How to Calculate Engagement Rate for a Social Media Post
Understanding your engagement rate is crucial for any digital marketer or social media influencer. It measures how effectively your content resonates with your audience, going beyond simple "vanity metrics" like total follower count.
The Post Engagement Rate Formula
While there are several ways to calculate engagement, the most widely accepted formula for an individual post is based on total interactions relative to your reach or follower count.
Engagement Rate = [(Likes + Comments + Shares + Saves) / Total Reach] x 100
Step-by-Step Calculation
Total Engagements: Add up every interaction on the post. This includes likes, comments, shares, and saves. If you are on Twitter, include retweets and replies.
The Denominator: Decide if you want to calculate based on Reach (how many unique people saw the post) or Followers (how many people follow your page). Reach is generally considered more accurate for individual post performance.
The Division: Divide the total engagements by the denominator.
The Percentage: Multiply the result by 100 to get your percentage.
What is a Good Engagement Rate?
Engagement rates vary significantly by platform and industry. However, here are some general benchmarks:
Low: Less than 1%
Average: 1% to 3.5%
High: 3.5% to 6%
Very High: Above 6%
Practical Example
Imagine you posted a photo on Instagram. It received 120 likes, 15 comments, 5 shares, and 10 saves. The post reached 2,000 people. To find the rate:
(120 + 15 + 5 + 10) / 2,000 = 0.075
0.075 x 100 = 7.5% Engagement Rate
This would be considered a very high engagement rate, indicating the content was highly relevant to the audience it reached.
function calculateEngagement() {
var likes = parseFloat(document.getElementById('postLikes').value) || 0;
var comments = parseFloat(document.getElementById('postComments').value) || 0;
var shares = parseFloat(document.getElementById('postShares').value) || 0;
var saves = parseFloat(document.getElementById('postSaves').value) || 0;
var reach = parseFloat(document.getElementById('postReach').value);
var resultBox = document.getElementById('er-result-box');
var resultDisplay = document.getElementById('er-result-display');
var feedback = document.getElementById('er-feedback');
if (!reach || reach <= 0) {
alert("Please enter a valid number for Reach or Followers.");
return;
}
var totalEngagements = likes + comments + shares + saves;
var engagementRate = (totalEngagements / reach) * 100;
resultDisplay.innerHTML = engagementRate.toFixed(2) + "%";
resultBox.style.display = 'block';
var status = "";
var color = "";
if (engagementRate = 1 && engagementRate = 3.5 && engagementRate < 6) {
status = "Great job! This is a high engagement rate.";
color = "#28a745";
} else {
status = "Excellent! This post is performing exceptionally well.";
color = "#17a2b8";
}
resultDisplay.style.color = color;
feedback.innerHTML = status;
}