It’s time to reset expectations on social media engagement
It’s a tough pill to swallow when you look at the performance of your social media content and see a measly 50 likes and a couple comments. Ugh…
But a new study from Metricool reveals that engagement is tough to get on Instagram, no matter your account size.
The study, “The Instagram Content Playbook 2025” released in October 2025, analyzed 700 million Instagram posts from influencer accounts ranging from "emerging" (0-1,000 followers) to "mega" (1M+ followers) and broke down median engagement numbers by content type. While the goal of the study was to help brands and content creators better understand the types of content they should create to maximize engagement and follower growth, the data revealed something else. Even for large accounts, getting engagement is challenging! For brand accounts (companies, organizations, etc.) with 10-50k followers, reels and carousels received a median of 37 likes. And for smaller accounts, breaking into double digits for likes is a win. Honestly, seeing that data made me feel pretty good about the level of engagement my content receives.
Studies like these reinforce a few points:
Social media should be part of a larger integrated communications campaign, not the campaign itself. While social media is a great way to showcase work, products and successes, campaigns should not be solely reliant on social media platforms to reach target audiences. Social media outreach should be part of a larger integrated communications campaign that uses additional strategies for reaching target audiences, which could include media engagement or working with partner groups.
A loyal group of engaged followers is better than aiming for the mass followership. “Going viral” shouldn’t be the goal or even an aspirational goal. We need to place more value on the quality of our followers rather than the quantity. If your follower base is small but engaged, that’s better than a massive following that just scrolls past. The loyal followers are the people who proactively visit your account when your content isn’t showing up in their feed, share your content and amplify your messages.
Social media engagement isn’t the sole indicator of a campaign’s success. To truly assess the success of a campaign, multiple metrics and an assessment of the communications landscape during the length of the campaign should be included in the strategy. Social media content will continue to be a key component of any communications campaign, but its numbers shouldn’t be the determining factor in a campaign’s success. While a campaign may have trouble breaking through the noise on social media, other strategies like connecting with target audiences in-person and amplification by stakeholder groups can carry just as much, if not more, weight.
Alpenglow Communications can help you effectively integrate social media outreach into your larger communications strategy and create content that will resonate with your audiences. Contact us!
