Social media is no longer just a branding or awareness channel; it has become increasingly integral to business outcomes. Yet one of the most prominent challenges marketers face is demonstrating ROI in a consistent, business-meaningful way… especially as engagement rates decline:
Benchmark reports for 2025 confirm that across industries, engagement rates have declined year-over-year on most platforms (e.g., Facebook engagement down ~36%, TikTok down ~34%)
Social Media ROI
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That sounds simple, but ROI in social media doesn’t always mean immediate sales. Often, it implies softer but critical returns such as lead generation, audience growth, brand lift, retention, or cost savings (e.g., via social customer support). Still, in mature or performance-oriented teams, you should aim to tie social metrics as closely as possible to revenue or business goals.
A conventional benchmark for paid campaigns is a 5:1 return (or 500%), although that’s more of a rule of thumb than a hard universal standard.
The average paid social ROI currently hovers around 250% (i.e., $2.50 returned per $1 spent) across various use cases.
Because every industry, business model, and audience is different, benchmarking ROI (or intermediate metrics) by industry is crucial for context.
Key Metrics for Social Media ROI
Before diving into industry variation, here are the most relevant metrics to monitor. Many of them map to ROI when tied to business outcomes.
MetricWhy It MattersNotes / CaveatsEngagement Rate (per post)Reflects how much your audience interacts relative to your following sizeUseful cross-industry benchmark, especially for organic contentClick-Through Rate (CTR)Measures how many people move from social content to your site or landing pageCritical in funnel-driven campaigns Conversion Rate (CR)The percentage of social traffic that completes a target action (sale, lead, sign-up)This is the “bridge” toward revenue ROI Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) from SocialTotal social spend (ads + creators + content cost) ÷ new customersHelps evaluate sustainability of social spend Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)Revenue generated from social ads ÷ ad spendThe most direct ROI measure when you can track revenue attributionFollower / Audience Growth RateGrowth in your social following over timeA longer-term leading indicator; often softer valueShare of Voice / Mentions / SentimentHow much your brand is talked about vs. competitorsMore relevant in mature brands or competitive verticalsCost per Engagement (CPE)Ad cost ÷ number of engagements (clicks, likes, comments, shares)Useful for optimizing creative or platform tacticsLifetime Value (LTV) of Social-acquired CustomersUse cohort analysis to see if customers from social stick longerExpands ROI horizon beyond immediate revenue
In practice, a good social media ROI depends on how strongly you can tie these metrics to revenue or long-term business impact.
Social Media Benchmarks & Performance by Industry
It’s hard to find robust, publicly available ROI data broken down by industry (especially for revenue ROI). But several benchmark reports do provide engagement, post frequency, and related performance metrics by industry. Below, I’ve aggregated some of those data points to help you understand relative differences across verticals.
Engagement Rate Benchmarks by Industry
Hootsuite publishes average engagement rates (per post) across industries and platforms (January 2025). While these are not ROI numbers, they help set expectations for how well content tends to resonate in different verticals.
IndustryInstagram Engagement Rate (Avg %)Facebook Engagement Rate (Avg %)TikTok Engagement Rate (Avg %)Retail / E-commerce1.0 % – 1.5 %0.3 % – 0.5 %1.8 % – 2.5 %Beauty / Cosmetics1.2 % – 1.7 %0.4 % – 0.6 %2.0 % – 2.8 %Food & Beverage / CPG1.0 % – 1.4 %0.3 % – 0.5 %1.5 % – 2.3 %Media / Entertainment0.8 % – 1.2 %0.2 % – 0.4 %1.2 % – 1.9 %Technology / SaaS0.5 % – 0.9 %0.1 % – 0.3 %0.8 % – 1.3 %Travel / Hospitality0.9 % – 1.4 %0.2 % – 0.4 %1.3 % – 2.1 %
These ranges are broad and intended for directional guidance. For instance, the beauty/beauty & cosmetics vertical often sees relatively stronger engagement on visually rich platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Observations on Industry Performance
From the various benchmark sources, a few patterns stand out:
Retail / E-commerce: Though facing headwinds in engagement, retail brands often have the most direct opportunity to monetize social via shoppable posts, live shopping, and social commerce features.
Health & Beauty / Cosmetics: Strong content appeal and loyal communities can drive higher engagement, making content more “ROI-efficient” (though conversion may still challenge margins).
Media / Entertainment: Post frequency tends to be high, but engagement rates are pressured by algorithm and audience fatigue.
Technology / SaaS: Often lower engagement rates due to subject matter, but the path to ROI is clearer via B2B conversions, leads, and higher average order values.
Travel/Hospitality: Very visual verticals can benefit from aspirational content; however, conversions can be influenced by seasonality, booking cycles, and high competition.
While engagement is just one piece, the relative engagement strength (or weakness) in a vertical impacts how much lift social content can generate for other parts of the funnel.
