Instagram is a popular social media platform that has provided a great opportunity for brands and influencers to make more money and gain fame. To measure the quality of their presence, the engagement rate on Instagram was introduced as an important metric. It is a measure of how your followers interact with your Instagram posts and how you respond to them in return.
How is the Instagram engagement rate calculated?
The engagement rate on Instagram is the total number of likes and comments divided by the total number of followers and then multiplied by 100 to get the percentage.
→ An Instagramer with 100,000 followers and an engagement rate of 3% = 3000 likes + comments (totally)!
There are some tools by which you can type the username and get the engagement rate for any Instagram user such as phlanx and triberr. However, they are not totally free.
Jennifer Lopez’s Instagram engagement rate calculated by Phlanx
What is a good Instagram engagement rate?
It is said that the engagement rate on Instagram is higher than other social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. An engagement rate of 0.5-1% for Twitter and Facebook is high, whereas it is between 3% and 6% for Instagram.
Now you can calculate and determine the level of your Instagram engagement rate. So what?
A low engagement rate says a lot about you. If you have a lot of followers but a low engagement rate, the reason may be that your followers are fake, or you own a spam or spoof Instagram profile.
On the other hand, a high engagement rate with a relatively small number of followers is indicative of your quality presence. It shows you’ve developed a great relationship with your followers, your contents are valuable, your followers are loyal, and they trust you, etc.
Engagement rate is an important element when top brands or businesses want to work or partner with you as an influencer. They are smart enough to know that the high engagement rate of an influencer shows that the audience believes firmly in him/her and are not doubtful whether they should trust and use the product or service that influencer is advertising for.
As you may know, there is a wide range of industries on Instagram including food & beverage, health & beauty, fashion, sports, etc. Each of these industries bears its own engagement rates according to the statistic. A survey in 2019, as shown below, has revealed that the higher average engagement rate per post was for “Higher Ed” (about 3.96%) followed by “Sports Teams” and “Nonprofits” (2.4 % for both).
How to boost the Instagram engagement rate?
Instagram is a highly competitive world if you want to market your brand and gain supportive followers. The competition amongst businesses or influencers has never been steeper until now. You have to take the time and effort to stand out from the crowd and achieve a higher engagement rate. Below tips will be helpful in this journey:
- Choose an appealing profile photo
- Complete your Instagram bio
- Share daily hot news related to your industry (especially in stories)
- Write longer valuable captions
- Choose the best timing for your posts
- Schedule Instagram posts in advance to better manage them
- Reply to comments and like them
- Reply to direct messages on Instagram (Although it doesn’t have a direct impact on the engagement rate, it can enhance your reputation and so likes and comments increase)
- Make a list of your targets and follow them from time to time
- Pay attention to hashtags
What Does Rate 9 Mean On Instagram?
There is a well-known scale among Instagram users that ranges from 1 to 10 and shows how attractive a profile is based on various factors. For instance, they call you “Ugly” in your school or industry if you have a rate of 3. The higher the rate, the more attractive you are.
It’s a Pretty Brutal Scale
If Instagramers consider you as having a rate 9, it means that you are wanted! Traditionally, a rate 9 indicates that you have many followers and a good Instagram engagement rate. Cheerleaders and prom queens hold this rating. You are regarded as perfect if you have a rate of 10, while a range of 1 says that you are way below the pecking order.The adjectives that Instagram users apply for each rate between 1-10 are shown below.
Source: What is a good Engagement Rate on Instagram?