Boost Your Facebook Engagement: Key Insights from 2025 Benchmarks

Socialinsider’s 2025 Facebook Benchmarks study shows key tactics and content performance insights that can make your brand stand out to generate engagement and traffic. Right now, the average engagement rate on Facebook is 0.15% and if you are above or around this benchmark, you are doing well. If you are under it, you can still apply some tactics to gain engagement rate. Small profiles tend to get higher engagement rates because they foster more personalized interactions and a closer-knit community. Even though 0.15% seem like a small engagement rate, it is good especially if we compare it with Facebook’s large user base. To get more engagements on Facebook, set your goals against the 0.15% benchmark and look at the monthly changes in the engagement. It is also best if you try different content formats as they can boost the engagement rate. Taco Bell and Lush Cosmetics are great examples of Facebook profiles that mix every content to get impressive engagements.

Albums on Facebook get the most engagement, because they attract users to stay at the post, scroll through different images and that's when they hit like and share. To get more engagements on albums, create each album around a specific theme, do some storytelling and ask followers to comment on them. Patagonia and Airbnb have some good albums that make the users engaged. As mentioned above, small accounts tend to get more engagements on Facebook, with engagements as high as 0.30% on accounts with less than 5k followers. This means that you don't need many followers to get high engagement on Facebook, just build some loyal and close-knit audience and you are good to go. There are many Facebook profiles of indie artists and makers and local coffee shops which focus on community engagement m, use Q&A sessions and polls and mix albums and photos to get high engagement.

According the study, Status posts generate the most replies, as users get engaged with the content. Status are best for event highlights, product launches and any content where you need to show a lot of visuals. If you want to get more comments, just post on Status. Status posts are a great way to spark conversations where followers can share their ideas, opinions and experiences. To get more comments on status posts, ask open-ended questions, post short but relatable thoughts and always tap into trends. Netflix and Whole Foods share status posts on Facebook with questions that engage the followers.

Even though albums get the most engagements on small pages, videos get the most engagements on bigger pages. Sharing videos can maximize your reach as they can go beyond your followers. Big Facebook profiles should share short but engaging videos to hook the audiences just like Red Bull which has a large following so they share sports videos that audiences cannot help but share and comment on. An average 43 posts get shared by brands per month, which makes about 1.5 posts a day. It is advised that brands focus on quality and not just quantity when it comes to sharing posts on Facebook. To create quality content, make a content calendar to plan ahead and alter the posting times and monitor the engagements each time. Visit Facebook profiles of Nike and Sephora to see how they stick to a steady schedule with quality content that gains them good engagements.

H/T: SI

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Siri Privacy Breach: Apple Agrees to $95M Settlement for Unintentional Voice Recordings of Sensitive Conversations

If you’re a fan of Apple’s popular voice assistant Siri then you might want to read on further. The company has agreed to pay a massive $95M settlement after Siri was found guilty of a massive privacy breach.five

The settlement was first shared by Bloomberg who says Siri spied on users having interactions and even captured the conversations without anyone knowing. As a result, the incident could see the Cupertino firm pay a wide array of people owning Apple products that are based in America.

Up to 5 devices with Siri enabled into them were brought into perspective and payments could go up to $20 for each device featuring the voice assistant. Remember, we’re still waiting on the final judgment that must be approved by the judge before users can celebrate.

The payments would apply to those in America who own iPhones, iPads, iMacs, the Apple Watch, MacBook, iPod Touch, Apple TV, or HomePod featuring Siri. However, the timeframe outlined is September 17th, 2014 to December 31st, 2024. That’s not the only criterion in discussion.

The users must undergo an oath-taking process where they swear that they only activated their voice assistant by error while having a chat that was supposed to be private. As far as individual payments are concerned, the matter will totally depend on the number of users coming forward to make claims. If you do plan on applying, it’s a little less than $20, which is the maximum cap.

