Your Ultimate 2024 Guide to Social Media Engagement Rates & Trends

This posts covers current social media engagement rates and latest trends in 2024. Its based with data analysis is based on multiple sources and especially focusses on industry specific variations to the engagement rate. There are several data visualizations embedded, if you would like to view them directly click here

What is engagement rate?

Engagement rate is a key metric in digital marketing and social media analytics that measures how actively an audience interacts with content, such as posts, videos, or ads. It is expressed as a percentage and shows the ratio of total interactions (likes, comments, shares, clicks, etc.) to the total number of followers or views. A higher engagement rate indicates that the content is resonating with the audience and prompting meaningful interactions. This metric helps brands and marketers evaluate the effectiveness of their content and audience connection across various platforms.

How do you measure engagement rate?

The formula for calculating engagement rate is:

Engagement Rate (%) = (Total Engagements / Total Reach or Followers) × 100

Example of a TikTok Engagement Rate Calculation

Video has 5,000 likes, 1,000 comments, and 500 shares

Total Engagements = 5,000 + 1,000 + 500 = 6,500
Total Followers = 100,000

Engagement Rate = (6,500 / 100,000) *100 = 6.5%

Example of Instagram Engagement Rate Calculation

Post has 4,000 likes, 200 comments

Total Engagements = 4,000 + 200 = 4,200
Total Followers = 50,000

Engagement Rate = (4,200 / 50,000) * 100 = 8.4%

Example of Facebook Engagement Rate Calculation

Post has 3,000 likes, 150 shares, and 100 comments

Total Engagements = 3,000 + 150 + 100 = 3,250
Total Followers = 40,000

Engagement Rate = (3,250/40,000) * 100 = 8.125%

Example of Twitter (X) Engagement Rate Calculation

Tweet has 500 likes, 200 retweets, 50 replies, and 30 quote tweets

Total Engagements = 500 + 200 + 50 + 30 = 780
Total Followers = 20,000

Engagement Rate = (780/20,000) * 100 = 3.9%

Why engagement rate matters to your social media strategy? Is it the north star metric to track?

Experienced digital marketers understand that engagement rate is a crucial metric in their campaigns. Here’s why it’s considered so important:

Audience Connection

Digital marketing professionals view engagement rate as the best indicator of how well content is connecting with the audience. High engagement signals that the content is resonating, and the brand is building important relationships with its followers. It’s not just about accumulating likes and shares; it’s about fostering a community that believes in the brand.

Content Effectiveness

Engagement rate helps determine which types of content are most successful. Marketers can analyze engagement data to refine their strategies, focusing on formats, topics, or styles that elicit the most interaction. It’s a powerful way to optimize future content for better performance.

Algorithmic Influence

In the world of social media, engagement is currency. Experienced practitioners have observed how posts with high engagement get boosted by algorithms on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. It’s a virtuous cycle – more engagement leads to more visibility, which in turn drives even more engagement. This is how brands cut through the noise and get their messages heard.

ROI Indicator

When it comes to justifying marketing spend, engagement rate is a go-to metric for many professionals. Whether working with influencers or running ad campaigns, high engagement indicates a good return on investment. It’s tangible proof that the brand isn’t just reaching people, but actually moving them to action.

Quality Over Quantity

Engagement rate often provides more meaningful insights than follower count. A small but highly engaged audience can be more valuable to a brand than a large, passive one. This helps businesses focus on cultivating a loyal community rather than chasing raw number

Which social media platforms have the highest engagement rate?

Here is the data basis 2024 benchmarks. It’s clear that TikTok is leaps and bounds ahead of others followed by Instagram. Facebook & Twitter are lagging and have a lot of catch up to do.

Source 1: socialinsider 2024 benchmarks Source 2: RivalIQ 2024 benchmarks

What is the trend over the years on engagement rate across social media platforms?

Last 3 year trends clearly indicate a decline in high engagement rates that “TikTok” had over other platforms. That said, its also clear that its still at least 4X to 5X better than its closest competitor “Instagram”. Here are 2 data benchmarking studies and associated data that reflect this trend clearly.

