Reactions

Output

total number of reactions to the selected social media content during the reporting period

The indicator measures how many reactions users gave to selected social media content. Reactions are a relatively low-effort form of interaction and can provide evidence of an initial audience response, but they do not by themselves show that users were interested in, understood, agreed with or acted on the content. Their meaning also depends on the platform and context. Therefore, use this indicator mainly to monitor interaction with content and interpret it together with reach and, where relevant, stronger measures linked to the communication objective, such as comments, shares, clicks or intended outcomes.

Determine the indicator's value by using the following methodology:

 

1) Define the measurement scope before collecting the data. Specify the social media platform, account, content and reporting period. If relevant, also specify whether paid, organic or both types of content are included. Use the same scope when comparing results over time.

 

2) Check the platform's current definition of reactions and the reaction types included in its analytics. Use the platform's own analytics where available. Reaction types differ across platforms and can change over time, so record what was included if this matters for comparison.

 

3) Record the number of reactions reported by the platform for each item of content included in the measurement scope. Where possible, export or record the figures at a consistent point after publication.

 

4) To determine the indicator’s value, sum up the reactions of the different communication content. Do not interpret this total as the number or proportion of people who reacted. The same user may react to several different posts and therefore contribute several reactions to the total.

This data can be disaggregated by social media channel, and, if relevant and feasible, also by reaction type, paid versus organic content, content type or other factors relevant to the communication objective.

1) Interpret reaction counts in relation to audience exposure and the amount of content published. For example, 200 reactions from content reaching 5,000 users is different from 200 reactions from content reaching 40,000 users. Where available, report reach or impressions alongside reactions and state the number of posts included. Do not compare raw reaction totals across platforms or periods without considering these differences.

2) Do not assume that the meaning of a reaction can be determined from its symbol alone. A laugh, angry, care or similar reaction can have different meanings depending on the message, language, culture and context. If understanding sentiment matters, review the surrounding comments and other qualitative information rather than automatically converting reaction types into positive or negative sentiment.

3) Platform definitions, interfaces and available metrics can change. For repeated monitoring, use the same platform metric and measurement procedure where possible and note any important change in definition or data availability.

Also consider using the following indicators:

• Engagement Rate (assesses interaction relative to audience exposure rather than relying only on the number of reactions)

• Reach (provides context on how many users had an opportunity to see the content)

• Comments (captures a more effortful form of audience response and can provide qualitative insight)

• Shares / Reposts (measures redistribution of the content to other users)

• Click-through Rate (useful where the communication objective is to prompt users to follow a link)