Industry Benchmarks for Social Media in 2023

Sharing your performance data without including industry-specific social media benchmarks is akin to performing a play without a set. People will understand what you're saying, but they'll probably draw their own conclusions about the big picture.

Industry benchmarks give you the context you need to tell a more complete story about your social media marketing strategy. Continue reading before diving into the data to learn more about the metrics, why they matter, and how you can use them to make 2023 your best year yet.

What to measure in 2023: Industry-specific social media benchmarks

The Content Benchmarks Report analyzed over 523 million messages from 729,000 public social profiles to derive industry benchmarks in three areas: published posts, inbound engagements, and outbound engagements.

Posts that have been published

A simple metric is the number of posts published. It counts the number of posts published across all accounts during a given time period. While this may appear simple, it is frequently at the heart of a successful social media strategy.

Focusing on published posts can help you reverse engineer the publishing volume required to achieve specific impressions, engagements, and engagement rates. If your social media goals are data-driven, determining how to achieve them is as simple as reviewing your previous performance reports.

Professional sports organizations shared an average of 26 posts per day in 2022, making it the most prolific industry on social in terms of content sharing.

To be fair, this industry has a leg up on the competition. Fans, videographers, photographers, and if you're working with a social-savvy team like the Cleveland Browns even players can contribute to social content.

Even if you don't have a major sports team, you can use this strategy. When your company has a fun event on the calendar, look at it through a social-first lens to get the most out of your presence.

Inbound interactions

This report includes two different inbound social media engagement benchmarks: average daily inbound engagements per post and average daily inbound engagements on content.

Breaking down these numbers by day and post helps validate the success of your overall strategy as well as individual posts. This level of granularity is critical for measuring the success of large changes in your social creative and copy.

A surge in engagement, on the other hand, isn't always a good thing. In the best-case scenario, an increase in comments could indicate that a post is generating discussion. It could also indicate that a crisis is occurring and customers are seeking assistance through social media.

When creating social media reports, make sure to include the context for engagement spikes and dips. All of this contributes to a more audience-focused understanding of what constitutes an effective social presence. Having this data at your fingertips can help you become more deliberate about the individual posts that comprise your strategy.

Outbound interactions

Outbound engagements will make or break your social strategy in 2023.

For a more personalized online experience, people are flocking to closed communities and vertical networks. To remain competitive in this new social era, brands will need to increase their focus on proactive marketing. Building 1:1 relationships on social media isn't a quick fix for rapid growth, but it is a manageable, long-term strategy.

This represents a significant shift in traditional brand social strategies. In 2022, the average number of outbound engagements across all industries was just two per day, with only five of the 19 industries studied reaching an average of four or more.

What's the good news? These figures indicate that outbound engagement will be a surefire way to outperform your competition in the coming year and beyond.

Make space in your social media content calendar for proactive engagement opportunities. Participate in the conversations that are important to your audience, whether they are industry or cultural in nature. It's unexpected, which is why it works so well.

Benchmarking social media across social networks

How much time does your company spend on each social platform? If you're still trying to figure out how frequently you should be posting, commenting, and engaging on social media, these social media benchmarks can help.

Benchmarks on Facebook

Brands publish an average of 5 Facebook posts per day across all industries. Professional sports (9), media/entertainment (8), and advertising/marketing (8) are the industries that outperform the average (8).

In terms of engagement, brands on the network receive an average of 28 comments and 7 direct messages per day. Professional sports organizations and media outlets receive the most comments per day, which makes sense given how frequently they post on the network.

Companies in the travel and tourism industry, on the other hand, receive 36 comments per day despite maintaining an average posting volume (5). This volume demonstrates the importance of monitoring your social inbox, regardless of whether a particular network is on your social content calendar.

Instagram standards

In recent years, the total number of Instagram posts per day has decreased, indicating that brands are favoring Stories over traditional grid posts. In 2022, brands only published once per day on the network on average.

Of course, there are some outliers. Professional sports (3), retail (2), and consumer products are likely to post more frequently (2).

While brands may be posting less frequently, their fans are more engaged than ever. Every day, the average brand is tagged in five photos and four captions. Instagram is the place to be if your social media strategy relies on user-generated content.

According to data, consumers prefer to communicate with their favorite businesses via Instagram Direct Messages. On average, brands receive 27 Instagram direct messages per day. Travel and tourism (36), health and wellness (30), and internet and technology (30) are among the industries that outperform the average (29).

Brands across industries tweet three times per day on average. Professional sports (13) and advertising/marketing (13) have more than this average (6).

Twitter provides a variety of engaging opportunities. Quote Tweets and Retweets can help audience members promote brand content while also contributing to the conversation.

Brands received an average of 14 Retweets and 3 Quote Tweets per day across all industries. Professional sports (109), media and entertainment (35), and nonprofit organizations received more Retweets than the average (15). Automotive (3), staffing and recruiting (2), and real estate (1) had fewer Retweets than the average (1).

@mentions on Twitter allow brands and audiences to interact publicly in the feed. Furthermore, audiences frequently use Twitter DMs for longer conversations, such as customer service requests. According to our research, brands receive an average of 26 @mentions and 2 DMs per day on the network.

The advantages of social media engagement benchmarks

Benchmarks can turn last year's data into an advantage this year. Now that you have new insights, here are three ways to use social media engagement benchmarks to improve your strategy:

1. Industry benchmarks serve as sources of inspiration

Every industry has a distinct approach to social media. Looking beyond your competitors can be the first step toward your next game-changing campaign if you want to revamp your social media marketing strategy.

Use industry benchmarks to determine which brands outperform the competition in the metrics listed above. Examine their social presences to see what they're doing differently and how your brand can emulate them. This is an excellent way to generate novel ideas that will appeal to your target audience.

2. Competitive benchmarks provide context for your performance

Understanding how your brand compares to competitors can help you tell a more complete story with performance data. You can better translate your efforts for business stakeholders who may not understand what social media success looks like by using competitive benchmarking.

3. Personal benchmarks help you set short-term goals

When it comes to setting actionable goals, your personal benchmarks should be your go-to resource. While industry social media benchmarks can add color to your performance, your brand's own year-over-year benchmarks tell the story of your long-term growth.

This is especially important for brands testing new social strategies or establishing a new network presence.

Annual reports are the first step in establishing personal benchmark data. Your year-over-year performance data is critical for identifying your social media strategy's strengths and weaknesses. These insights should serve as the foundation for your goals for the coming year.

Month-over-month benchmarks, on the other hand, will assist you in gauging progress on specific campaigns, allowing you to identify quick wins or pivots that are required. These benchmarks will also help you keep track of your social media KPIs.

To collect the data for these reports, identify the metrics that are most important to your brand and create a spreadsheet to track how they are progressing month by month. You'll eventually have enough data to inform annual benchmarks.

Allow your social media benchmarks to guide you

You have everything you need to optimize your strategy for maximum success now that you know where to start with industry, competitive, and personal benchmarks.

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