As there are various ways to calculate engagement rate and different forms of engagement to consider when making those calculations, what is considered an engagement differs between platforms. Sprout Social Influencer Marketing calculates engagement for the following platforms using the following formulas:
Social Platform | Engagement Calculation Method |
Likes + Comments + Shares* | |
TikTok | Likes + Comments + Shares |
Likes + Retweets** | |
Likes + Comments + Shares | |
YouTube | Likes + Comments |
* Instagram Shares are available in Campaigns only
** Retweets will not be included in the engagement calculation if the user is private.
These values are then used to calculate the Engagement Rate throughout the platform where the denominator for the calculation is the sum of selected denominators in the organization's settings.
The denominator for Engagement Rate can be customized for individual Campaigns and individual Signal Reports.
The methodology varies based on the way these denominators are calculated. The methods for determining each denominator are explained below:
Engagement/Followers - Total number of engagements divided by the number of followers in the selected Campaign.
The follower count included in this calculation only applies to in-feed posts, meaning that story posts are omitted from the calculation of:
Total Engagements: There is no universal definition of followers for story posts.
Followers: Follower count is not included for posts not included in the calculation in the first place.
Each time a Creator posts, their follower count is added to the total sum of followers at the time of the post.
For example, if Jeremiah posts once to his 1 million followers, then post later when he has 2 million, the calculation will add both of these figures to the total number of previously mentioned followers.
Engagement/Impressions - The total number of engagements divided by impressions received from a platform API or entered manually.
Please note Engagement/Impressions on any post without impressions from a platform API or manually entered value will not be counted in this total.
Engagement/Reach- Total number of engagements divided by reach. This data is retrieved from a platform API or entered manually.
This calculation will skip any post without reach from a platform API or a manually entered reach.
Engagement/Views - The total number of engagements divided by the total views on a piece of video content.
Please note that users must manually enter views for any post pulled directly from a platform API that does not value. Without this value, the platform cannot complete the calculation.