How to Calculate Engagement Rate: Which Method Should You Use?
Engagement rate is one of the most talked-about social media metrics, but did you know there are multiple ways to calculate it? Depending on your goals, the method you choose can significantly impact how you measure success. Let’s break down the three main ways to track engagement and help you decide which is best for your strategy.
1. Engagement Rate by Followers
This is the most commonly used method and the easiest to calculate:
Formula: (Likes + Comments) ÷ Followers x 100
Why use this method?
It’s simple and widely recognised.
Useful for benchmarking against competitors and influencers.
You don’t need any special tools—just publicly available data.
The downside:
It doesn’t account for how many people actually saw your post, only your total followers. If your reach is low, this number may not be an accurate reflection of true engagement.
2. Engagement Rate by Impressions
For a more accurate view of how engaging your content is, use impressions instead of followers:
Formula: (Engagements) ÷ Impressions x 100
Why use this method?
It shows how engaging your post is relative to visibility, not just your follower count.
Helps identify high-performing posts more accurately.
The downside:
You can’t compare your engagement rate with competitors because you don’t have access to their impressions data.
Requires insights from your social media analytics.
3. True Engagement Rate (Including Shares & Saves)
Engagement isn’t just about likes and comments—saves and shares are strong indicators of meaningful interactions. This method factors in all forms of engagement:
Formula: (True Engagements: Likes + Comments + Shares + Saves) ÷ Impressions x 100
Why use this method?
Gives a deeper look at content performance.
Captures meaningful interactions like saves and shares, which are key indicators of valuable content.
The downside:
Like the impressions-based method, you can’t benchmark this against competitors.
Requires access to platform insights, which may not always be available.
Which Method Should You Use?
The best approach depends on your goals:
Want to compare yourself to others? Use Engagement Rate by Followers.
Want a more accurate reflection of your content’s impact? Use Engagement Rate by Impressions.
Want the deepest insight into audience behaviour? Use True Engagement Rate.
The Most Important Rule: Consistency
Regardless of which method you choose, be consistent. The key to useful engagement tracking is measuring the percentage change over time, so you can see real growth and improvement.