Trends Social engagement rate continues to fall for every medium…except one.

A few months ago we posted a breakdown of which content types were being shared on Facebook. The takeaway was simply that photos have dominated the Facebook content landscape over the last half decade. But that analysis was only looking at volume. What happens when you bring engagement into the mix? Do photos get the most interaction? Let’s take a look.

The Goods
To find our answer we looked at the Facebook posting activity from 600 hotels and resorts over the last 4 years. We grouped average engagement first by content type – photos, videos, other – and then by year. Here’s how it looks.

Engagement by content type fell for every medium for every year with just one exception; video. Video, that saw 0.78% engagement in 2015, jumped to 0.92% in 2016. This point is also higher than 2014 where video engagement sat at 0.89%.

What This Means
This in an interesting result for a few reasons. First, as far as we can tell, this is the first time that a specific medium has seen an increase in engagement year-over-year. Decreases in rate are expected as the denominator – fan count – continues to grow. So the fact that raw engagement outgrew the size of a page is a really interesting sign.

But it’s also a reminder where Facebook is placing their bets. We already know that they favor video uploads over videos shares despite the content being identical between the two, but it also appears the social giant is favoring video over other photos and other content types as well.

Next Week, Another Post
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