Engagement rate measures how compelling your content is, not just how many people saw it. It’s usually calculated as total engagements divided by reach (or followers), times 100.
It matters more than raw follower count because it reflects a real, active audience. A small account with high engagement often outperforms a large, passive one.
Example: A post with 500 engagements and 10,000 reach has a 5% engagement rate.