Instagram ranks as the sixth most used social media site worldwide. It has more than 1 billion regular users worldwide even though it started less than 10 years ago. Twitter, which started in 2006, has 335 million users only. Instagram’s popularity arises from its multiple uses. For example, many people use it to launch their career in photography, bakery, comedy, and fashion among others. However, the success of these launches depends on the engagement rates. Successfully launching your career is possible if you understand these rates. Here is how to calculate Instagram engagement rate correctly.
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Engagement Rate (by Reach)
Posts on Instagram reach a particular number of followers. That means they see it on their Instagram feed. However, only a specific number of people react to it. This engagement rate measures this phenomenon, i.e., the number of people who view your post versus the ones who react to it. Interpreting it is a straightforward process because it appears as a percentage. It is worth noting that this rate may vary widely from one post to another. That happens because multiple factors influence it including the time you posted your content and the viral potential of the post.
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Daily Engagement Rate
Compensating for varying rates between different posts is possible if you examine them collectively instead of individually. In this case, this examination happens daily. More specifically, the Instagram user calculates the average number of reactions that you get each day. Looking at your reactions vis-à-vis your followers helps you do that. This rate appears in percentages so interpreting it is also a straightforward process. Unfortunately, the variables in this measure are followers and reactions only. The number of posts posted daily is absent in this calculation even though it affects the two variables significantly. Consequently, relying on this rate completely leads to false conclusions because it excludes a highly influential factor.
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Engagement Rate (by Post)
This rate includes posts in its measurement of an Instagram engagement rate. That means it compensates for the exclusion of this factor in calculating the Daily Engagement Rate. It measures two variables, i.e., the number of reactions per post and the number of followers. This metric is more accurate than the other ones are. This accuracy arises from the fact that the number of followers reacting to your posts remains steady over time. In other words, it looks at your loyal fans. Therefore, comparing these rates at different times would alert you to an increase or reduction in the number of faithful followers.
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Other Approaches
Other noteworthy approaches are Engagement Rate (by Views), Factored Engagement, and Per-Follower Engagement. Love Rate and Talk Rate indicators exist as well. Instagram statistics derived from these approaches are less accurate than the ones mentioned above so relying on them is unwise. However, they can provide you with insights into particular issues. For example, Factored Engagement introduces a factor into these measures. This factor is subjective and therefore, viewing the resultant rate as a pure Engagement Rate statistic is impossible because it lacks objectivity.
Image Credits: Instagram Engagement Rate from Sarawut Aiemsinsuk/Shutterstock