Looking at your insights (called analytics on some platforms) can be scary. It’s a lot of numbers, and as a small business owner, you might not know what they ‘should’ look like.
But I’ll let you into a secret: the numbers themselves don’t actually matter. And the only one that does, your engagement rate, isn’t even shown in your insights. So let’s talk about it.
What is an engagement rate?
Your engagement rate is the percentage of people who’ve engaged with your content out of the people who’ve actually seen it. And, as I say, they don’t give it you – but you can calculate it:
First, you need to know your total engagement for a set period (I’d recommend at least 28 days). This is your total amount of likes, shares, comments, link clicks, etc.
Then, you’re going to divide that by your total reach for that same period. On some platforms, this is called Views or Impressions.
Now, you can multiply that by 100 to get a percentage.
Your initial reaction is going to be “oh my god, that’s low!” – that’s OK, stick with me.
Do you want to see a £5 Step-by-Step Guide to find your total engagement and total reach for your favourite platform?
What does that number mean?
I always aim for between 1% and 3%. So how do you compare?
- Under 1% isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just means that your content is reaching people who aren’t engaging with it – but remember, this is a percentage.
- In this case, your engagement rate is telling you it’s time to focus on conversations and building your engagement.
- For example, if you’re currently reaching 5000 people and you’re only getting 10 engagements, your engagement rate is 0.2%. If you continue reaching those same people, but get them to join in your conversations, so you start getting 50 engagements, your engagement rate will be back up to 1%.
- Between 1% and 3% is the sweet spot!
- In this case, keep doing what you’re doing.
- Above 3% means that the people you’re reaching are interacting with you. And I know it can feel counterproductive to try to bring your numbers down, but again, remember that this is a percentage.
- In this case, your engagement rate is telling you it’s time to focus on reaching more people.
- For example, if you’re currently reaching 1000 people and you’re getting 50 engagements, your engagement rate is 5%. If you keep those 50 people engaged, but you get your content in front of an extra 1000 people, your engagement rate will be back below 3%.
Remember: the numbers themselves don’t matter. We all start with 0 followers, 0 reach and 0 engagement.
So how do you build?
Your engagement rate gives you a direction: reaching more people or engaging more people. And that allows you to tailor your strategy to achieve those goals.
What that strategy looks like is going to be very different for everyone, and if you need a hand, I offer social media strategy support in many different forms, including:
- The Ace Group, at £25/month, gives you 1-2-1 support to achieve your goals in your own time and at your own pace.
- A Powerhour, at £50, gives you an hour of my time so we can look at your plan and discuss your next steps.
- A Social Media Reset, at £80 for one account and £20 per additional account, gives you four months of feedback so you can make small tweaks to your strategy to achieve your goals without adding loads to your to-do list.
- My Hearts Package, at £100/month, gives you a 30-min 1-2-1 with me every month and a report detailing what is and isn’t working for YOU on social media right now.
I help passionate small business owners with their social media so that they can create a powerful and supportive space to promote their business.
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