The Algorithmic Importance of Your Social Media Engagement Rate

May 11

Engagement makes the social media world go ‘round. Literally… the higher your social media engagement rate, the more likely your content will make its way around the platform. Here’s why.

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT RATE?

Let’s start with an engagement rate definition. Engagement is any form of interaction on your post. There are several ways a user can engage with your content, including: likes, comments, saves, and shares.

Engagement = total number of likes + comments + saves + shares on your post

These metrics then contribute to your engagement rate, which is a percentage revealing the level of engagement your post received from those who saw it. So the more likes, comments, saves, and shares a post has, the higher that post’s engagement rate.

Wondering how to measure social media engagement rate? Use this formula:

Engagement rate = engagement / impressions OR followers

WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT RATE IMPORTANT?

To understand the importance of an engagement rate, we have to understand how the Instagram algorithm works. First, let’s acknowledge that Instagram is a business that makes money through ads. The longer they keep users in the app, the more ads they can show.

Because of this, Instagram’s algorithm is designed to show users content that it thinks they will like to see, ensuring that users will stay in the app for an extended period of time and continue to come back to the platform for more. So when a post receives a significant amount of engagement, this signals to the algorithm that users are enjoying the content and, as a result, the algorithm will push it to more users to enjoy (helloooo, higher reach and impressions!). This “push” is done both via users’ home feeds and the explore page.

An account’s social media engagement rate is truly the driver behind how likely other metrics, like reach, impressions, website clicks, and follower count, are to increase. The higher the engagement rate, the higher the likelihood the algorithm will push your content to more users to view. When more users can view the content, more users are given the opportunity to take further action, like tapping the follow button or link in your bio.

We hope you enjoyed this blog post on the algorithmic importance of a social media engagement rate! Want more organic social media analytics tips? Check out our latest course on social media analytics, Decode Your Data. Enjoy!

xx,

The Homies

Social Media Engagement Rate FAQs:

What is social media engagement?

Engagement is any form of interaction on your post, including likes, comments, saves, and shares.

What is a good engagement rate on social media?

A good social media engagement rate can vary by industry and follower count size, but as a general rule of thumb, anywhere between 1% to 5% is solid.

How can I calculate my engagement rate on social media?

Engagement rate = engagement / impressions OR followers

How important is social media engagement rate for my business?

Social media engagement rate is very important. It is the driver behind how likely other metrics, like reach, impressions, website clicks, and follower count, are to increase.