The class action case rolled out against the iPhone maker comes after a report from 2019 that was published by the Guardian shared how Apple’s third-party contractors keep on listening to private chats featuring sensitive data like couples involved in intimacy, those carrying out drug deals, and even discussions about private medical data.

During this whole time. Siri was busy trying to better voice quality but instead of getting activated deliberately by using certain keywords, it would get active without any trigger. Even simple sounds or terms like zippers would get Siri alert, a whistleblower shared.

Apple has sprung into action after the news and says that not many people were impacted by the ordeal. It also shed light on how small recordings were transferred to contractors and they are very apologetic for that breach.

Apple also published a public apology admitting its mistake while vowing to end the practice of keeping audio recordings. One of the plaintiffs in this legal case who happened to be a minor shared how their device recorded their chats on several instances. This includes those situations where not even a single word was uttered.

Now if you’re thinking Apple was the only tech giant accused of such practice, well, think again. Both Google and Amazon were also highlighted for using contractors who can eavesdrop on recorded chats. This entails those captured by error while another similar one was rolled in Google’s direction that’s still in pending mode.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

30% of Workforce Identified as Highly Sensitive: Insights into Stress, Empathy, and Workplace Adaptation

There are a lot of people in the world that are identified as Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs), meaning that they are affected with slightest changes in their environment. These highly sensitive persons also work in offices and small modifications in their office’s environment or co-worker's mood can bring them to the edge. A new study published in Japanese Journal of Applied Psychology says that most of the highly sensitive persons working in office settings are seen in a negative way because the minimal alteration can tick them off, but they also offer some high advantages in the workplace.

The study says 30% of the total population is based on highly sensitive persons, but they are often overlooked in the work settings. HSPs have different experiences related to empathy and stress in a workplace and that's what makes them a good worker. When there are little changes in the environment, HSPs react quickly no matter if the stimulus is positive or negative. HSPs aren't like people with spectrum disorder or autism because even though they show sensitivity, they show it at normal human levels.

Workplace stress has become a big issue in Japan as well as the rest of the world. Different individuals handle this stress differently and understanding how they process stress at work can help workplaces to make strategies to support them. As 30% of the workers can be identified as HSPs, it means that there are a big portion of people who are super sensitive to stress and can experience high levels of it even with the smallest issue.

For the research, the authors of the study conducted a survey of 270 Japanese professionals working in different industries. There were a lot of workers who scored higher levels of sensitivity, suggesting that they experience more workplace stress. On the other hand, they also showed high levels of empathy in comparison to workers who scored less in sensitivity. The same results were shown after running optimistic and pessimistic personality trait tests on those workers.

The author of the study, Eiichiro Watamura, says that even though HSPs experience high levels of stress, it also means that their tendency to feel empathy can benefit the organizations, especially where interpersonal skills are needed. This study is also for organizations to support the diverse needs of employees and design their organization in a way that every worker feels comfortable. HSPs are proof that your weaknesses can be a great asset if you use them properly.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Your Old Device Might Be a Goldmine: 26% of Americans Skip Wiping Data Before Recycling

A recent study by HostingAdvice surveying 3,000 Americans revealed that 14% store intimate content on their devices, while 26% neglect to wipe data before submitting them for e-waste. We are doing everything virtually nowadays, and only a few of us secure our data so it doesn't get used for harmful purposes. When people dispose of their old mobiles phones and devices, most of them do not clear all the files and data from them before reselling them or submitting them for e-waste. Only 17.5% of the people recycle their e-waste which means that every year the intimate stuff on 1,640,419 gets recycled every year.

The study also found out how different people think of recycling their devices in different regions and it was revealed that people in Minnesota were the least concerned about their data and what things they recycle (46%). Followed by Minnesota were people from Alabama (43%), Arkansas (43%) and Oregan (39%) who were the least concerned about their data and did not wipe it out before recycling their devices. On the other hand, people from South Dakota are very strict when it comes to wiping off their devices before disposing of them. Only 8% of people from South Dakota do not clear their files first before recycling electronic devices, followed by 10% people from Delaware and 13% people from Mississippi.