Social Media Platform	2021	2022	2023	YoY Change [2022]	YoY Change [2023]
TikTok	4.53	3.6	2.65	-25.83%	-35.85%
Instagram	0.85	0.7	0.7	-21.43%	No Change
Facebook	0.15	0.15	0.15	No Change	No Change
Twitter	0.05	0.05	0.05	No Change	No Change

Source: socialinsider 2024 benchmarks [Published in 2024 basis data up to December 2023]

Social Media Platform	2021	2022	2023	YoY Change [2022]	YoY Change [2023]
TikTok	NA	5.69	2.63	Data Not Available	-116.35%
Instagram	0.67	0.47	0.43	-42.55%	-9.30%
Facebook	0.06	0.06	0.06	No Change	No Change
Twitter	0.037	0.035	0.029	-5.71%	-20.69%

Source: RivalIQ 2024 benchmarks [Published in 2024 basis data up to December 2023]

How does the engagement rate vary by industry on different social media platforms?

Below are the industry benchmarks engagement rates. Purely, looking at the engagement rate numbers may be somewhat misleading, as it matters how much content is being posted to get the engagement rate. So, we prefer to look at “Engagement Rate Per Post” AND also “Average Engagement Rate” across platforms. The last column of average engagement rate is derived basis the available data to reflect this metric.

While these benchmarks serve a useful purpose, its highly recommended to contextualize this. For example, when you are starting out with limited number of followers the data maybe skewed usually on the higher side and not exactly align with these benchmarks. But as you grow your digital footprint and followers, these benchmarks will help you in understanding how good or bad you social media strategy is today.

Industry	TikTok	Instagram	Facebook	Twitter	Average Engagement Rate
Higher Education	9.23	2.43	0.16	0.053	2.97
Sports Teams	4.43	1.57	0.3	0.072	1.59
Food & Beverage	3.95	0.45	0.03	0.03	1.12
Travel	3.5	0.4	0.09	0.016	1.00
Nonprofits	2.85	0.62	0.07	0.044	0.90
Financial Services	2.43	0.28	0.04	0.026	0.69
Media	2.05	0.56	0.04	0.009	0.66
Influencers	1.51	0.75	0.16	0.04	0.62
Alcohol	1.84	0.45	0.11	0.04	0.61
Tech & Software	1.85	0.43	0.03	0.036	0.59
Home Decor	1.91	0.2	0.04	0.012	0.54
Retail	1.8	0.23	0.04	0.015	0.52
Fashion	1.41	0.19	0.02	0.018	0.41
Health & Beauty	1.38	0.18	0.02	0.011	0.40

Note: Average engagement rate is derived from the source data

The data above can also be analyzed with the visualization below where all traffic to different social media platforms has been extrapolated using the post per week.

Source: Source: RivalIQ 2024 benchmarks | © 2024 IMO Media Hub. All rights reserved.IMO Media Hub.

Do higher weekly posts lead to higher engagement rate?

We will try to answer this question comprehensively by looking at correlation of engagement rate vs weekly posts.

Platform	Correlation (-1 to +1)
TikTok	-0.23
Instagram	0.28
Facebook	0.11
Twitter	0.23

The data above shows the correlation between engagement rates and weekly posts across different social media platforms. Here is one way to interpret this:

• TikTok has a negative correlation of -0.23, indicating that as the number of weekly posts increases, the engagement rate tends to decrease. This suggests that over-posting on TikTok may lead to reduced user engagement.
• Instagram exhibits a positive correlation of 0.28, implying that more frequent posts are associated with higher engagement rates. This suggests that maintaining a consistent posting schedule on Instagram can lead to better engagement.
• Facebook shows a weaker positive correlation of 0.11, indicating that increased posting frequency has a modest positive effect on engagement rates.
• Twitter has a positive correlation of 0.23, suggesting that more frequent posts are generally associated with higher engagement, similar to Instagram but to a slightly lesser degree.

In summary, TikTok engagement tends to drop with higher posting frequency, while Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter benefit from more frequent content updates, though the effects vary in magnitude.

Why is the engagement rate of “TikTok” higher vs “Others”?

TikTok’s engagement rate is notably higher than other platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and there are several specific reasons for this difference, backed by research and data.

Content Format and Algorithm

TikTok’s short-form video content is highly engaging, designed to capture users’ attention within seconds. According to Socialinsider’s 2024 Benchmark Report, TikTok boasts an average engagement rate of 2.65%, while Instagram lags behind with only 0.7%. The platform’s algorithm enhances this engagement by promoting personalized content on users’ “For You” pages based on behavior rather than follower count, allowing even lesser-known creators to go viral.