Estimating ROI Ranges by Industry
Below is a summary of verified social media ROI and ROAS benchmarks by industry, drawn from leading performance marketing studies and reports. These figures represent typical returns achieved across industries such as e-commerce, SaaS, services, media, and travel, based on 2024–2025 data.
Industry / VerticalTypical ROAS RangeROI Equivalent (%)SourceRetail / E-commerce2.5× – 4.0×150% – 300%OpenSend, GOMarbleFacebook / Meta (All Industries)2.5× – 3.5×150% – 250%Intensify, Upbeat AgencySaaS / B2B3.0× – 8.0×200% – 700%Hop.On, GOMarbleProfessional / High-Margin Services4.0× – 7.0× +300% – 600% +GOMarbleMedia / Publishing / Subscription1.5× – 3.0×50% – 200%Adriel, ImprovadoTechnology / Software (General)2.5× – 5.0×150% – 400%GOMarble, IntensifyTravel / Hospitality2.0× – 3.5×100% – 250%GOMarble, OpenSend
Industry Tips On Improving Social Media ROI
Retail / E-Commerce
Achieving strong ROI in retail and e-commerce is uniquely challenging because margins are often tight and competition for attention is relentless. Shoppers compare products instantly across platforms, and social algorithms favor creative authenticity over aggressive promotion. As a result, paid social campaigns can easily burn budget if not tightly optimized for conversion events. To improve ROI, retailers should rely on data-driven segmentation and automation. Dynamic product ads can re-target users who viewed specific SKUs, while shoppable posts and social storefronts shorten the path from discovery to purchase. Encouraging user-generated content (UGC) and influencer reviews increases trust, and optimizing for micro-conversions like “add to cart” rather than only final purchases helps refine bidding strategies and improve return on spend over time.
Beauty / Cosmetics
The beauty industry’s challenge lies in saturation. Audiences are bombarded with product launches, influencer collaborations, and viral trends, making differentiation difficult and ROI volatile. Authenticity drives success here — consumers want to see real people using products, not overly polished brand assets. To strengthen ROI, brands should prioritize long-term influencer relationships, community-driven campaigns, and content formats that show application or transformation, such as tutorials or before-and-after videos. Sampling programs and UGC campaigns reduce purchase hesitation and foster emotional loyalty, translating into repeat sales and improved customer lifetime value.
Technology / SaaS
Technology and SaaS brands face long, complex sales cycles where social engagement rarely leads directly to purchase. The main challenge is attribution — understanding which social touchpoints contributed to a conversion. Many campaigns generate awareness at the top of the funnel but fail to capture leads effectively. To improve ROI, SaaS marketers must track multi-touch interactions and nurture prospects through gated content, free trials, and webinars. LinkedIn and X (Twitter) are powerful for distribution and thought leadership, but ROI depends on consistent conversion tracking, CRM integration, and lifecycle campaigns that move prospects from education to activation. Success often comes from aligning marketing automation with sales enablement to close the loop between awareness and revenue.
Media / Publishing
For media and publishing companies, the difficulty lies in monetization. Engagement may be high, but translating clicks and shares into paying subscribers or ad revenue is harder than ever. Algorithmic volatility and the decline of referral traffic have further tightened margins. To improve ROI, publishers should focus on owned audience growth and direct monetization models. Driving newsletter sign-ups, promoting memberships, and experimenting with micro-payments or tiered subscriptions can turn engagement into revenue. Content gating on social — offering teasers or excerpts — builds curiosity while retaining control of the conversion path. The key is nurturing habitual consumption rather than chasing viral spikes.
Travel / Hospitality
The travel sector faces long consideration periods, fluctuating demand, and heavy dependence on timing. ROI is hard to sustain because consumers research months before booking, and many variables — from global events to seasonality — influence intent. Social media can still play a decisive role if campaigns balance inspiration and urgency. Retargeting users who engage with destination content, offering limited-time deals, or bundling experiences helps move prospects from dreaming to booking. Seasonal and location-based campaigns can also capitalize on traveler intent windows. The most successful travel marketers measure ROI across the entire funnel, accounting not just for bookings but for lifetime traveler value and referral potential.
Takeaways
Social media ROI is multifaceted. It’s not just direct revenue — it includes leads, retention, brand lift, and efficiency gains.
Key metrics (engagement, CTR, conversion, CAC, follower growth) are your building blocks. The better you can tie them to business outcomes, the stronger your ROI story.
Industry benchmarks give context, but must be adapted to your model, margins, and attribution realities.
As engagement rates generally decline (as recent 2025 benchmark reports indicate), ROI pressures rise — making optimization, testing, and analytics more critical than ever.
Tools and reporting platforms are essential for scaling measurement and connecting social performance to business outcomes.
©2025 DK New Media, LLC, All rights reserved | Disclosure
Originally Published on Martech Zone: Social Media ROI by Industry: 2025 Benchmarks, Metrics, and Strategies