As TikTok’s influence and popularity grows, it’s bound to become a very crowded platform. So crowded, it’s expected to host up to 2 billion users by the end of 2024.
In this environment, brands really need to ace their TikTok marketing and learn to maximize their engagement in order to stand out. That’s why we created this comprehensive TikTok guide.
Here, you’ll learn what TikTok user engagement means and how to calculate it properly.
What's more, we’ve included a built-in TikTok engagement rate calculator and 10 key tips on how to improve TikTok engagement and build a loyal, active audience on TikTok.
TikTok engagement rate calculator: formula and strategies
What is TikTok engagement?
TikTok engagement rate calculator
Why should you track TikTok engagement?
How to increase TikTok engagement with 10 key strategies
FAQs about TikTok engagement rate
What is TikTok engagement?
Now that's we're clear on what counts as TikTok engagement, let's move on to TikTok engagement rate.
TikTok engagement rate describes the percentage of viewers that interact with your content. That means they found it relevant or believed it brings them value.
Although the TikTok engagement rate is arguably a more accurate way of measuring how much your audience resonates with your content, both TikTok engagement metrics are worth monitoring and including in your analytics reports.
TikTok engagement rate calculator
You may call us data nerds, but we love to come up with ways for you to get the results you need, quick and easy. In this case, we’ve included a free TikTok engagement rate calculator that can do the math for you.
Pro tip: Alternatively, you can use our engagement rate TikTok calculator template to calculate the average engagement rate per post based on views or followers, depending on your needs.
Track your TikTok performance with Socialinsider!
Analyze key metrics, monitor your engagement and see how you compare to your competitors!
How to calculate TikTok engagement rate
If you like doing things old-school or you want to check your own calculations against our engagement TikTok calculator, that’s fair. Then you should have the engagement rate TikTok formula handy at all times.
The formula for TikTok engagement rate per post by views is: the sum of all likes, comments, shares and saves divided by the total number of videos, all of it again divided by the total views, everything multiplied by 100.
TikTok Engagement Rate per Post by Views Calculator Formula:
The reason we calculate the engagement rate for TikTok by video views is because views are the main currency on this platform. Engaging, entertaining and valuable content will always earn more views before anything else.
However, when doing a cross-channel analysis, it’s better to calculate engagement rate on TikTok by followers. That's because all other engagement rates for the social media channels are calculated by followers.
TikTok Engagement Rate per Post by Followers Calculator Formula:
The formula for TikTok engagement rate per post by followers is: the sum of all likes, comments, shares and saves divided by the total videos, all of it divided again by the total number of followers, everything multiplied by 100.
What is a good engagement rate on TikTok?
In our latest Social Media Benchmarks study, we found that the average TikTok engagement rate by views across all industries is a whopping 4.07% (outperforming all other platforms, of course).
So there you go, that’s your TikTok engagement rate benchmark.
Now, if your engagement rate on TikTok is around 4% or above, then that’s a good engagement rate.
Why should you track TikTok engagement?
Finding and using a reliable TikTok engagement calculator is a crucial step in your reporting process, but what’s just as important is to understand why you need to keep tabs on your TikTok engagement.
Analyzing the spikes and dips of your TikTok engagement rate can help you improve your strategy in a lot of useful ways.
Here are some of the main benefits that result from monitoring your progress on TikTok:
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Deciphering the TikTok’s algorithm
TikTok’s algorithm is notoriously complex, so keeping an eye on your TikTok analytics is key to understanding the patterns behind your performance.
By seeing what kinds of posts perform better, the best time to post on TikTok for engagement and other similar insights, you will be able to create a more tailored strategy that works specifically for TikTok’s algorithm.
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Being aware of your brand’s popularity on TikTok
Measuring your TikTok engagement can help you see how visible your brand is on TikTok. A high engagement rate means that people resonate with your content, but also, that more people are likely to take an interest in what you’re sharing on the platform and become your new followers.
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Understanding your chances of going viral
TikTok video ideas with a high engagement rate are, by default, more prone to discovery. That means your engaging content has the potential to attract new viewers or followers, and eventually make you go viral.
