What is Engagement Rate?
Engagement rate is a key metric that shows how well your social media content connects with your audience. It measures the percentage of people who interact with your posts through likes, comments, and shares.
This article covers Engagement Rate by Followers (ERF), the core rate used throughout Archive. If you're looking at a report and see Engagement Rate by Views (ERV) instead, see the Campaign Metrics Guide — it's a different denominator.
The Right Formula to Use
When calculating engagement rate, use this formula:
Engagement Rate = (Total Engagements ÷ Total Followers) × 100
Why Not Use Other Formulas?
Some people calculate engagement rate using impressions instead:
Impression-Based ER = (Total Engagements ÷ Impressions) × 100
However, the follower-based formula is better because:
1. It Shows Real Connection
Your followers are your core audience. If they're engaging with your content, it means you're creating something valuable for the people who chose to follow you.
2. Fair Comparisons
Two accounts with the same engagement numbers will have different rates based on follower count. This reveals who truly connects with their audience.
3. Quality Over Quantity
A smaller account with high engagement is often more valuable than a large account with low engagement.
Example Calculation
Let's say you have:
4,500 total engagements
120,000 followers
Calculation: (4,500 ÷ 120,000) × 100 = 3.75%
What We Count as Engagement
Likes, comments, and shares
Interactions from followers AND non-followers
In a report, engagements from all posts are added together and divided by the combined follower count of the creators who posted. Each creator's followers are counted once, even if they posted several times.
Not included: saves/bookmarks and view/reach counts are not part of the numerator — only likes, comments, and shares.
Report-level engagement rate is one combined ratio, not an average of each post's rate. Archive adds up all engagements across the posts in your report and divides by Total Followership for the same set. It does not calculate a rate for each post and then average them. If you're spot-checking a report number by hand, divide the report's total engagements by its Total Followership, using the same filters and date range.
A platform note on shares: Engagement Rate on TikTok and YouTube may run lower than on Instagram, because share counts aren't consistently available from those platforms' APIs and are treated as 0 in the calculation. YouTube's API doesn't expose share data at all; TikTok only sometimes reports it. Instagram is currently the only platform where shares reliably contribute to the number.
Industry Benchmarks
Rough cross-platform guidance — TikTok norms tend to run higher than Instagram, so treat these as a general reference rather than a fixed bar.
Below 1%: Needs improvement
1-3%: Average performance
3-5%: Good performance
Above 5%: Excellent performance
Why This Matters
For Brands
Choose influencers with higher engagement rates
Focus on content that drives follower interaction
Measure authentic audience connection
For Creators
Higher engagement rates justify better rates
Shows you have an engaged, valuable audience
Helps optimize content strategy
Key Takeaway
Engagement rate should measure how well you connect with your committed audience (followers), not just how many people saw your content. This approach gives you actionable insights for building a truly engaged community.
Remember: Quality engagement from your followers is more valuable than passive views from a broad audience.