Industry KPIs: X’s engagement spikes around news are inconsistent

The news: Engagement rates on X (formerly Twitter) fluctuated dramatically throughout 2024, per our Industry KPI data from Dash Social. The significant spikes and declines show that X is still a go-to platform for users looking for discussion around major events—but also that it struggles to keep users’ attention outside major news events.

By the numbers: Dash Social data from Q1 to Q3 2024 showed that X’s average engagement rate hit a peak in Q2 before falling off significantly. Rival platforms had less eye-popping but far more stable engagement rates.

• X’s average engagement jumped from 1.9% in Q1 to 26.3% in Q2—before dropping back down to 1.7% in Q3. The extremely high Q2 engagement overlapped with historic news events like former President Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.
• Meta platforms showed far more consistent average engagement throughout the year; Instagram engagement averaged a notably lower .3% through all three quarters, while Facebook averaged 4.2% in Q1 and 4.7% in both Q2 and Q3.

What this means: The Q2 spike shows that, despite troubles under Elon Musk’s ownership, X is still viewed as a go-to platform for tracking news. Advertising alongside news content is a prickly decision for some brands, but X’s engagement reveals an opportunity to reach politically active users.

21% of US adults say they regularly get news from influencers, per an August 2024 Pew Research survey—and X has more news influencers than any other social platform.

Our take: Major news events are hard to predict, and brands may not want to commit consistent spending to X given its notable brand safety struggles. Instagram and Facebook’s consistent engagement makes them much more reliable channels for long-term ad spending and brand presence—even if Instagram’s engagement is comparatively low.

X also isn’t the only text-based social media platform on the block anymore. Bluesky has attracted significant attention in recent months and has floated advertising, while Meta’s Threads drew 1 million new users daily in Q4 2024 and is currently testing ads.

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