You know you need to measure Facebook engagement rate in order to check how your fans are engaging with your content on Facebook and to gauge the ROI (return on investment) that you’re getting from the social media giant.
And of course you need to be measuring engagement rate on Facebook if you want to increase Facebook page likes.
But listen:
Facebook Engagement Rate is one of the most misunderstood aspects of social media marketing.
So many people measure Facebook engagement rates in an unhelpful or inaccurate way.
As a social media specialist with more than 8 years experience, I’ve been asked many questions by bloggers and brands. One of the most common questions that I’m asked is: What is the best way to measure Facebook Engagement Rate?
What’s the best way to measure Facebook engagement rate?
There are many different considerations to make when deciding how to both measure and improve Engagement Rate.
In this post I’ll share some of the best ways to measure Facebook Engagement Rate and then I’ll reveal some of my personal favourite ways in which to increase your engagement rate.
If you’re been trying to measure your engagement rate, you may have found yourself asking some of the following questions:
- What is the best way to define engagement rate? How do other teams define it?
- Should I measure Facebook engagement rate by total fans or total reach?
- What is a good engagement rate?
Recently I received an email from a large corporation asking the following question:
“Please could you offer some suggestions on the best way to measure Facebook engagement rate? We are revamping our quarterly report and would like to include as accurate a measurement as possible.
We’ve been using three different calculations:
Number of Engagements divided by fans. This is one of the most common ways of measuring engagement. It’s easy to use but it’s rather inaccurate.
Engagements / Fans / Posts
Engagements / impressions
What are your thoughts on these strategies?
Let’s start by creating a benchmark to measure Facebook engagement rate against
Let’s create a benchmark to measure Facebook engagement rate against.
To do this we’ll use a very simple calculation: Engaged Users divided by Reach.
Here we are referring to post-level engaged users (rather than page-level).
Engaged Facebook uses are those users who click, like, comment, or share a post. But not all of these are created equal. Clicks, for instance, do not tell you a great deal.
The fact that Facebook includes people who merely CLICK the post is a little confusing and somewhat irritating. Often, people click a post simply because they want to see a larger version of the image.
Is that really engagement?
Not for my money.
Clicks are also not as important shares or likes, which generate more views and hits.
When measuring Facebook engagement rate, consider reach
One of the most important metrics to consider is Reach, which includes people outside of your fanbase.
A lot of the people who engage with your posts on Facebook are not necessarily your fans. They’re friends of your fans who have seen a shared post.
For this reason you might choose to look at two different types of engagement rates: one for your fans, the other for the total reach.
Organic reach means the number of individuals who have a high likelihood of engaging with your post, based on their specific interests.
This can be one of the most important metrics because these individuals are your potential audience / market. They are the demographic you’re aiming for in your social media marketing (and overall online marketing plan).
Speaking of that potential audience and market; Paid reach can help you to hit your target audience and to reach people within your target audience who have not yet liked your page. You should measure this portion of your market separately.
- Measure paid reach separately to organic reach
Measuring Facebook engagement rate over time
It’s important to measure your Facebook engagement rate over a specific time scale.
Facebook pages tend to oscillate in popularity.
Your posts may be popular during one season or around specific events and less popular at other times. Or your posts may peak in popularity and then decline.
When you look at your Facebook Engagement Rate over time you get to understand how your Page is evolving.
For instance, if you are not keeping up with the latest trends it will show in your engagements. You can then use this as a sign to update your posts.
Measure Facebook Engagement Rate VS Competitors
Your success is dependent on your measuring up to the competition and eclipsing them. But you can’t know how you’re stacking up against the competition if you don’t know your competitors’ engagement rates.
You don’t have complete access to the Facebook Insights of your competitors’ pages.
However, you can keep an eye on what they’re up to. You can see what posts they’re sharing, how popular those posts are doing, and you can determine any areas missing in your content.
You can then use these measurements to review your own Facebook engagement rates.
And that’s how to measure Facebook engagement rate
In conclusion, the best way to measure Facebook Engagement Rate is to use three separate numbers
- Engagement / Fans: The basic measurement is limited but it gives you a baseline to work from.
- Measurement over time: By measuring over time you can determine when your page is popular and when you might need to update. For instance, if your Engagement Rate has dropped in the past month, you know it’s time for a revamp.
- Competitive: Measure your engagement rate relative to your competition so you know how well you’re performing in your niche.
If you would like help with this, contact me today.
