IOL News engagement report
@IOL - 721K followers on X
Measured over 85 original posts from a 30-day window, last computed on October 1, 2026.
Engagement
A typical post picks up 2 interactions against 721K followers, an engagement rate of 0%. Measured over 85 original posts, its engagement rate beats 5% of 20,444 tracked accounts of a similar size. That is a reason to look at how the audience behaves - reply depth, saves, whether the followers are recent - rather than a conclusion about it on its own. Posts are seen about 1.0K times each, and 0.199% of those impressions turn into an interaction. That is about 0.139% of the follower count, which is the gap between an audience on paper and an audience in a timeline. Posting runs at about 3.1 posts a day over the last 30 days, though only 13% of days saw any activity at all. Most posts go out around 09:00 UTC, and Friday is the busiest day of the week. Of the 85 posts sampled, 94% carry an image or video and 93% link out. The account's strongest tracked post pulled 618 interactions, about 309x its own typical post. Recurring topics include #news, #business, #limpopo.
Measured over 85 original posts from a 30-day window, last computed on October 1, 2026. Recurring tags: #news, #business, #limpopo.
Compared with accounts its own size
IOL News's engagement rate beats 5% of the tracked X accounts closest to it in follower count (20,444 accounts, accounts of similar size (decile 10 of 10)). A percentile is spread evenly by construction, so 50 really is the middle of that group and 90 really is its top tenth.
On engagement per impression rather than per follower it beats 14% of the same group. When those two numbers disagree, the gap is about how far its posts travel rather than how people react to them.
Where this sits in the catalog
At under 0.001%, IOL News sits below the 10th percentile of the 204,956 accounts in this comparison. That places it in the bottom 25% band, which runs below 0.024%.
Show the percentile table
| Percentile | Engagement rate |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | 0.004% |
| 25th percentile | 0.024% |
| 50th percentile | 0.143% |
| 75th percentile | 0.678% |
| 90th percentile | 2.55% |
| 99th percentile | 82.4% |
This ruler is the whole measured catalog, not a size-matched group: it shows where the raw rate falls across every account we can measure, all of which are large. For a like-for-like comparison, read the size-band percentile above instead. See how the bands are built
Posting timing
This account posts most often around 09:00 UTC, and Friday is its busiest day of the week. The bars below are the catalog-wide pattern, with this account's own busiest slot marked. They do not show how this account performs at each hour: we keep one aggregate per account, not one per hour, so that measurement does not exist in our data.
Show engagement by hour posted, utc as a table
| Hour (UTC) | Vs author median | Posts |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC | -1% | 89K |
| 01:00 UTC | -2% | 90K |
| 02:00 UTC | -3% | 88K |
| 03:00 UTC | -4% | 94K |
| 04:00 UTC | -5% | 76K |
| 05:00 UTC | -4% | 75K |
| 06:00 UTC | -5% | 86K |
| 07:00 UTC | -5% | 93K |
| 08:00 UTC | -4% | 108K |
| 09:00 UTC | -4% | 124K |
| 10:00 UTC | -3% | 129K |
| 11:00 UTC | -3% | 141K |
| 12:00 UTC | -3% | 154K |
| 13:00 UTC | -3% | 167K |
| 14:00 UTC | -4% | 173K |
| 15:00 UTC | -2% | 176K |
| 16:00 UTC | -3% | 171K |
| 17:00 UTC | -3% | 159K |
| 18:00 UTC | -2% | 149K |
| 19:00 UTC | -2% | 141K |
| 20:00 UTC | -1% | 131K |
| 21:00 UTC | 0% | 116K |
| 22:00 UTC | -2% | 100K |
| 23:00 UTC | -1% | 90K |
Show engagement by day of week as a table
| Day | Vs author median | Posts |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | +5% | 393K |
| Monday | +1% | 483K |
| Tuesday | -2% | 520K |
| Wednesday | -3% | 472K |
| Thursday | -2% | 430K |
| Friday | -3% | 447K |
| Saturday | +2% | 393K |
Formats this account uses
Its own posting mix on the left, and what each of those formats does across every account we track on the right. Only formats where the effect clears our publish test appear here, so an empty row is a format we could not measure rather than one that does nothing.
| Format | This account | Catalog effect | 95% interval | Accounts behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image or video | 94% of posts | +111% | +108% to +115% | 34K |
| Outbound link | 93% of posts | -41% | -42% to -40% | 32K |
| Typical length | - | +15% | +14% to +16% | 32K |
- 94% of this account's sampled posts carry an image or video. Across the catalog, posts with an image or video run 111% above the same accounts' other posts.