Authenticity and Creativity

TikTok fosters an environment where users prioritize authenticity over polished, curated content often seen on Instagram. This resonates with younger audiences who seek more relatable and genuine content. The platform’s ability to enable raw, creative expression directly contributes to higher engagement, as audiences feel more connected to creators who share “real-life” moments.

Video-first Platform

Video is inherently more engaging than static posts or text-based updates, which dominate platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Videos on TikTok grab attention quickly and hold it longer than other content forms. As per one estimate, video content on social media generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined, which further explains why TikTok, being primarily video-centric, outperforms others in engagement.

Younger Demographic

TikTok’s user base is predominantly Gen Z and younger Millennials, who are more engaged with social media and prefer consuming video content. These users spend more time on the app, contributing to a higher engagement rate compared to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, whose demographics tend to skew older and engage less frequently with content.

Engagement rate of influencers vs others?

Influencers are everywhere and its pretty clear they are here to stay. By latest count it is estimated that now there are 64 million influencers active worldwide. Top 5 countries with influencers are: Brazil 5.4 million, United States 4.7 million, India 2.3 million, Russia 1.6 million and Indonesia 1.1 million (Source: trendhero)

But what is interesting truly in whether they are having an impact and probably the quickest way to analyze this is by looking at their engagement rate vs others.

Social Media Platform	Influencer Engagement	Industry Median
TikTok	1.51	2.63
Instagram	0.752	0.43
Facebook	0.164	0.06
Twitter	0.04	0.03

Top brands with successful social media strategy

Brand	Reach & Impact
Nike	Over 280M followers across platforms, known for impactful campaigns and stories.
National Geographic	280M+ followers on Instagram, famous for high-quality, visually stunning content.
Wendy’s	3.8M followers on Twitter, renowned for humor and witty engagement.
Airbnb	Aesthetic-driven content, millions of followers across Instagram and TikTok.
Glossier	Strong community-driven engagement through user-generated content on Instagram.
Starbucks	Global presence with millions of followers, focusing on brand values and customer stories.
Booking.com	15M+ followers on Facebook, using storytelling and destination promotion.
Netflix	Over 30M Instagram followers, focusing on entertainment and film promotion.
Taco Bell	Large Instagram following, known for engaging and humorous content.
Red Bull	High engagement on Instagram, with focus on extreme sports and lifestyle content.

How to track engagement rate?

Different social media platforms offer native analytics tools for tracking engagement. Additionally, third-party social media management tools can provide a comprehensive view across multiple platforms.

Native Platform Analytics

• TikTok Analytics: Track likes, comments, shares, video views, and average watch time
• Instagram Insights: Monitor likes, comments, saves, and reach
• Facebook Insights: Track likes, comments, shares, clicks, and reach
• Twitter Analytics: Focus on retweets, likes, replies, and impressions

Social Media Management Tools:

Tools like socialinsider, RivalIQ, Hootsuite, Sprout Social OR Buffer aggregate data from multiple platforms, offering:

• Unified dashboards for cross-platform comparisons
• Automated reporting features
• Advanced analytics and insights
• Scheduling and content management capabilities

These tools can save time and provide more in-depth analysis compared to native platform analytics alone.

Related Reads

Some of our other posts that may be of interest are listed here:

How many users on TikTok 2024 [Worldwide Data Comprehensive Guide]

How many users on Instagram 2024 [Worldwide Data Comprehensive Guide]

How many people use X 2024 [Worldwide Data Comprehensive Guide]

Conclusion: Evolving Landscape of Social Media Engagement

As digital marketing evolves, engagement rate remains a key indicator of content success and audience connection. TikTok leads in engagement, thanks to its short-form video format, authentic content, and personalized algorithms. Engagement rates, however, vary widely by industry, with sectors like Higher Education and Food & Beverage seeing stronger performance. While engagement rates are declining overall, the role of influencers in boosting interaction remains crucial. Marketers must utilize analytics tools and platforms to track these trends and adapt strategies accordingly.

Moving forward, engagement rates will stay important, but should be measured alongside other metrics like reach, conversions, and ROI. The ability to balance quantitative data with qualitative factors like content quality and brand authenticity will be essential for maintaining strong social media presence and engagement.

Data Visualizations

YoY Engagement Rate Across Social Media Platforms

Source: socialinsider 2024 benchmarks | © 2024 IMO Media Hub. All rights reserved.IMO Media Hub.