The study also asked respondents why they do not clear their data and files from their devices before recycling them. 37% of the respondents said that they forget to do it, followed by 22% who think recycling centers would do it on their own and 21% who said that they didn't know they should clear their data before recycling their devices. All in all, 52% of the respondents said that they regret that they didn't clear off the data on their devices before recycling them.

According to the survey, the most sensitive data that respondents didn't delete before recycling their devices was logins and passwords (39%), personal ID information (22%), intimate content (21%) and financial information (18%). 79% of the respondents said that they do not care if someone finds their intimate content but they would be concerned about someone finding their financial account details.

18% of the respondents said that they would like to pay for a secure data wiping service before giving up their device, with 59% admitting that they thought that if someone finds their personal information on a device they recycled, they are legally required to delete that information. 54% of the respondents said that if they find someone else’s data on their device, they delete it and recycle it properly. If you want to delete your data properly before recycling your device, it is important that you backup your data first and then delete the data on the device you are getting rid of. Make sure to remove all the memory cards in the device and use build-in formatting tools in devices to completely wipe out the data so it is undiscoverable.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

How Is Bitcoin’s Recent Growth Impacting Meme Coins?

Image: Kanchanara/unsplash

There is no denying Bitcoin has had an impactful 2024. The beginning of the year saw the introduction of the first Bitcoin spot ETFs. And, for much of the year, as US Presidential hopefuls debated various issues, Bitcoin became a prominent debate topic on the biggest stage of all. These actions saw Bitcoin’s price rise from $44,000 at the start of the year to surpass $100,000 for the first time in December. As a result of this increased exposure and Bitcoin’s stellar price performance, the rest of the cryptocurrency market has also seen some significant gains: not least meme coins.

Meme coins, but their very nature, do not have utility. They are marketed and bought on the strength of community sentiment. As such, their prices can be highly volatile, even compared to Bitcoin. This means greater risk, but it also means potentially greater rewards, which is why speculative investors look for the next meme coin to 100x rather than putting their money into BTC. If a meme coin is 100x, it means it could potentially grow 10 times its initial value, which would provide huge profits for initial investors.

Although nobody knows the ceiling for Bitcoin’s price rise, at $100,000 it is difficult to imagine the world’s largest cryptocurrency seeing a 10x price rise. In contrast, some meme coins manage that level of increase in the first few days of launching.

In fact, in 2024, which is being billed as the year of the meme coin by many investors, several meme coins outperformed Bitcoin. Shiba Inu has posted 150% gains from the start of the year. Doge started the year at $0.091 and is currently trading at $0.31, which is a 240% year-to-date increase. Doge’s price increase was helped by Elon Musk shilling the first meme coin as he joined Donald Trump on the election trail. Other meme coins have seen increases that match those of Shiba Inu, too.

Bitcoin’s discussion during the pre-election campaign helped bring greater acceptance of the cryptocurrency. People with very little knowledge of Bitcoin heard its name mentioned by Trump as well as his competitors. While that doesn’t necessarily bring legitimacy to the market, it has led to a lot of people searching for more information on cryptocurrency. At the same time, Musk’s involvement meant increased mentions of Doge, especially after he took over the newly formed group called D.O.G.E. and this brought greater credence to that coin, too.

Trump is seen as being crypto-friendly. His victory has already seen crypto-critic Gary Gensler resign as head of the SEC, and Trump’s nominee to take his place, Paul Atkins is known to be pro-crypto. This is likely to mean less resistance from the SEC towards new crypto-based financial products. Some optimistic investors have said that it may even lead to an established meme coin like Doge getting its first ETF. It should be noted that no fund management company has submitted a Doge ETF proposal, as yet, but one could be coming.

Atkins’ appointment, assuming that he does get the position, would also likely see greater regulation for cryptocurrency. Again, a lot of this would concentrate on Bitcoin, but this could have a knock-on effect on Bitcoin-based meme coins, and a lot of money is backing this potential move as Bitcoin meme coins are gaining popularity, alongside Solana and Ethereum-based tokens.

