What Are The Current Instagram Industry Benchmarks?
Why Industry Benchmarks Are Important
If you don’t know what are the current attainable benchmarks on Instagram, you will never know how to set realistic goals. So, let’s have a look at what are those benchmarks.
Growth Benchmarks
From what I observed, the thing that causes a lot of stress to Instagram business owners is looking at everyone else and thinking they got it all managed. After all, people use Instagram to show the wins, not the lost battles. And it’s easy to think they’re winning when you’re scrambling.
A recent study by Dash Hudson: 2021 Instagram Industry Benchmarks: Unlocking ROI in the UK and Europe analysed data from 50 brands on Instagram. What they uncovered was unexpected! All brands ranked with a less than 1% month-to-month audience growth! So, if you’re thinking you should be growing by thousands each month, the reality is that most brands don’t. They grow just very little.
However, this doesn’t mean that growing in volumes is impossible. On the contrary, if you combine unique content with an enthusiastic audience and use the right growth techniques, you can grow your Instagram account rapidly. And of course, if you’re starting on Instagram, it will be relatively easy to get that first 1 K, 3K, 5K followers – for many, it’s doable to get that number in 1-3 months just using organic methods.
Engagement Benchmarks
Decreased engagement goes hand in hand with reduced growth. The amount of content is available on the platforms has become overwhelming, and as a result, people tend to engage with it less. But the good news is that Instagram is still doing pretty well with its engagement rates, and they’re far less discouraging than on other platforms.
The study by Dash Hudson which I mentioned above (2021 Instagram Industry Benchmarks: Unlocking ROI in the UK and Europe) has looked into the engagement of industry leaders in different industries. The results were mostly shocking, as their engagement rate varied from 0.43% to 2.64%.
Additionally, a popular Instagram scheduling app called Planoly has recently analysed the average engagement rate on Instagram for PLANOLY users is 2.93%. (Unfortunately, they did not disclose the number of Planoly users, but it should be a substantial number.) Their study found that the engagement rate is generally higher for small accounts and decreases with the size of the account.
What Does This Mean to Your Brand?
When planning your content for Instagram, it can be easy to get carried away to make big plans. But being realistic of how much content you can create and publish is critical to taking the stress and overwhelm from the process.
In my free guide, STOP STRESSING and START PROGRESSING ON INSTAGRAM, I explain strategies for growth and engagement, so you can understand what actions to take that will result in audience and engagement growth. Additionally, you’ll discover simple automation tools to become more effective with your social media, so that you can spend less time managing it, and put your time on other parts of your business that are important. Ready to sign up? Use the form below!