In a nutshell
Engagement rate is the engagement (number of reactions) divided by the number of impressions, the number of people reached, or the number of followers. Larger accounts naturally get more reactions, so you use it when comparing posts or accounts of different sizes.
Common formulas
| Divide by | Formula | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions | Reactions ÷ impressions | Comparing individual posts |
| Reach | Reactions ÷ reach | Comparing reactions among the people reached |
| Followers | Reactions ÷ followers | Rough comparison between accounts |
In X's post activity, engagement rate is defined as "the number of engagements divided by impressions" (X post activity). On the other hand, there is no single formula shared by all networks. When comparing with other companies' numbers or numbers from other tools, always check that the formula is the same. Putting two rates with different formulas side by side is not a comparison.
Things to watch for
A rate swings widely when the denominator is small. A post shown 50 times with 5 reactions is 10%, but you can't say it is "better" than a post shown 10,000 times with 3%. It is more reliable to compare posts with a similar number of impressions, or to look at monthly averages.
Another point is what counts as a reaction. X includes clicks, so rates tend to come out higher than on other networks. The calculation and how to read it are explained in detail in How to calculate and read engagement rate.
If you chase only the rate, efforts to increase impressions can get pushed back. The basic approach is to look at impressions and the rate together and check that you "reached many people and still kept the reactions."
In SNS TOWN
In the per-post numbers in Analytics, you can see impressions and reactions side by side for X, so you can work out the rate with the same formula and compare. How to read them is explained in Popular times and per-post numbers.
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