Wondering Which Social Media Platform Has the Best Engagement Rate?
You probably already know the answer to this, but let’s also talk about the audience your business wants to engage with before you jump on a social media platform.
Yes, it’s TikTok. And by a lot.
According to Influencity, TikTok’s engagement rate is 4.25%, much, much higher than other platforms. You have to remember that the audience on TikTok skews very young and appeals to folks who are super creative and who are hungry for the latest trends, so constantly creating videos that stand out and go viral can be both expensive and exhausting. Still, this might be right for your brand, and if it’s not, there are other choices.
The social media platform with the next highest engagement rate is YouTube. It averages about 1.9% in engagement. Like TikTok, creating content for YouTube requires effort and creativity, although businesses have a little more leeway. Certainly, audiences like a slick, well-edited video, but it’s the subject matter that is most important. As an example, if you are a home inspector or pest control specialist, a video on how to recognize termite infestation might be incredibly popular even if your production values are not high-end. Worried homeowners who are desperate to know are looking for this kind of expert information.
YouTube videos are also for entertainment, just as TikTok offers both information and entertainment, but they tend to be in a longer form. YouTube videos also tend to be embraced by communities who comment and share, which means you need to remember to respond appropriately. Since the YouTube audience wants to see detailed info on their community’s topic of choice, whether that’s a hobby, a celebrity, or a lifestyle, posting content there could dovetail neatly with what your business sells.
Facebook is still in the running, although the average engagement rate is only about 0.15%. People joke about “Boomers” being the last ones on Facebook, so you may be surprised to learn that more than half of the platform’s audience is actually in the 18-34-year-old age range. Organic marketing alone has been severely curtailed over the years, but it’s still there, especially if boosted by paid advertising. Again, this platform builds communities that share content, so if your business can logically tap into a community or two, Facebook could be quite successful.
When I wrote about this topic in 2016, I called it “Instagram is More Engaging to Brands than Twitter.” Today, Twitter barely gets a mention in marketing reports. Businesses still tweet, but there is much more emphasis on using Twitter for customer service or to support paid advertising campaigns.
Instagram is still a very important social media platform for certain industries, overwhelmingly appealing to the lucrative audience between the ages of 18 and 34 years. In 2016, I wrote: If you have a clothing company, check out these numbers from Social Bakers:
The fashion industry generates more interactions than any other industry on Instagram. According to our research, over the first half of 2015 fashion brands received 4.6× more interactions, 4.6× more followers, and added 4.4× more followers on Instagram than other brands.
Today, fashion is still the top industry on Instagram, but it’s not the only one doing well there. Travel, health, and tech are also widely followed and engagement has only grown. Check out these stats:
- Instagram users are 70% more likely to buy products online than non-users.
- 50% of users are more interested in brands after seeing their products in shopping posts.
- 46% of users have purchased items from Instagram checkout.
Everything in marketing is about engagement these days. Creating awesome content that engages is important, but so is placing that content on the right social media platform. Rather than jump on whatever the current trendy option is, it’s far better to choose the option best for your specific business. Not sure where to start? The team at Sprocket Websites is ready to help. Just give us a call!
Photo by Karolina Grabowska
This article is an update to “Instagram is More Engaging to Brands Than Twitter” dated 1/28/2016.
Breanne Bannon
Breanne is a Content Writer, Social Media Marketeer, and Sales Associate for Sprocket Websites.
Other posts by Breanne Bannon