Methodology · Visibility
How the Social engagement rate is calculated
Method version socials-v1 · Last updated
In short
The engagement rate shows how strongly an account's audience responds to its posts, independent of the account's size. For each post Actavero divides its engagement (likes, comments and, where available, shares) by the account's followers at the time, and averages this over the posts in the period. On TikTok, where reach depends far more on the algorithm than on followers, it divides by the post's views instead.
Formula
Engagement rate of a post = engagement ÷ followers × 100 (TikTok: engagement ÷ views × 100) Engagement rate of a brand = average of its posts' engagement rates
How it is calculated, step by step
- Calculate each post's engagement with the platform's definition (see Own channels).
- Divide by the account's follower count when the post was read (TikTok: by the post's views).
- Average over the brand's posts in the period, for all platforms or one.
What goes into it
- Engagement per post
- Public likes, comments and shares.
- Followers or views
- The account's followers when read; TikTok: the post's views.
Data sources
- ScrapeCreators (public social media data).
How often it is updated
With every post collection (weekly).
How to read it
- Typical engagement rates differ a lot between platforms: compare brands per platform rather than across platforms.
- A small account can have a higher engagement rate than a large one; look at it together with followers and share of engagement.
Example
A LinkedIn post with 69 likes and 2 comments on a page with 105,700 followers: 71 ÷ 105,700 × 100 = 0.07%.
Limitations
- YouTube has no engagement rate in Actavero, because likes aren't available in our data; it shows views.
- Engagement-rate definitions differ between tools; compare within Actavero.
Frequently asked questions
Why average per post instead of total engagement ÷ followers?
Averaging per post makes brands that post a lot and brands that post rarely comparable.
Related
- Social media: own channels — Each brand's own social accounts compared over the last 30 days: share of engagement, followers and posts, follower growth, posts per week, engagement rate, top posts, formats and posting days.