With so many new meme coins hitting the market in the past 12 months, people investigating the crypto market have become increasingly likely to be exposed to these coins. Although new entrants are still more likely to invest in Bitcoin, at least some of those new investors will go on to invest in other cryptos like meme coins.

Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Its dominance, which is Bitcoin’s market capitalization compared to the market cap of the whole cryptocurrency market, has dropped since its early days but still sits at just over 55%. Bitcoin dominance has been as low as 33%. At the start of this year, it was at around 52%. The launch of Bitcoin ETFs saw considerable investment, although this has only pushed Bitcoin dominance up by 3% in the preceding months.

Bitcoin dominance not only means that Bitcoin’s performance has a direct effect on overall market performance, but it also means that other coins tend to follow Bitcoin’s price movement inertia, at least to some extent. If Bitcoin remains stable or its price increases, altcoins have the opportunity to move up in value. If it loses value, other coins tend to follow suit. As such, Bitcoin’s impressive price gains over the year have led to similar gains for altcoins, including meme coins.

2025 is going to see a lot of changes in the cryptocurrency market, not least because of Trump’s election victory and the moves that he has already made since being announced as the winner. He takes his seat on January 20, the same date Gary Gensler steps down, so analysts and spectators won’t have long to wait before seeing more likely price movements for Bitcoin and meme coins.

by Asim BN via Digital Information World

Why Parents Should Stop Saying "I'm Disappointed in You"

What parents say and don't say to their children can really affect how they grow up. There are some phrases parents should say and there are some phrases parents should avoid if they want their kids to be successful and mentally healthy. During an interview, sociologist and professor at Columbia Business School Adam Galinsky said that there is one frequently used phrase many parents say to their children, not knowing how harmful it can be. That phrase can shatter the child’s confidence and make them doubt themselves. "I am disappointed in you" is that phrase, and parents should stop saying it.

Most parents say it without much thought and feel that they are motivating their child to do better, but it does the opposite. It can damage the child and can cause negative effects in their behavior. It is because using this phrase brings shame within the child, and that isn't something we want our kids to feel as it isn't a productive emotion.

When a child gets shamed, they becomes less productive. It suddenly stops all the critical thinking and problem solving within a child because all they can feel is shame because of the disappointment their parents are feeling because of their actions. Children may begin avoiding the problem altogether, losing the desire to improve or confront challenges. Repeated exposure to shaming phrases can have lasting effects on a child’s mental health. It may lead to low self-esteem or anxiety, impacting their long-term growth and success.

On the other hand, when parents encourage their children to find a solution, it can develop a sense of tackling challenges in a child. Don't just tell children that they have done wrong and you are disappointed in them. Let them see the problem and then ask them how they can change something to do better in the future. These alternatives encourage problem-solving and self-reflection without inducing shame.

This teaches the children that they can take challenges and work on them. It doesn't matter if they do it right or not. What matters is that they are learning from it and will do it better for the second or even the third time.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google AI Overviews is Taking Up to 800 Pixels on Google Search Results, Almost Hiding Organic Search Results

Google AI Overviews are getting more common on search results but this isn't all, because they are also growing in pixel sizes which is becoming a problem to SEO. BrightEdge's Jim Yu shared the data showing that the size of AI Overviews is growing and if this continues, all ads and AI Overviews will cover more than half of space on search results, leaving little space for organic search results. Google AI Overviews have always been controversial among SEOs and publishers ever since its release because Google is taking advantage of user content to make AI results. This makes users not click organic search results and they just read through the AI Overviews answers, but it is influencing the earnings of publishers and small blogger as well.

Around 600 pixels of screen space on Google search results was for AI Overviews when it got released in May 2024, while ten blue links or organic search results weren't getting any space. If there are many advertisements of the topic the user has searched for, then no space is left there for organic search results. Now AI Overviews pixels have increased to 800 and BrightEdge is predicting that it can even get to 1000 pixels. 600 pixels is typically the space that users can still see without scrolling, and now it seems that Google is planning to take over the whole space.

