Do you know what social media success looks like for your business?
Like most areas of marketing, results vary based on the industry, target audience, and ability to create content that appeals to customers.
Rival IQ has released its annual report Social media measurement report for 2023, in which brands in 14 industries compare their social media performance against other brands in the same competitive landscape.
The dataset covers social media engagement on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter for 2,100 companies across many industries, from food and beverage to technology.
The Facebook followers of the analyzed companies range from 25,000 to 10,000,000, and they all have more than 5,000 followers on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.
Here are the top insights that marketing professionals need to know.
Inclusive participation
Between 2019 and 2022, all industries experienced a decrease in overall engagement on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Facebook and Twitter only showed little change in engagement.
For Facebook, it fell to 0.06% in 2021, maintaining that rate the following year. For Twitter, it decreased by 0.01% between 2019-2022.
Weekly posting decreased over time for both networks, from 5.8 to 5 posts per week on Facebook and from 5.4 to 3.9 posts per week on Twitter.
On the other hand, Instagram saw a much bigger drop, from 1.22% to 0.47%. But unlike Facebook and Twitter, the weekly posting on this platform has increased from 4.3 to 4.5 posts per week.
Facebook share
Across all industries, the average Facebook engagement rate per post by followers is 0.06%.
The average number of weekly posts across all industries is 5.04, with media posting over 73.5 times per week. This is likely because media companies publish more news content than brands in other industries.
Instagram post
Across all industries, the average Instagram engagement rate per post by followers is 0.47%.
The average number of posts per week across all industries is 4.6, with sports teams recording the most posts at 15.6 per week.
TikTok post
Across all industries, TikTok’s average engagement rate per post by followers is 5.69%.
The average number of videos per week across the board is 1.75, with media posting the most at 4.2 times per week.
Twitter post
Across all industries, the average Twitter engagement rate per post by followers is 0.035%.
The average number of tweets per week across all industries is 3.91, with the media tweeting the most at 70.2 times per week.
Top types of publications
The best types of posts on each social network vary by industry.
Photo and video posts attract the most engagement on Facebook, while link and status posts have the least.
For Instagram, the data suggests that companies should focus their content creation efforts on reels, carousels, and photos. Video posts that aren’t uploaded because Reels tend to get the least engagement.
On Twitter, posts with photos, videos, and statuses show the most engagement, while tweets with links tend to have the least engagement.
Top hashtags
Hashtags vary widely across industries and platforms. Holiday hashtags tend to have the most engagement across all industries, while contests and giveaways are down in popularity compared to previous years.
Screenshot from Rival IQ, March 2023main sockets
The main takeaway is that each industry’s audience is a little different. While food and beverage brands see the best engagement with Instagram Reels, higher education brands see the best engagement with revolving Instagram.
To get the most out of your social media strategy, find ways to transform your content into the format that gets the best engagement on each of the top social networks. This will ensure that you reach the most potential customers with the content they enjoy consuming.
For more than 100 pages of industry-specific insights, visit Rival IQ and download 2023 Social media benchmark report.
Featured image: 13_Phunkod / Shutterstock
