Socialinsider: TikTok's average engagement rate reached 5.96% in 2021

An analysis by Socialinsider shows that brand engagement on TikTok is several times higher than on other platforms. Socialinsider analyzed social media engagement over the past two years and found that not only is TikTok’s engagement much higher than Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, but the gap is widening.

In 2021, TikTok had an average engagement rate of 5.96%, followed by Instagram (0.83%), Facebook (0.13%) and Twitter (0.05%).

Interestingly, TikTok’s engagement rate in 2021 (5.96%) has increased from the year before (5.11%). However, for each of the other platforms, the average engagement rate has decreased. Instagram has dropped from 0.9% to 0.83%, while Facebook has dropped from 0.2% to 0.13% and Twitter has dropped from 0.06% to 0.05%. This means that TikTok is taking attention away from the other three platforms.

Which industries are the most attractive?

Socialinsider's analysis shows that the travel industry had the highest average engagement on Instagram last year, at 1.41%, about 70% higher than the industry average of 0.83%. In contrast, fashion and beauty had the lowest engagement, at 0.53% and 0.54%, respectively.

According to Socialinsider, packaged food leads the pack on Facebook with an average engagement rate of 0.36%, followed by beverages (0.29%). Fashion (0.09%) again falls to the bottom.

On Twitter, jewelry (0.18%) was the most engaged category, followed by fast-moving consumer goods (0.12%). Media (0.03%) and magazines (0.01%) performed the worst.

On TikTok, packaged foods once again led the pack, with an average engagement rate of 15.82%. Beverages (12.79%) and jewelry (10.08%) both exceeded double digits, while arts and crafts (4.54%) and media (3.43%) ranked at the bottom.

Twitter has the most diverse content types

Twitter has the most diverse content types, with a fairly even distribution of videos, statuses, photos, and links. GIF posts also stand out, but are less accessible than the other types.