Contributors:
Amol Ghemud Published: February 16, 2026
Summary
The average social media engagement rate in India varies significantly by platform and industry. Instagram averages 1.5-3.5% for business accounts, LinkedIn averages 2-4% for company pages, and Twitter/X averages 0.5-1.5%. D2C brands typically see higher engagement (2.5-5%) than B2B companies (1.5-3%) due to visual product content and larger consumer audiences.
In This Article
Share On:
Your complete guide to understanding what good engagement looks like and how to improve yours
What is a good engagement rate on social media?
Engagement rate is a critical metric that measures how actively your audience interacts with your content. The formula is straightforward: (Likes + Comments + Shares + Saves) divided by Impressions, multiplied by 100. Unlike follower count, which merely indicates reach, engagement rate reveals the quality of your community and their genuine interest in your message.
In the Indian social media landscape, engagement rate matters significantly more than follower count. Brands with smaller but highly engaged audiences often outperform larger accounts with passive followers. This distinction has become even more pronounced as algorithms across platforms increasingly prioritize authentic interactions over vanity metrics.
Platform-specific engagement rate baselines for 2025
Platform
Poor Performance
Average
Good
Excellent
Viral Territory
Instagram
Below 0.5%
0.5-1.5%
1.5-3.5%
3.5-6%
6%+
LinkedIn
Below 0.8%
0.8-2%
2-4%
4-7%
7%+
Twitter/X
Below 0.2%
0.2-0.5%
0.5-1.5%
1.5-3%
3%+
Facebook
Below 0.3%
0.3-0.5%
0.5-1.5%
1.5-3%
3%+
YouTube
Below 1%
1-3%
3-7%
7-12%
12%+
Instagram engagement rates in India have stabilized around 1.5-3.5% for business accounts, which represents a healthy baseline. Achieving 3.5-6% indicates excellent content strategy execution, while 6% and above suggests viral performance or highly niche, passionate communities.
LinkedIn engagement benchmarks have evolved significantly. Company pages typically achieve 2-4% engagement, which is considered good. The platform has shifted its algorithm to reward comments and meaningful discussions, making 4-7% exceptional for B2B content. This shift incentivizes brands to create thought-leadership content that sparks conversation.
What are the engagement rate benchmarks by industry?
Indian industries show dramatically different engagement patterns based on audience type, content nature, and platform suitability. D2C brands consistently outperform B2B brands, while visual-heavy industries benefit from platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
1. D2C and eCommerce
Platform
Engagement Rate Range
Top Performing Content
Instagram
2.5-5%
Product demos, user reviews, behind-the-scenes
LinkedIn
1.5-2.5%
Growth metrics, founder stories, company updates
Facebook
1-2%
Product catalogs, customer testimonials
2. SaaS and B2B technology
Platform
Engagement Rate Range
Top Performing Content
LinkedIn
3-5%
Thought leadership, data visualizations, product updates
Instagram
1.5-3%
Company culture, product features, industry insights
Twitter/X
1-2%
Real-time updates, industry commentary, trending topics
3. Healthcare and pharmaceutical
Platform
Engagement Rate Range
Top Performing Content
LinkedIn
2-3.5%
Educational content, research findings, doctor spotlights
Instagram
1.5-3%
Health tips, wellness content, patient testimonials
Facebook
1-2%
Community support, health awareness, expert advice
Social media engagement patterns in India have undergone substantial shifts in the past two years. These changes reflect broader algorithmic updates, user behavior evolution, and the rise of short-form video content.
Platform
2023 Average
2024 Average
2025 Average
Trend Direction
Instagram Feed Posts
1.8-2.2%
1.5-2%
1.2-1.8%
Declining
Instagram Reels
2.5%
3.8%
4.5-5.5%
Strong Growth
LinkedIn Company Posts
1.8-2.2%
2.2-3%
2.5-4%
Growing
Twitter/X Engagement
1.2-1.8%
1-1.5%
0.8-1.3%
Declining for Brands
YouTube Shorts
2-3%
3.5-4.5%
4.5-6%
Explosive Growth
Facebook Posts
1.5-2%
1.2-1.8%
1-1.5%
Slight Decline
Instagram organic reach has declined significantly, with the platform deprioritizing static feed content. However, Reels engagement has surged 40% year-over-year, now consistently outperforming traditional carousel posts. This shift reflects user preference for short-form video and Instagram’s competitive response to TikTok.
LinkedIn has become increasingly valuable for B2B brands. The platform’s algorithm now favors comments over likes, meaning discussions and meaningful interactions receive greater distribution. Educational and thought-leadership content consistently outperforms promotional material by 2-3x.
