Social media benchmarks: Q3 2024 [Data & Tips]

by Christina Newberry December 8, 2022

How do you know the “right” number of engagements to expect on your social posts? Is 100 likes a lot or a little? The answer is, it depends.

That’s where social media benchmarks come in. This industry-specific data tracks the norms or averages for specific metrics like social media engagement and follower growth. It gives you an understanding of how businesses similar to yours are doing — and a better sense of what those 100 likes really mean.

Keep reading to learn more about the process of social media benchmarking. This post includes up-to-date (Q3 2024) benchmarks for key industries to help you understand how your social results stack up right now.

Bonus: Get a free, customizable competitive analysis template to easily size up the competition and identify opportunities for your brand to pull ahead.

What is a social media benchmark?

A social media benchmark is an average result that serves as a standard by which other businesses in the same industry or category can be measured or judged. The benchmark is essentially the norm for social media marketing success. Think of it as the level of social media performance all businesses within a category should try to reach or exceed.

Social media benchmarks are important because they provide context for your social media KPIs. There’s always value to tracking your own social media metrics and growth over time, even in isolation. But when you place that data in the context of the larger industry picture, you can better understand where there are real opportunities for improvement.

You can also use benchmarks to set realistic goals expectations. Some industries (like entertainment) will by nature have greater reach than others (like health care). When you know what’s “normal” for your industry, you can set reasonable milestones that allow you to achieve real growth without burning out your social team.

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How to find social media benchmarks

Manually compiling reliable social media benchmarks by industry can involve a lot of very finicky and frustrating research.

Fortunately, Hootsuite Analytics has a built-in social media benchmarking tool that allows you to compare the performance of your social accounts against the average of brands in your industry with just a couple of clicks.

To access this new feature, head to Analytics within your Hootsuite dashboard. Under Benchmarking in the the left menu, click Industry, then click Select your industry and choose the most relevant option from the drop-down menu.

Selecting an industry in Hootsuite Analytics Industry Benchmarking

Now you can see how your results compare to average performance stats within your industry. You can set up custom timeframes, switch between networks — Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and TikTok — and look up benchmarks for the following metrics:

Profile impressions
Profile reach
Followers
Audience growth rate
Engagement rate
Video plays
Posting frequency
Clicks
Shares

… and more.

Industry benchmarking in Hootsuite Analytics; Two graphs comparing post engagement rate and post like numbers.

You will also find resources to improve your performance right in the summary section:

Industry benchmarking in Hootsuite Analytics: Performance summary with dedicated resources for improvement

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And, if you need to present your results to your team, boss, or other stakeholders, you can easily download your comparison report as a PDF file.

Q3 2024 social media benchmarks by industry

Let’s look at a snapshot of some of the most important social media benchmarking data from Q3 2024. We focus here on four key metrics:

Page/profile impressions: The number of times content from or about your profile or page appears on someone’s screen. Note that this number is not the same as reach. Reach indicates the number of accounts that see your content. Impressions will usually be higher because one account might view your content multiple times.
Audience growth rate: Rather than a simple count of new followers, this is a measure of how your audience is growing (or shrinking) as a percentage of your existing followers.

Post engagement rate: Total engagements (likes, comments, saves, shares) divided by your total audience, expressed as a percentage.

Posting frequency: The average number of posts shared per day.

Combined, these benchmarks give you a good sense of how your social accounts stack up against the competition in terms of both output and performance.

It’s important to compare like with like, so we’ve provided separate social media benchmarks for Facebook and Instagram in each category. The impressions numbers are based on a 30-day period.

Social media benchmarks in education

What should the education industry post on social media?

Below, you’ll find recommendations for the best content type to post on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter) for maximum engagement.

Best content type to post on Facebook

In the education industry, albums perform best on Facebook at 7.1%.

Best content type for engagement in the education industry: Facebook; Q3 2024 data

Best content type to post on Instagram

In the education industry, carousels perform best on Instagram at 6.5%, offering an interactive way for users to view educational content.

Best content type for engagement in the education industry: Instagram; Q3 2024 data

Best content type to post on LinkedIn

In the education industry, photos perform best on LinkedIn at 1.8%, providing a visually appealing way to view educational content.

Best content type for engagement in the education industry: LinkedIn; Q3 2024 data

Follower growth rate in education

LinkedIn has the highest weekly follower growth rate at 1.58%, showing it’s a great place to grow your network in education.

Here is how other education profiles are doing in Q3 2024:

LinkedIn: 1.58%
Instagram: 0.00%
X (Twitter): 0.14%
Facebook: 0.06%

Weekly follower growth rate in the education industry; Q3 2024 data

How often should you post on social media in the education industry?

Our research found that the education industry posts on Facebook and X more often than on other social platforms — an average of 9 times a week. Instagram follows with 8 posts a week and LinkedIn 6 posts a week.

Weekly posting frequency in the education industry; Q3 2024 data

Weekly frequency and engagement rates in education

Wondering if your weekly frequency and engagement rates are high enough? Here are the industry averages across all major social networks as of September 2024.

Weekly frequency and engagement rates in education on Facebook

In the education industry on Facebook, the highest engagement rate of 3.7% is achieved with a weekly posting frequency of 13 posts.

Weekly posting frequency and engagement rate in the education industry: Facebook; Q3 2024 data

Weekly frequency and engagement rates in education on Instagram

In the education industry on Instagram, the highest engagement rate of 5.6% is achieved with a weekly posting frequency of 5 posts.

Weekly posting frequency and engagement rate in the education industry: Instagram; Q3 2024 data

Weekly frequency and engagement rates in education on LinkedIn

In the education industry on LinkedIn, the highest engagement rate of 2.3% is achieved with a weekly posting frequency of 9 posts.

Weekly posting frequency and engagement rate in the education industry: LinkedIn; Q3 2024 data

Weekly frequency and engagement rates in education on X (Twitter)

In the education industry on X (Twitter), the highest engagement rate of 4.0% is achieved with a weekly posting frequency of 1 post.

Weekly posting frequency and engagement rate in the education industry: X (Twitter); Q3 2024 data

For more education-specific benchmarks, including the best times to post, the most engaging content formats, and stats for more major social networks, check out our dedicated post on social media benchmarks for education.

Social media benchmarks in entertainment and media

What should the entertainment and media industry post on social media?

Below, you’ll find recommendations for the best content type to post on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter) for maximum engagement.