Facebook Engagement Rate: What Is It and How Do You Calculate It?

Social Media Marketing
Facebook Engagement Rate: What Is It and How Do You Calculate It?
Article by Bisera Stankovska
Last Updated: September 09, 2022

Did you know that the average Facebook post only reaches an audience of about 5% of its followers?

That's why tracking your engagement rate for every post is essential.

Even a tiny increase in your engagement rate will significantly impact how many people see your posts.

Engagement rate measures the number of likes, comments, and shares your posts receive compared to your number of followers.

High engagement lets people know they should keep coming back to see more of your posts. On the other hand, low concentration signals that you need to step up your game if you want people to read and react to your content. 

If you're not opting to hire a Facebook marketing company, read on to learn more about the Facebook engagement rate, why you should measure it to determine your business's success, and how to calculate it. 

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What is a Facebook Engagement Rate?

The Facebook engagement rate is a number or percentage that indicates how many people are interacting with your content on the platform.

It measures the number of likes, comments, and shares your posts receive compared to your number of followers.

Your engagement rate indicates how well your page is doing on Facebook.

The higher your engagement rate, the more people interact with your content and share it with their friends.

The lower your engagement rate, the more people are ignoring your content and not engaging with it.

Why Should You Measure Your Facebook Engagement Rate?

Facebook is the world's largest social network, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users.

As such, it's no surprise that businesses have taken an interest in using Facebook to connect with consumers.

The platform has evolved into a valuable marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. However, simply creating a Facebook page won't do anything for your business or brand if it doesn't attract any attention.

Therefore, businesses use social media engagement as a metric to monitor and measure success.

If you’re measuring your social media engagement correctly, you’ll know exactly how much of a response your posts are getting from your community.

So, why should you measure your engagement rate?

It helps you understand what kinds of content work best for your audience.

You can then focus your time and energy on creating more posts like the ones with the highest engagement.

You can also use engagement rate to measure your success compared to the average engagement rate for posts in your industry.

If your engagement rate is lower than average, you may want to try some new strategies to boost engagement.

A high engagement rate can help increase sales. Studies show that customers who interact with brands on social media sites are more likely to buy from those brands later.

While you may focus on metrics like impressions and reach, these don't tell you as much about how engaged your audience is.

If someone sees one of your posts in their feed but doesn't engage with it in any way— whether that's commenting on it or liking it— then this person wouldn't count as an impression or reach when calculating those metrics.

What is a Good Engagement Rate on Facebook?

According to Rival IQ’s 2022 2022 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report, the average Facebook engagement rate is 0.064%.

But there is no specific target engagement rate that you should target.

That's because the engagement rate depends on various factors, including your industry and the types of posts you make.

Here are some examples of the average FB interaction rate by industry from the said report and Social Insider’s study:

  • Higher Education: 0.148%
  • Hotels & Resorts: 0.094%
  • Alcohol: 0.097%
  • Health & Beauty: 0.022%
  • Arts & Crafts: 0.17%
  • Automotive: 0.24%
  • Fashion: 0.07%
  • Home Living: 0.15%
  • Jewelry: 0.18%
  • NGOs: 0.18%
  • Travel: 0.21%

How Do You Calculate Your Facebook Engagement Rate?

You can calculate the interaction rate by following these steps:

  • Add the total number of interactions (comments, shares, and reactions or the engaged users.)
  • Divide the interactions by the post's total reach or the number of people who saw it.
  • Multiply the result by 100 to convert it into a percentage.

How Does Facebook Algorithm Affect Your Interaction Rate?

The Facebook algorithm shows the users the content they're most likely to engage with—whether or not they click on it.

If your business uses Facebook as a marketing platform, you must ensure that your posts are engaging enough to be seen by users who might like them or share them with their friends.

You also want to make sure that your content shows up in front of people who might be interested in what you're offering.

How Does Facebook's Algorithm Work?

Facebook's algorithm is complex and can have an outsized effect on your business.

The platform constantly changes its algorithm to ensure users see the most relevant content possible.

That means that if you're not posting in ways the algorithm favors, the reach of your posts will be limited—or worse, non-existent.

Here's what you need to know about how the algorithm affects engagement rate and how you can use it to your advantage.

What does this mean for your business?

If you want people interested in your product or service to see your posts, you need to ensure that those posts are engaging enough for Facebook's algorithm to show them off.

If people don't engage with your post because it doesn't appeal to them, then no one will ever see it again—and that means no new customers for your business.

Tips to Boost Your Engagement Rate on Facebook

When you post on Facebook, you're hoping people will take the time to like, comment, or share your post.

If they do so quickly and often, you know that your content was engaging enough for them to take action and interact with it—and that's great.

But if no one responds, then it may be time to rethink how you approach social media content strategy.

So, what's the secret to getting higher engagement? You have to find out what motivates people to engage with each other online and apply those principles to your posts.

  • Start with excellent content: You'd be amazed how many brands overlook the importance of creating great content. Posting random images and videos without point or purpose won't boost your engagement rate. But creating posts that educate, inspire, and engage your followers will make them want to like, comment, and share your content.
  • Post at the right time: Not everyone logs onto Facebook at the same time every day. Some people are early risers, while others work late into the night. Hootsuite says the best times are 8 AM to 12 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, you can check out Facebook's insights to determine when your followers are most active.
  • Post consistently: Don't be a stranger on Facebook. Posting content regularly will ensure your followers don't forget about you.
  • Use relevant photos: You'll get more engagement with relevant images than you would with text-only posts. Studies show photos account for 93% of the highest engaged posts on FB. Make sure that your pictures are high-quality and eye-catching.
  • Create interactive Facebook posts: Post interactive content like live videos or live Q&A sessions so that users don't get bored while scrolling through their newsfeeds
  • Use polls and questions: Try to ask a question that will make users engage with your post. You can also use poll stickers for more interactive content.
  • Use hashtags: Add relevant hashtags in each of your posts, as it will make it easy for people to search for related content.
  • Share other people's posts: You can improve your engagement rates by sharing other people's posts instead of just promoting your products or services. It helps build relationships with other businesses on social media, which leads more people back to yours.

How Often Should You Check Your Engagement Rate?

The key is to pay attention to how your community responds to your content so you can adjust accordingly.

Ideally, you should check your engagement rate at least once every two to four weeks.

Engagement rate is more critical for business pages than for personal profiles.

While it's not necessary to check your engagement rate every single day, it's worth checking to see if something needs to be changed on your page, especially if you notice that it begins to drop off dramatically.

But remember that engagement rate isn't an exact science, and it may fluctuate a bit. That's normal, and you shouldn't get too stressed out if your engagement rate is a little lower or higher than usual.

Facebook Engagement Rate: Final Thoughts

You should continuously improve your Facebook strategy, and tracking your engagement rate is one way.

Once you grasp your engagement rate, you can start working to improve the types of posts that get the most likes, comments, and shares. Alternatively, you can always hire a social media marketing agency to handle all the nitty-gritty for you. 

Facebook is a social network, meaning it's a two-way street. You can't just post content and expect people to react—you need to engage with your followers.

A good engagement rate is a great way to let people know you care about your page and want to provide value.

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