Twitter/X engagement has declined for brands overall, though personal accounts and news-related content remain stable. The platform’s shifting user base and algorithm changes have made sustained organic growth challenging for most B2B accounts.
A critical emerging trend is the rise of dark social engagement. Saves, shares to private messages, and direct shares have increased 35% since 2023. These metrics are often invisible in standard analytics but represent highly engaged users who find content valuable enough to preserve or share privately.
Why is your engagement rate low, and how do you fix it?
Low engagement rates typically stem from identifiable, fixable issues. Analyzing these causes systematically and implementing targeted solutions can improve engagement rates by 50-100% within 90 days.
Common causes of low engagement
Infrequent posting causes algorithms to deprioritize your account. Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook all reduce distribution for accounts posting less than 3 times weekly. The algorithm assumes inactive accounts have lower engagement value.
Misaligned content fails to resonate with your audience. If your audience follows you for product reviews but you primarily post industry news, engagement suffers. Audit what content your followers actually engage with.
Excessive promotional content destroys engagement. Posts exceeding 20% sales-focused messaging see 40-60% lower engagement. Audiences follow brands for value, education, or entertainment, not constant selling.
Ignoring audience interactions signals disengagement. Failing to respond to comments and DMs within 24 hours tells the algorithm your content isn’t valuable conversation-starter material.
Poor posting timing means reaching your audience when they’re not active. Indian users peak engagement occurs 6-9 AM, 12-1 PM, and 7-10 PM IST depending on audience demographics.
Strategic fix framework
Analyze your 10 worst-performing and 10 best-performing posts from the past 90 days. Document format (video, carousel, static image), topic, copy style, posting time, and call-to-action for each.
Identify patterns in what works. Do your top posts feature specific content types? Are they posted at particular times? Do they ask questions or encourage saves? These patterns guide your content strategy.
Double down on successful formats. If Reels dramatically outperform static posts, shift 60% of content to Reels. If carousel posts with specific hooks drive comments, create more carousels with similar hooks.
Test video content aggressively. Reels, Shorts, and video consume 68% of social media consumption time. Accounts incorporating video increase engagement by 40-70% on average.
Engage authentically before expecting engagement. Spend 15 minutes daily commenting on competitor and industry accounts. Meaningful comments get you on followers’ radars and prime the algorithm to show your content to engaged users.
How do you benchmark your performance against competitors?
Competitor benchmarking provides context for your engagement metrics. A 2% engagement rate might be excellent for your industry, while it might be below average for another. Manual tracking and strategic tools enable data-driven decisions.
Manual benchmarking approach
Select 5 direct competitors and track their performance monthly. Document their follower count, posting frequency, average engagement per post, and engagement rate. After 3-6 months, patterns emerge revealing industry standards and competitive positioning.
Benchmarking tools
Socialinsider provides detailed engagement tracking and competitor analysis across platforms. Sprout Social offers comprehensive benchmarking dashboards with historical trend analysis. For budget-conscious teams, a simple Google Sheets tracker that monitors key metrics works well.
Competitor benchmarking template
Brand
Platform
Followers
Monthly Posts
Avg Engagement %
Top Content Type
Competitor A
Instagram
150K
15
2.8%
Instagram Reels
Competitor B
Instagram
280K
20
1.9%
Carousels
Competitor C
LinkedIn
45K
12
3.5%
Document Posts
Your Brand
Instagram
120K
12
2.1%
Static Posts
Industry Average
Instagram
150K
15
2.3%
Mixed Content
What content formats get the highest engagement?
Content format directly impacts engagement rates. Short-form video dominates user consumption, but format effectiveness varies by platform and audience.
Instagram content formats by engagement
Format
Average Engagement Rate
Best For
Ideal Duration
Reels
3.5-5%
Entertainment, education, trends
15-60 seconds
Carousels
2.5-4%
Step-by-steps, comparisons, product showcases
N/A
Stories
3-5% reply rate
Time-sensitive updates, behind-the-scenes
5-15 seconds
Single Image Posts
1-2%
Announcements, quotes, milestones
N/A
Video Posts
1.5-3%
Tutorials, testimonials, announcements
30-120 seconds
LinkedIn content formats by engagement
Format
Average Engagement Rate
Best For
Ideal Length
Document Posts
3-6%
Reports, case studies, templates
Professional documents
Carousel Posts
2.5-5%
Step-by-steps, insights, frameworks
5-10 slides
Text with Hook
2-4%
Thought leadership, questions, stories
100-300 words
Image Posts
1.5-3%
Infographics, screenshots, announcements
High-quality images
Video Posts
1.5-2.5%
Founder messages, testimonials, training
30-90 seconds
Twitter/X content formats by engagement
Format
Average Engagement Rate
Best For
Ideal Length
Thread with Images
1.5-3%
Educational content, stories, tutorials
5-15 tweets
Single Tweet with Image
0.8-1.5%
News, updates, takes
Compelling image
Thread Without Image
1-2%
Thoughts, experiences, analysis
Clear, engaging
Text Only
0.3-0.8%
Quick commentary, reactions
280 characters
Video Tweet
1.2-2%
Clips, demonstrations, announcements
15-60 seconds
Get your Custom Engagement Rate Benchmark Report
Understanding industry benchmarks is one thing. Knowing exactly how your brand compares to competitors and the India market is transformative. upGrowth provides custom engagement rate analysis, competitor benchmarking, and actionable optimization strategies tailored to your industry and audience.