- 93% of its posts carry a link off X. Across the catalog, posts with an outbound link run 41% below the same accounts' other posts, so a large share of this account's output sits in the weakest bucket we measure.
- Its average post runs 342 characters, which falls in the over 280 characters band. Across the catalog, posts over 280 characters run 15% above the same accounts' other posts.
These are catalog-wide differences applied to this account's own posting mix, not a measurement of how each format performs for this account specifically. We keep one median per account, not one per format per account, so the second thing is not something this data can tell you.
Best tweets
- Sep 11, 2026309x their median
Illegal Mozambican nationals Jose Vaso Sete, 53, and Arlindo Fernand, 44, appeared in the Atteridgeville Magistrates’ Court after police allegedly found a R110 million drug lab in Erasmia, Pretoria. Read on https://t.co/N0fuaO9jso #Pretoria #DrugBust #DPCI https://t.co/HRlktqibYb
- Aug 24, 202699x their median
From Krugersdorp to Bangkok, Tharina Botes is serving pure international royalty! 👑✨ The former Miss South Africa finalist just snatched the Miss Universe Thailand crown, proving that Mzansi beauty and hustle know zero borders. 🇿🇦🇹🇭 This queen isn't just turning heads on the runway—she's taking over with high-energy brains, beauty, and purpose: 🔥 Monnas Pride: Krugersdorp’s finest, matriculating from Hoërskool Monument in 2015. 🎓 Beauty with Brains: Holds a UNISA BCom degree in Economics—smart, fierce, and focused. 🌍 Pageant Powerhouse: Represented South Africa at Miss International 2016 and hit the Top 12 at Miss SA 2018 before taking the global stage. ❤️ Heart of Gold: Founder of Good Guardians, driving change through scholarships and food security for vulnerable youth. Absolute star power from SA to the world stage. Talk about a global icon! 💅👑🔥 #TharinaBotes #MissUniverseThailand #ProudlySA #PageantRoyalty #BrainsAndBeauty #GoodGuardians
- Sep 11, 202666x their median
OPINION | After the ANC missed the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s deadline to finalise some of its candidates for the November 4 local government elections, it is worth asking an uncomfortable question. Is Fikile Mbalula the worst secretary-general the ANC has had in democratic South Africa? Read on https://t.co/TG10OPKcxq #AfricanNationalCongress #FikileMbalula #ElectoralCommission #LocalGovernmentElections
- Aug 24, 202661x their median
"Maybe she is going to give you some brilliant point on why I'm talking nonsense." Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga firmly dismantled Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala's reliance on his Section 204 statement at the Madlanga Commission. Madlanga warned Matlala that prior affidavits cannot serve as an "umbrella cover," demanding he specify exact crimes to justify silence. #MadlangaCommission #JusticeMadlanga #CatMatlala #VusimuziMatlala #Section204
- Aug 24, 202661x their median
LIVE | Tensions hit boiling point at the Madlanga Commission as Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala’s legal team threatened to walk out and file a High Court interdict. Refusing to proceed without lead counsel Annalene van den Heever, they claimed Matlala was being "strong-armed" into testifying without proper legal representation. ▶️https://t.co/BZBZ61WrYE #MadlangaCommission #CatMatlala #VusimuziMatlala #HighCourt #Medicare24
- Aug 20, 202653x their median
Commission lays it out: Anonymous documents, immediate charges, "missing dockets" from a dead source, special treatment in Orlando, minister within 24 hours. "It looks like a well-orchestrated scheme... it stinks of machinations." Adams asked to comment. #MadlangaCommission https://t.co/bwU8sf7Nji
- Sep 11, 202649x their median
Refugee leader Bishop Raphael Bahebwa went into hiding following severe death threats as KZN Premier Thami Ntuli confirmed under 150 Durban refugees will relocate to Lindela Repatriation Centre. More updates on https://t.co/CUKqa6jiKY #BishopRaphaelBahebwa #ThamiNtuli #DurbanRefugees #CheGuevaraRoad 📸 Xolile Mtembu / IOL
