How to Use Performance Benchmarks to Improve Social Content

How often have you scrolled through last week’s posts, trying to feel out which ones did better? Been there, done that. Spoiler alert, it doesn’t help as much as we'd like.

Those vague impressions just aren’t enough when you're trying to build a serious presence on social media. It’s not just about how many likes you got, it’s about how those likes stack up against your usual.

The real question boils down to whether your posts this week outperformed your average. Are your Reels gaining more reach than last month? Are your Carousels quietly flopping while your memes shine?

You could get 50 likes and 1,000 views and feel “meh” until you realize your average was 30 likes and 600 views. That’s a win!

Performance benchmarking is the hero here. It offers context, helps spot patterns, measure momentum, and lets you figure out what’s actually working, not just what feels like it is.

Why is post benchmarking better than competitor benchmarking?

We know what you're thinking. Aren't we supposed to follow industry standards?

Maybe! But definitely not at the start.

Because industry benchmarks can be helpful, they're also often built on large, mixed sample sizes with little context. 

You don’t know if the data reflects similar audience sizes, niches, content types, or even posting frequency. Metrics are standardized in ways that might not apply to how you run your social media.

That’s why starting with post benchmarking based on your own content is so much more practical.

Instead of guessing what “good” performance looks like based on someone else’s numbers, post benchmarks compare each piece of content to your own recent history. It’s a personalized baseline built from your results, not someone else’s highlight reel.

• You get relevant insights that reflect your account size, audience, and content style.

• You see true progress, because you're measuring against your past, not a competitor’s best-case scenario.

• You're realistic about what to create next, based on what's actually working for you.

  
  

You don’t need to compare it to a brand with 50k followers pulling 10k views because that context isn’t useful for your current stage.

This in no way means industry benchmarks are irrelevant. They have their place when you're scaling and in dire need of a broader perspective. 

But early on, and even as you grow, nothing beats having an accurate view of your own performance trends.

How is your post performance benchmark calculated?

With algorithms constantly changing and accounts growing, the post benchmarking feature is such a savior.

This is how it works in Measure Studio:

Step 1: Defining your normal range

Measure Studio starts by calculating a Normal Range for each post and its key metrics, like impressions, likes, comments, and other types of engagement.

The Normal Range is a zone of typical performance, shown as an orange band on your graphs. The orange line in the middle represents the median of your recent posts’ performance.

To create this range, Measure Studio takes your median value and adds and subtracts 20% to set upper and lower boundaries. For example, if your median impressions are 1,000, your Normal Range would span from 800 to 1,200 impressions.

This range updates weekly to reflect your account’s growth and changing trends, so your benchmarks adjust alongside your content. It’s important to note that these ranges apply to the first 90 days after a post goes live, which is when most engagement happens.

Step 2: How performance is categorized

Once the Normal Range is established, Measure Studio classifies each post’s metrics into three simple categories:

• Doing Great: If a metric is more than 20% above the median, it’s marked in green. This is a clear sign of outperformance.

• About Average: If a metric falls within 20% above or below the median, it’s considered typical and not highlighted.

• Could Do Better: If a metric is more than 20% below the median, it’s flagged in red, suggesting room for improvement.

Step 3: Tailoring benchmarks by post type

Measure Studio knows that different types of content behave differently. So, benchmarks are calculated separately for Reels, Carousels, Stories, and static images. 

This means your Reels are compared only with other Reels, ensuring the benchmarks you see are relevant and useful for each content format.

Step 4: Tracking progress over time

Benchmarking isn’t a one-time thing, it’s ongoing. Because Measure Studio updates your benchmarks every week, you get to see how your performance trends over time.

Are your Reels steadily gaining more reach? Are your single-image posts holding steady or slipping? These insights help you understand where you're improving and where adjustments might be needed.

Where do I find post benchmarks in Measure Studio?

Now that you know what happens behind the scenes, let’s see how to find and use them. You can find post benchmarks in two main places within your Measure Studio dashboard. That's the Posts page and in the Post detail view.

On the Posts page, you'll see an overview of all your recent content. Here, post performance is visually flagged to help you quickly spot what's working.

