How have you learnt the “proper” variety of engagements to anticipate in your social posts? Is 100 likes so much or somewhat? The reply is, it relies upon.
That’s the place social media benchmarks are available in. This industry-specific knowledge tracks the norms or averages for particular metrics like social media engagement and follower development. It provides you an understanding of how companies much like yours are doing — and a greater sense of what these 100 likes actually imply.
Preserve studying to be taught extra in regards to the strategy of social media benchmarking. This put up consists of up-to-date (Q3 2023) benchmarks for key industries that will help you perceive how your social outcomes stack up proper now.
A social media benchmark is an common end result that serves as a commonplace by which different companies in the identical {industry} or class will be measured or judged. The benchmark is basically the norm for social media advertising and marketing success. Consider it as the extent of social media efficiency all companies inside a class ought to attempt to attain or exceed.
Social media benchmarks are vital as a result of they present context to your social media KPIs. There’s all the time worth to monitoring your individual social media metrics and development over time, even in isolation. However once you place that knowledge within the context of the bigger {industry} image, you’ll be able to higher perceive the place there are actual alternatives for enchancment.
You too can use benchmarks to set real looking targets expectations. Some industries (like leisure) will by nature have better attain than others (like well being care). When you understand what’s “regular” to your {industry}, you’ll be able to set affordable milestones that permit you to obtain actual development with out burning out your social crew.
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Manually compiling dependable social media benchmarks by {industry} can contain plenty of very finicky and irritating analysis.
Luckily, Hootsuite Analytics has a built-in social media benchmarking device that means that you can examine the efficiency of your social accounts towards the typical of manufacturers in your {industry} with simply a few clicks.
To entry this new function, head to Analytics inside your Hootsuite dashboard. Underneath Benchmarking within the the left menu, click on Business, then click on Choose your {industry} and select essentially the most related choice from the drop-down menu.

Now you’ll be able to see how your outcomes examine to common efficiency stats inside your {industry}. You possibly can arrange customized timeframes, change between networks — Instagram, Fb, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and TikTok — and search for benchmarks for the next metrics:
- Profile impressions
- Profile attain
- Followers
- Viewers development charge
- Engagement charge
- Video performs
- Posting frequency
- Clicks
- Shares
… and extra.

Additionally, you will discover assets to enhance your efficiency proper within the abstract part:

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And, if it’s essential to current your outcomes to your crew, boss, or different stakeholders, you’ll be able to simply obtain your comparability report as a PDF file.
Let’s have a look at a snapshot of among the most vital social media benchmarking knowledge from Q3 2023. We focus right here on 4 key metrics:
- Web page/profile impressions: The variety of instances content material from or about your profile or web page seems on somebody’s display. Observe that this quantity just isn’t the identical as attain. Attain signifies the variety of accounts that see your content material. Impressions will often be greater as a result of one account would possibly view your content material a number of instances.
- Viewers development charge: Slightly than a easy depend of recent followers, it is a measure of how your viewers is rising (or shrinking) as a share of your current followers.

- Put up engagement charge: Complete engagements (likes, feedback, saves, shares) divided by your complete viewers, expressed as a share.