- Aug 24, 202638x their median
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has struck an advocate and former High Court registrar off the roll of practising legal practitioners after finding that his conduct involving fraudulent and invalid court orders and tax bills demonstrated a serious lack of honesty and integrity. Read on https://t.co/CMBBe6G6WE #LegalFraud #Gauteng #AdvocateStruckOff #CrimeAndCourts #SouthAfrica #JusticeSystem
- Aug 24, 202637x their median
The campaign supporting Warrant Officer Karl Sander has officially reached a major milestone, with R656,064 transferred into an attorney’s trust account. Read on https://t.co/LCr0giK4wl #KarlSanders #CoffeeCampaign #CommunitySupport #SouthAfrica #FundingMilestone #SAPSCulture https://t.co/Nnhp8SFiCH
- Aug 24, 202631x their median
Sparking intense legal debate at the Madlanga Commission, evidence leader Adv. Sesi Baloyi SC clashed with defence counsel over Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala's affidavits. Evidence leaders rejected claims of privilege surrounding his failed July 13 Section 105A plea deal, demanding full disclosure of documents to evaluate his self-incrimination claims. #MadlangaCommission #CatMatlala #VusimuziMatlala #SesiBaloyi #IDAC
Ranked by total interactions across everything we have tracked for this account, which is a longer history than the 30-day window the rates above use. The multiple compares each post to this account's own median.
Recurring topics
The most frequent hashtags in the sampled posts. They describe what this account writes about; they are not a performance signal, and the catalog-wide breakdown on the hub shows how little hashtag count moves.
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Reading these numbers
A typical post picks up 2 interactions against 721K followers, an engagement rate of 0%. Measured over 85 original posts, its engagement rate beats 5% of 20,444 tracked accounts of a similar size. That is a reason to look at how the audience behaves - reply depth, saves, whether the followers are recent - rather than a conclusion about it on its own. Posts are seen about 1.0K times each, and 0.199% of those impressions turn into an interaction. That is about 0.139% of the follower count, which is the gap between an audience on paper and an audience in a timeline. Posting runs at about 3.1 posts a day over the last 30 days, though only 13% of days saw any activity at all. Most posts go out around 09:00 UTC, and Friday is the busiest day of the week. Of the 85 posts sampled, 94% carry an image or video and 93% link out. The account's strongest tracked post pulled 618 interactions, about 309x its own typical post. Recurring topics include #news, #business, #limpopo.
- What is IOL News's engagement rate on X?
- IOL News (@IOL) has an engagement rate of 0%, based on the median interactions across 85 original posts from the last 30 days against 721,274 followers. Replies, reposts and quote-posts of other people are excluded from that sample.
- Is that a good engagement rate?
- At under 0.001%, IOL News sits below the 10th percentile of the 204,956 accounts in this comparison. Those comparison accounts are all large ones, because our scanning cadence is weighted towards big accounts, so this is a ranking among peers of similar scale rather than a ranking across X.
- Does @IOL have real engagement?
- Its engagement rate beats 5% of the tracked X accounts closest to it in follower count (20,444 accounts), which puts it in the bottom 10% for its size group. Ranking inside a size band matters because engagement rate falls as accounts grow, so a raw rate would mostly re-measure the follower count. It is a starting point for a look at follower quality, not a verdict on it.
- When does @IOL post?
- Most posts go out around 09:00 UTC, and Friday is its busiest day, at roughly 3.07 posts per day across the measured window.