Posts outlined in green are marked as Doing Great, meaning performance is more than 20% above your typical range. Those outlined in red are labeled Could Do Better, indicating they're underperforming by more than 20%. 

These color cues are based on the most recent day of data available. If a post is less than 90 days old, the system uses the most recent day. If it’s older than 90 days, the benchmark reflects how it was performing on day 90, and the final day benchmarks are tracked.

The platform uses core metrics to determine these benchmarks for Instagram and Facebook. It uses impressions for X (formerly Twitter) and video views for YouTube. 

You can also filter posts by performance using the dropdown at the top of the screen,  a handy way to zero in on what’s exceeding expectations or falling flat.

You can further use multiple filters for advanced search using the Filter button. These include options like:

• Publish Date: Narrow down posts by the specific date or time period they were published.

• Data Period: Select the date range of performance data you want to analyze for each post.

• Performance: Filter posts based on how they performed compared to your normal range, whether they're doing great, about average, or could do better. 

• Platforms: Choose which social media platforms (like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) you want to view posts from.

• Accounts: Select the specific accounts you want to include in your post view.

• Post Type: Filter by the format of your content, for example, videos, Carousels, Reels, or images.

• AI Categories: Sort posts based on AI-detected content categories like themes or topics.

• AI Content: Filter posts using AI-detected details such as objects, people, activities, emotions, or text found in the images and videos.

• Post Text: Search for keywords found in post metadata like captions, video titles, or descriptions.

• Video Length: Refine your results based on the length of videos to compare short-form vs. long-form content.

• Tags: Filter posts by the custom tags you've added to organize your content in Measure Studio.

• Post Groups: View posts that belong to specific post groups you've created for tracking campaigns or content themes.

• Ad Information: Filter by details related to your ad campaigns including ad account and campaign specifics.

• Organic / Boosted / Dark: Separate content based on whether it was posted organically, boosted with ad spend, or published as a dark post.

• Paid Partnerships: View posts that are marked as paid partnerships, especially those using Meta’s branded content tools.

• Published Status: Filter by visibility whether a post is public, private, or targeted to a specific audience.

• Activity: Find posts that are actively generating audience views or engagement right now.

• Made for Kids: Filter posts that are marked as made for kids to stay compliant with content regulations.

• IDs & URLs: Quickly pull up specific posts using known post IDs or URLs.

• Sort By: Organize results based on key metrics like impressions, reach, or engagement, helping you find high or low performers quickly.

Still craving a deeper look? Just click any post to view its detailed benchmarks. On the Post detail page, each available metric such as reach, likes, or saves is evaluated against your normal range. 

If a metric is significantly above or below that range, it’s highlighted in green or red, and you’ll see exactly how far it’s deviating (e.g. “1.5x above normal” or “0.7x below normal”).

You can even click on the metric’s graph to view it visually. The orange band represents your normal range, and your actual post performance is displayed as a colored line so you can easily track where it stands.

Altogether, these benchmarks give you both high-level and granular insight into how each post is doing.

How to use post comparison on Measure Studio?

While post benchmarking is great for understanding how a single post performs against your historical average, sometimes you need a broader lens. When benchmarking isn’t enough, post comparison creeps in.

With this add-on feature, you're not limited to just individual performance, you can go a step further and compare multiple posts side by side across different time frames. Under the Post tab, use the checkboxes to select up to 10 posts that you would like to compare. Then select the Compare button.

Want to see how your top-performing Reels did in their first 24 hours? You got it. Curious about which videos had the longest legs over a quarter or a full year? It’s all possible. You can even set custom time frames to align with campaign periods, product launches, or seasonal pushes.

This flexibility means you're not just benchmarking, but analyzing performance trends over time, spotting patterns across formats, and making decisions with precision. Whether it's short-term impact or long-term value, you are covered from every angle.

How to improve your content using the 20% rule?

Not every post is a hit, and not every report tells you what to actually do next. That’s where the 20% rule comes in. It’s a practical, repeatable way to grow your content quality. 

So, what is the 20% rule? It’s a method of self-benchmarking where you categorize content into three performance buckets based on your own past posts:

• Doing Great: Metrics that are more than 20% above your median

• Could Do Better: Metrics that are 20% below your median

• About Average: Everything in between

This isn’t about comparing yourself to brands with 10x your budget. It’s about using your own historical performance as the benchmark, which makes your strategy far more realistic, tailored, and actionable.

