement on social media

Social Media Engagement – What it is and How to Make it Happen

No matter what engagement you currently get on social media, you should always strive to improve it. Use the tips below to get started. Identify metrics and analyze current engagement

As we discovered earlier, you can use many different metrics to measure your success. Your first step should be to decide what metrics and formulas you want to use, so you can measure consistently going forward. Then record the current reaction rate.

Know your audience

Many companies think they know their audience, but the data contradicts that. Explore the data you find on each platform independently.

Demographics

Find out everything you can about your audience on each platform, including location, gender, age, and other details. Use the information you gather to formulate your strategy.

Platforms

Make sure you are using the right social media platforms to reach your target audience. You may attract some followers on platforms that aren’t right for your business, but they won’t be as engaged. Use the platform where your audience is already located.

the sound

Speak like your customers. Use the same language, voice and style they use, and make sure you’re consistent across all channels. The voice you use on social media is part of your brand. People expect to hear the same sound everywhere.

Resources

Different groups prefer different types of resources. For example, a group of business owners might prefer to see white papers and case studies rather than memes.

Timing

Schedule your posts when your audience is already active on the platform, and keep in mind the lifespan of your posts. For example, your Tweets lose steam quickly, so you may need to schedule several Tweets per day. In contrast, Facebook and LinkedIn posts last longer. Posting about once or twice a day is generally adequate – more than that may confuse your audience.

Determine a strategy that fits your business goals

Social media can be used to: Building loyalty Educate your audience Collect feedback about new products or services Brand awareness Change the public perception of your brand Engagement goals align with your overall business goals and why you use social media. Make your followers feel involved

Engagement automatically increases when people feel welcomed to interact with your brand and community.

Ask questions

Create posts around questions. Questions can be anything from “What is the best thing that happened to you today?” to “What is your favorite version of our product?”

Prepare polls and questionnaires

Polls and questionnaires can help you shape upcoming products and services or simply get your audience engaged.

Answer questions

Make sure you promptly answer any questions people have. Use listening tools to make sure you recognize questions even if they’re not directly on your page.

Create and share valuable content

Remember that people don’t typically use social media to buy, but rather because they want to connect with people and brands they care about.

Use wit and humor

When it’s appropriate for the brand, use wit and humor to increase reactions and shares.

Use visual materials

Short videos that can be watched without sound and images usually perform better than other types of content.

Organize competitions and give gifts

Contests and giveaways can increase your brand’s popularity, increase likes, and more.

Add relevant hashtags to your posts

Hashtags help make your content more discoverable, so you get more engagement and followers.

Hold on to it

Because many people don’t realize the true value of social media, they use the wrong metrics to measure success. Instead of focusing on engagement, they look for leads and sales. It’s no surprise, then, that about half of small businesses believe Facebook and Instagram are “somewhat effective” in promoting their companies, according to Forbes.

As the saying goes, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” If you judge social media by its ability to attract leads, you will think it is useless and thus stop investing in it, even if it helps you expand your reach and build your brand stronger.

Bring in a dedicated social media marketer and keep posting. You won’t see results overnight. If you follow best practices, your efforts will multiply over time.

Get professional social media marketing tips

I can help you if you are trying to improve your social media strategy. I have a background in business and decades of experience in digital marketing, so I know what it takes to drive engagement on social media and build cohesive strategies that work together to strengthen businesses and increase revenue.