- Posting frequency: The typical variety of posts shared per day.
Mixed, these benchmarks offer you a very good sense of how your social accounts stack up towards the competitors when it comes to each output and efficiency.
It’s vital to check like with like, so we’ve offered separate social media benchmarks for Fb and Instagram in every class. The impressions numbers are primarily based on a 30-day interval.
Social media benchmarks in training
- Month-to-month Fb Web page impressions: 351,000
- Month-to-month Fb viewers development charge: -1.32%
- Fb put up engagement charge: 1.6%
- Fb posting frequency: 0.49 posts/day
- Month-to-month Instagram profile impressions: 327,000
- Month-to-month Instagram viewers development charge: -1.24%
- Instagram put up engagement charge: 3.15%
- Instagram posting frequency: 0.98 posts/day
Social media benchmarks in leisure and media
- Month-to-month Fb Web page impressions: 2 million
- Month-to-month Fb viewers development charge: -3.39%
- Fb put up engagement charge: 1.08%
- Fb posting frequency: 1.89 posts/day
- Month-to-month Instagram profile impressions: 1.2 million
- Month-to-month Instagram viewers development charge: -5.01%
- Instagram put up engagement charge: 1.6%
- Instagram posting frequency: 1.24 posts/day
Social media benchmarks in monetary companies
- Month-to-month Fb Web page impressions: 296,000
- Month-to-month Fb viewers development charge: -2.6%
- Fb put up engagement charge: 0.95%
- Fb posting frequency: 0.25 posts/day
- Month-to-month Instagram profile impressions: 209,000
- Month-to-month Instagram viewers development charge: -0.42%
- Instagram put up engagement charge: 1.8%
- Instagram posting frequency: 0.38 posts/day
Social media benchmarks in meals and beverage
- Month-to-month Fb Web page impressions: 485,000
- Month-to-month Fb viewers development charge: -1.41%
- Fb engagement charge per put up: 0.7%
- Fb posting frequency: 0.26 posts/day
- Month-to-month Instagram profile impressions: 373,000
- Month-to-month Instagram viewers development charge: -2.06%
- Instagram put up engagement charge: 1.47%
- Instagram posting frequency: 0.86 posts/day
Social media benchmarks in authorities
- Month-to-month Fb Web page impressions: 467,000
- Month-to-month Fb viewers development charge: -2.27%
- Fb engagement charge per put up: 1.61%
- Fb posting frequency: 0.71 posts/day
- Month-to-month Instagram profile impressions: 352,000
- Month-to-month Instagram viewers development charge: -0.64%
- Instagram put up engagement charge: 2.01%
- Instagram posting frequency: 1.01 posts/day
Social media benchmarks in healthcare and wellness
- Month-to-month Fb Web page impressions: 289,000
- Month-to-month Fb viewers development charge: -0.68%
- Fb engagement charge per put up: 1.28%
- Fb posting frequency: 0.35 posts/day
- Month-to-month Instagram profile impressions: 322,000
- Month-to-month Instagram viewers development charge: -2.12%
- Instagram put up engagement charge: 2.17%
- Instagram posting frequency: 0.76 posts/day
Social media benchmarks in actual property
- Month-to-month Fb Web page impressions: 84,000
- Month-to-month Fb viewers development charge: -2.66%
- Fb put up engagement charge: 1%
- Fb posting frequency: 0.31 posts/day
- Month-to-month Instagram profile impressions: 67,000
- Month-to-month Instagram viewers development charge: -0.26%
- Instagram put up engagement charge: 1.47%
- Instagram posting frequency: 0.56 posts/day
Social media benchmarks in retail
- Month-to-month Fb Web page impressions: 749,000
- Month-to-month Fb viewers development charge: -2.02%
- Fb put up engagement charge: 0.82%
- Fb posting frequency: 0.36 posts/day
- Month-to-month Instagram profile impressions: 646,000
- Month-to-month Instagram viewers development charge: -2.81%
- Instagram put up engagement charge: 1.94%
- Instagram posting frequency: 1.02 posts/day
To manually examine your outcomes with these benchmarks, search for your individual metrics utilizing social media analytics and paste your findings and the related {industry} benchmarks right into a spreadsheet. Or add a benchmarking column to your social media report.
For entry to benchmarks for extra industries, extra platforms (X, LinkedIn, and TikTok), and to check your accounts robotically to the most recent benchmarks, begin a free Hootsuite trial.
From there, the information will be downloaded, exported, or added to your customized social media report with just some clicks. You additionally get entry to graphs of your comparative efficiency over time, so you’ll be able to spot any blips.
1. Perceive the way you’re doing
Monitoring your metrics in isolation is just helpful to a sure level. You possibly can see how your social presence is rising and determine peaks and valleys in your individual efficiency.
However with out the larger image of your {industry}, it’s laborious to know what any of that basically means. Perhaps your development feels gradual however it’s exceeding the tempo of your rivals. Or perhaps your engagement charge feels adequate, however a aggressive evaluation would present you can be aiming a lot greater.
This context is especially vital when sharing outcomes past your instant crew. Assembly or exceeding {industry} benchmarks reveals actual worth within the work you and your crew do. For those who’re struggling to fulfill benchmarks and might determine why, you should utilize this info to underpin a request for added assets.
Benchmarks are additionally a useful useful resource to have in your again pocket once you get the inevitable request from a shopper or different stakeholder to simply “make a viral video.”
2. Set real looking targets
We discuss so much on this weblog in regards to the significance of SMART targets. Benchmarking is a requirement for understanding the A and R components of SMART: attainability and relevance.
Realizing what others in your {industry} are at present reaching makes it a lot simpler to set enterprise targets that make you stretch simply far sufficient to attain nice issues.
3. Replicate profitable methods from leaders in your {industry}
As we’ve simply mentioned, you’ll be able to acquire plenty of perception by evaluating your individual outcomes to {industry} benchmarks. However you’ll be able to take these insights even additional by figuring out leaders in your {industry} which are reaching outcomes that outpace the benchmarks.
One option to spot these {industry} leaders is to arrange social listening streams utilizing {industry} key phrases. As you begin to acknowledge vital voices in your area of interest, check out their accounts to get a way of their social media technique.