Here's how you can use 20% strategy for better content:

1. Track your averages: Use Measure Studio to find your median metrics for key categories like reach, views, engagement, watch time, etc.

2. Find your outliers: Look at the content that performed +20% above or -20% below your median. Those are the posts to study.

3. Double down on winners: For anything in the “Doing Great” zone, ask:

   • Can this become a recurring format?

   • What part of this connected with the audience? Was it the tone, timing, visual style, or subject?

   • Can we scale this idea without diluting it?

4. Cut or fix what isn't working: Low performers aren’t failures, but solid feedback. Ask yourself:

   • Was the message clear and easy to grasp?

   • Did the hook work in the first few seconds?

   • Was it too niche, too generic, or too off-brand?

5. Test and repeat: This isn’t a one-time fix, it’s a feedback loop. Each month (or week), apply the same filter. Use it to refine your content ideas, posting strategy, and even your creative briefs.

   
   

This rule keeps your strategy grounded. It helps you stay focused on real, measurable growth without trying to chase virality or mimic brands that have nothing in common with yours.

If you consistently improve your output by just a little, say 1% at a time, you are setting yourself up for compounding success.

How can organic and paid social media teams use this feature?

Measure Studio’s post benchmarking feature is a practical bridge between organic and paid social teams. It brings clarity and alignment to both sides of the content equation.

For organic teams, benchmarking makes reviewing content performance easy. Posts that exceed your typical performance range by 20% or more are highlighted in green, making it easy to spot what’s resonating. Benchmarking helps you identify repeatable content formats, messaging styles, or even visual approaches that you can double down on. 

On the flip side, it also flags what underperformed so you can tweak or drop weak formats instead of recycling them. And because benchmarks are updated weekly, organic teams can quickly adapt to changes in performance trends rather than waiting for monthly reports to pivot.

For paid social teams, post benchmarking is a tool for spending wise. Use it to spot high-performing organic posts marked as “Doing Great” and prioritize them for boosting while they're still fresh. 

There’s no better validation for paid promotion than proven organic success. It also prevents you from pouring ad spend into posts that are underperforming from the get-go.

Beyond that, post benchmarking helps shape stronger paid creatives. If certain messaging, hooks, or formats repeatedly outperform organically, those should inform your ad creative strategy. 

With post comparison features, paid teams can go even deeper analyzing how boosted posts performed against their organic benchmarks or assessing the long-term performance of promoted content across campaigns.

Benchmarking encourages collaboration between paid and organic teams. Using Measure Studio’s filters, like Organic vs. Boosted vs. Dark, both teams can easily audit performance, share insights, and align on which creative assets deserve more budget or iteration.

Instead of working in silos, both sides gain a shared understanding of what’s working and why.

Wrapping up

Post benchmarking is a true mindset shift. It pushes you to evaluate performance through the lens of progress rather than perfection. 

Instead of obsessing over viral spikes or comparing your numbers to brands with completely different audiences and goals, you start focusing on what’s actually moving the needle for you. That shift alone can transform how you plan, create, and optimize content.

With Measure Studio’s post benchmarking, you're no longer relying on gut feel or sifting through endless charts to figure out what's working.

You're equipped with a system that adjusts with your account, gives you personalized performance ranges, and helps you prioritize with confidence, whether you're creating your next Reel, planning a campaign, or choosing what to promote with paid spend.

More importantly, it introduces a culture of continuous improvement. You're finding what resonates, understanding why certain posts connect, and building a more resilient content strategy over time.

Remember, this was never about having the flashiest content! The goal is to have the clearest picture of your own momentum. And once you have that, better decisions (and better results) tend to follow.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is post benchmarking different from traditional social media analytics?

Traditional analytics show you raw numbers such as likes, impressions, and comments but they don’t tell you what’s good. Post benchmarking takes things further by comparing each post to your recent performance history. Instead of guessing whether 800 views is “good,” you get to know if it is above or below your usual. That context makes all the difference when trying to understand trends and make decisions.

Will my post benchmarks change over time as my account grows?

Can I use benchmarking to decide what content to boost with ad spend?