Our benchmark reports include month-over-month growth tracking, content format analysis, optimal posting time recommendations, and specific engagement improvement strategies. Move beyond vanity metrics and focus on metrics that drive real business results.
1. What engagement rate should I aim for on Instagram in 2025?
Industry-standard good Instagram engagement is 1.5-3.5%. Accounts achieving 3.5-6% are performing excellently. Factors affecting your target include industry (D2C targets 2.5-5%, B2B targets 1.5-3%), follower count (larger accounts naturally see slightly lower rates), and content consistency. Focus on improving month-over-month rather than comparing absolute numbers.
2. Is engagement rate more important than follower count?
Absolutely yes. A 50K account with 4% engagement (2000 engaged followers per post) provides more business value than a 500K account with 0.5% engagement (2500 engaged followers per post). Engagement indicates audience quality and content relevance, which directly impact conversion rates, brand loyalty, and business outcomes.
3. How do you calculate engagement rate correctly?
Engagement rate equals (Total Interactions divided by Total Impressions) multiplied by 100. Total Interactions includes likes, comments, shares, saves, and relevant clicks. Total Impressions is the number of times your content was displayed. Most platforms provide this data in native analytics. Calculate monthly averages rather than individual post rates for meaningful comparisons.
4. What is a good LinkedIn engagement rate for B2B companies?
LinkedIn B2B company pages typically achieve 2-4% engagement, which is good. Excellent performance is 4-7%, while anything above 7% indicates exceptional content strategy or highly engaged niche audiences. SaaS and technology companies often achieve higher rates (3-6%) while manufacturing and traditional services often see 1.5-3%.
5. Does posting frequency affect engagement rate?
Yes, significantly. Accounts posting 3-5 times weekly see 35-50% higher engagement rates than accounts posting 1-2 times weekly. However, quality matters more than quantity. One exceptional post weekly outperforms seven mediocre posts. The optimal frequency is typically 4-5 times weekly with consistent quality.
6. Why does my engagement rate drop as followers grow?
Engagement rate naturally decreases as accounts scale. A 10K account can achieve 5% engagement relatively easily. A 500K account achieving 2% represents more total engagement. This occurs because early followers are usually highly targeted, while growth often includes less-targeted followers. Focus on total engaged followers rather than percentage rates as you scale.
7. How do Instagram Reels affect overall engagement rate?
Instagram Reels engagement (3.5-5%) dramatically outperforms feed posts (1-2%). Accounts incorporating Reels see overall engagement rate increases of 40-70%. Since Instagram’s algorithm heavily prioritizes Reels, accounts posting 50% Reels and 50% other content experience maximum reach. Shifting toward Reels is the single highest-leverage engagement improvement.
8. What is dark social and how does it impact engagement metrics?
Dark social refers to engagement happening outside publicly visible metrics, primarily shares to private messages and closed groups. Users saving and sharing content privately don’t register as public engagement. Studies show dark social accounts for 35-50% of total social engagement but appears invisible in analytics. Track saves as a proxy for dark social value.
9. Should you count saves and shares in engagement rate?
Yes, absolutely. Saves often indicate higher-value engagement than likes. Users save content they find genuinely useful or want to reference later. Shares indicate users believe content is valuable enough to recommend to their networks. Include both in engagement calculations: (Likes + Comments + Saves + Shares) / Impressions x 100.
10. What time should you post for best engagement in India?
Peak engagement times in India are 7-9 AM IST (morning commute), 12-1 PM IST (lunch break), and 8-10 PM IST (evening leisure). B2B content performs best 9-11 AM and 5-7 PM. Analyze your audience analytics to identify your specific followers’ peak activity times, which may vary by industry and demographic.
Amol has helped catalyse business growth with his strategic & data-driven methodologies. With a decade of experience in the field of marketing, he has donned multiple hats, from channel optimization, data analytics and creative brand positioning to growth engineering and sales.
Growth Strategy and Planning
