We broke down what “engagement” is actually made of, across ~84,000 posts on Ins
By Planableapp · October 23, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
We broke down what “engagement” is actually made of, across ~84,000 posts on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. It’s humbling: 83% of it is just a like.
The single cheapest action, a tap, makes up the overwhelming majority of the number everyone obsesses over. On Facebook it’s 90%, on LinkedIn 78%, on Instagram 76%.
The things we actually chase are rare by nature. Comments are only 6 to 10% of engagement. Shares, 3 to 12%. They’re hard-won because they cost the viewer something: an opinion, a share to their own feed, a deliberate save for later.
And here’s the twist: on Instagram and LinkedIn, shares and saves each match or beat comments, yet “ask a question to get comments” is the advice everyone repeats. We’re optimizing for one of the smallest buckets.
The takeaway: a like costs nothing, so it dominates. Comments, shares, and saves are the signals that mean something, precisely because they’re rare. Judge your content by those, and don’t panic when likes are most of the count.
What do you actually track, likes, or the stuff that’s harder to earn?