To publish content on the Internet, the participation rate is an important piece of information to take into account in order to measure the interaction of users with our publication. For many, these measurements constitute a real headache, and I confess that in my beginnings it was also very difficult for me to understand them. But in reality I assure you that it is not as complicated as it seems.
Do you want to learn how to calculate the interaction rate of your advertising campaigns? Do you want to understand what its limits are and how it can be optimized? In this article I will tell you everything!
What is the participation rate? Definition
The participation or interaction rate is key to measuring the performance and level of user participation with content on the Internet. Clearer, the degree of interaction with a publication or advertisement of a brand.
Currently, this metric is mainly used in community management on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. On each of these platforms, its own engagement rate can be measured, which makes it possible to analyze the interactions and behavior of users with the publications.
The engagement rate is not limited to social networks, it is also used to measure the performance of a video, an article, a blog in general, or even a slideshow.
Calculate the participation rate
Calculate the participation rate, it is very simple, divide the total number of interactions of a publication, between the number of people to whom it has been exposed. Then multiply the result by 100 and you will get the percentage.
Let’s focus on the calculation of the interaction rate on Instagram and Facebook.
On Instagram and Facebook, to calculate the engagement rate, it is essential to take into account 6 types of interactions:
1. The number of likes on the post.
2. The comments obtained in the publication.
3. The number of shares shared between users (limitation: if the shared post refers to a private account on Instagram, only subscribers of this account will be able to see it).
4. The number of records in the publication.
5. The number of views the publication has a video.
6. The number of clicks if the post has a call to action (CTA) or redirects to another page.
Limits of the interaction rate calculation
The different interactions, which we saw earlier, are not all of the same value. In terms of engagement, on Instagram for example, shares and saves are more relevant than likes.
Another of the limits on the participation rate is that the tone of the interactions is not taken into account. It doesn’t matter if a comment is positive or negative, it will count as an interaction in the same way.
Participation purchases is another of the limits of the interaction rate calculation, this causes a distortion of the algorithms. For example, buying likes or comments does not bring a real level of engagement to boost an influencer or brand.
Tips to optimize the interaction rate
Analyze the competition: Observing how your competitors act on their social networks can inspire you.
Use correct hashtags: It is important that the hashtags you use are relevant, so that the post is seen by as many people as possible.
Prioritize photos and videos in posts, visuals are the content that attracts and engages the most.
Analyze your ideal audience (age, gender, location). This will help you how to better create and adapt your content.
Manage social networks well: interact with your subscribers through comments and respond to private messages.
Create contests: If you offer any benefit to your community, whether it is winning a product, a discount voucher or any download or stay gift, this will cause them to click, share or follow your account; thus increasing the engagement rate.
Post at the right time: To get the best engagement rate, you want to know when your audience is online. This is easy to know today thanks to the tools implemented in social networks.
Now you have all the keys to measure and improve the interaction rate in your publications. This is a fundamental indicator to optimize the quality of your content and improve the performance of your advertising campaigns.
Leave me your comment if it has helped you or if you have something to contribute on this topic.