[FAQ]

I’m a marketing manager based in Melbourne, and I’m putting together a report on our social media performance for the end of the week.

I’m keen to demonstrate the ROI of our company’s X account, and I know that just showing our follower count isn’t enough. I’m looking at the native X Analytics and I’m trying to figure out which metrics are the most important for showing genuine audience engagement.

What should I be looking at beyond just likes? What’s considered a “good” engagement rate, and what’s the best way to calculate it? I want to be able to clearly show which posts are resonating and why.

[Jeff Bullas]

A very sharp question. Moving from tracking vanity metrics to meaningful engagement is the critical step in proving social media ROI.

Brief Answer: To measure engagement on X, you need to focus on the ‘engagement rate’ rather than raw numbers. This is calculated by dividing a tweet’s total engagements (all clicks, replies, retweets, likes) by its total impressions, giving you a true measure of how compelling your video, image, or text content was.

This single percentage is far more insightful than raw likes or follower numbers, as it tells you not just how many people saw your content, but how many were motivated enough to actually do something about it.

First, it’s important to understand what X counts as an “engagement”. It’s a broad metric that includes every possible interaction with your tweet: likes, replies, retweets, follows from the tweet, and every single click (on links, hashtags, your profile image, or to expand the tweet and view a photo or video).

The most important metric to track is your engagement rate, which you calculate with the formula: (Total Engagements / Total Impressions) x 100. This percentage allows you to compare different tweets on a level playing field. For example, a tweet with 100 engagements from 1,000 impressions (a 10% rate) is far more successful than a tweet with 500 engagements from 100,000 impressions (a 0.5% rate). A good benchmark to aim for is an engagement rate of over 1%.

Next, you need to interpret the story behind the different types of engagement. Likes are a passive nod of approval. Replies are a much stronger signal that your text or video content was compelling enough to start a conversation. Retweets are a measure of your content’s value; it was so good that someone was willing to endorse it to their own followers. Link clicks are the ultimate measure of your ability to drive action.

The most practical way to use this data is to go into your X Analytics, sort your tweets by engagement rate, and analyse your top performers. What do they have in common? Are they videos? Do they ask questions? Do they feature a certain style of image? This analysis will give you a clear, data-informed roadmap for what content resonates with your audience and what you should create more of.

Cheers,
Jeff

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