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Their posting frequency is simple to determine via a easy tally. You too can get a way of their engagement charge by evaluating the likes (if seen) and feedback with their complete variety of followers.
If you spot an account with notably excessive engagement charges, attempt to do some reverse engineering to know what is likely to be working for them, and take into consideration methods you’ll be able to incorporate these classes into your individual technique.
4. Spot alternatives early
You may need seen that the benchmark viewers development charge was barely unfavourable for a number of of the industries above, notably for Instagram. For those who’re particularly centered on rising an viewers shortly and also you’re in certainly one of these industries, this can be an indication you need to focus your efforts on different platforms.
As all the time, that is only a jumping-off level to your personal testing. You would possibly discover, for instance, that these individuals who have unfollowed the Instagram accounts of retail {industry} leaders are searching for new small companies to comply with. Incorporate benchmarks into your brainstorming, however don’t allow them to develop into your solely supply of strategic inspiration.
Social media benchmarks FAQs
Nonetheless have questions? We now have solutions.
How are social media benchmarks measured?
Social media benchmarks measure the typical efficiency inside your {industry}. This entails monitoring numerous related social accounts to know what’s regular inside your area.
When you perceive the {industry} common efficiency, you’ll be able to examine your individual social outcomes to calculate whether or not you might be overperforming, underperforming, or proper on observe.
For Hootsuite’s benchmarking, we acquire and anonymously compile knowledge from social accounts linked to Hootsuite, grouped by {industry} and social community. Every benchmark relies on at the very least 100 social accounts, and no knowledge will be traced again to any particular person account.
What is an effective attain charge on social media?
As you’ll be able to see from the pattern {industry} benchmarks above, the attain charge that’s thought-about “good” varies extensively by {industry} and by social platform.
For example, the profile impressions in our benchmarks above vary from a excessive of 1.8 million for leisure and media Fb pages to a low of 21,000 for actual property Instagram profiles.
That is why it’s so vital to benchmark your metrics towards related companies, moderately than utilizing common attain and engagement numbers on the entire.
What are the 4 varieties of benchmarks?
The 4 predominant varieties of benchmarks are:
- Inner: Evaluating metrics or social media success between totally different departments inside your group.
- Exterior: Evaluating your metrics with these of different organizations in your {industry}.
- Efficiency: Analyzing your individual metrics and KPIs to set targets and see traits in your outcomes over time.
- Follow: Analyzing how your processes stack up towards {industry} greatest practices to search for methods to enhance your work processes.
On this put up, we’re centered on exterior and efficiency benchmarks, as these are the varieties of knowledge revealed via social media benchmarking.
Inner and follow benchmarks are centered inward and require qualitative (that’s, not numerical or quantitative) knowledge.
Use Hootsuite to get {industry} benchmarks, schedule posts, observe outcomes, and do all of your social media reporting from a single dashboard. Strive it free as we speak.
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