Most of the queries where AI Overviews creeps up are health related, followed by queries related to e-commerce, B2B Technology and finance. 70% of the time, AI Overviews was triggered by health queries previously, and now it gets triggered 80% of the times on health queries. 30% of the B2B Technology queries triggered AI Overviews initially and now they trigger AI Overviews 50% of the times. There was also a 15% increase in AI Overviews by finance queries. Google says that AI Overviews are going to soon cover entertainment, travel and restaurant queries too. This shows that Google AI Overviews started out small but now it is getting comfortable in its answers.

AI Overviews are going to handle more sophisticated queries now, which will be more actionable now. So now publishers need to get ready to plan their strategies and content around that. AI Overviews also does citations about the websites from where it gets the content so SEO should be strong if you want your website to get featured.

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India Lifts Payment Restrictions for WhatsApp Pay, Boosting Meta’s Market Reach

Meta has just received some great news for the new year as India opts to lift all payment restrictions for WhatsApp. This is a major win for the tech giant as the country is one of the biggest in terms of user market.

It’s also great news for Meta which seeks to compete against other leading fintech rivals operating in that region. The NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) shared more on this front including how the leading payment regulator overseeing the instant payment domain gave the green signal on Tuesday.

This means WhatsApp can roll out its popular WhatsApp pay to all users across the industry. Today, the platform has more than 500 million users in the country. This decision removes the previous 100M user cap seen for WhatsApp Pay. it’s also a major move that highlights a significant shift in the cautious approach taken for the company’s payment ambitions.

As per the NPCI, the company insisted more on how it’s a slow rollout where the initial service was limited to just 40M at the start before extending it to hit a cap of 100M in 2022. This expansion comes under the country’s UPI which processes nearly 13B transactions monthly. It’s now going back and forth with the concerns linked to market concentration. The majority of the market share belongs to Google Pay and PhonePe which gets its support from Walmart. This makes up 85% of the overall transaction share.

We saw the NPCI push back another proposal to put this 30% cap on any app’s transaction share related to this network. Per the NPCI, the rule won’t come into play until 2026.

For now, they are committed to giving rise to payments on the popular texting platform that makes things simple, safe, and reliable. As per one WhatsApp spokesperson, the goal is to increase value and make users’ lives more convenient. With such means, people can book tickets easily and go shopping. They also hope to increase digital payments and carry on with contributions to India’s digital agenda.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Meta Quest Downloads Surge on Google Play as Apple Vision Pro Stumbles on App Store

Meta Quest saw some spike in its unit sales on Christmas, as it was declining in 2023 after seeing its all time high downloads in 2022. It was probably assumed that Apple’s Vision Pro took all the sales of Meta Quest in 2023 but that's not the case. Appfigures Intelligence reported that Meta Horizon reached 6.6 million downloads with an increase of 18% YoY in 2024. Meta Horizon is a companion app of Physical Quest, and it just got about a million more downloads in 2024 as compared to 2023. Even though this rise in downloads still isn't enough to reach the numbers made in 2022, they are still something as compared to 2023. There is at least a difference of 3 million downloads of Meta Horizon between 2022 and 2024.

After looking at competitors' comparison reports it was also found that the downloads of the app on Google Play Store rose, but they actually decreased on App Store. The downloads of the app on Google Play Store increased from 1.6 million to 2.8 million in 2024, while downloads on App Store came down to 3.7 million from 4 million in 2023.

It isn't a huge decline on the App Store but it still shows that Apple Vision Pro isn't doing well enough. It is because it has a small ecosystem with a big price, and it isn't even game focused like Quest. Meta has targeted users through advertising and it shows by the number of downloads of Meta Quest on Google Play Store. Apple has promised a cheaper version of Apple Vision Pro so maybe many users are not buying a VR headset in expectation of an affordable version.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World