How to increase TikTok engagement with 10 key strategies
In case our built-in free TikTok engagement calculator ends up showing you that you’re not hitting your goals just yet, we got you covered.
As increasing TikTok engagement is on every marketer’s mind these days, we prepared a series of actionable tips to help you get more engagement on TikTok and improve your brand’s visibility and if the TikTok odds are in your favor, even go viral.
1. Be authentic
It’s been said a million times, but it’s worth repeating once more: TikTok viewers value authenticity above anything else, particularly when it comes to brands. That usually translates to low-production videos, a strong human element (aka your face) and content that doesn’t feel staged or forced.
Here's how the CEO of TikTok, Shou Chew, practices what he preaches by sharing a very authentic message thanking the community ahead of his congressional hearing.
2. Collaborate with influencers
Partnering up with influencers is too good an opportunity to miss, especially on TikTok. The right influencer(s) in your niche can give you the boost you need to make sure your brand gets the exposure and engagement on TikTok that it deserves.
On the other hand, you can trust influencers to deliver and spread your brand’s message in a far more authentic way than your run-of-the-mill TikTok ad. So, creating regular influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok is a great idea for your brand.
Here’s how we use our studies for UGC from influencers:
3. Keep your videos short
TikTok is known as the king of short-form video, but the platform has actually been increasing the maximum video length to 3 minutes (for videos you upload) and 60 seconds (for video created directly in the app.
Don’t let the new limits fool you, though. The ideal video length for maximum TikTok engagement is still shorter than that. In fact, videos shorter than 15 seconds get a much higher view rate than longer ones, according to our latest TikTok benchmarks study.
Elena Cucu
You can discover how long your videos are on average and whether you should make them shorter, by navigating to the Content tab in Socialinsider and scrolling down to the video section.
4. Prioritize quality over quantity
This might sound in contradiction with what I said above, but it’s not. The quality of your content is not dictated only by the production value.
Quality content is content that is carefully shaped based on demographics data, therefore relevant to your audience. Instead of pushing post after post multiple days a week, try spacing out your posts but making them true to your brand’s message and your audience’s preferences.
This strategy will help you improve your TikTok engagement.
5. Post consistently
Building on the tip shared above, get into the habit of posting consistently. That doesn’t have to mean every day, it simply implies having a posting schedule so that neither the algorithm nor your followers ever forget about your brand.
In the early stages of TikTok marketing, posting often might be a good idea, so people can get to know you and see what your brand is all about. But as time passes and your audience grows, it’s best to stick to a consistent posting schedule to keep those engagement numbers.
6. Try out viral TikTok trends
Viral TikTok trends are a big part of TikTok these days, and joining one or more of them can massively impact your chances of going viral.
For instance, the British brand Lipton, known widely for their ice tea beverages, chose to join the “All that work and what did it get me” tag, using the matching trending sound, to convey a situation where their efforts didn’t result in the outcomes they wanted.
7. Strengthen your TikTok SEO
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that TikTok has become something of a search engine, particularly for the Gen Z audience. So, for increased visibility and engagement, be sure to optimize your shared content in terms of keywords and music.
In other words, as part of your TikTok SEO efforts, use relevant keywords for your niche in your captions, on-screen text, as well as your voiceover.
Even more importantly, leverage trending sounds because they can really push your content to a far larger audience, thus increasing your chances of higher engagement as well.
8. Reply with video
Simply replying to people’s comments on your brand’s posts is a great method for bringing your TikTok engagement rates up. Engaging with your audience will bring them closer to you and will increase your odds of being favored by the algorithm.
So what could be even better than that? Replying with video, of course. Replying with a new video is an efficient (and dare I say, quite effortless) way of producing new content, while also engaging with your viewers.
Here’s how you do it in the app:
9. Hook the viewer instantly
TikTok can be quite the jungle – and only brands that know how to hook their viewers and turn them into long-term fans can thrive. In all seriousness, it’s crucial to capture people’s attention from the first 3 seconds of your video, otherwise they will just keep scrolling.
There are a few ways in which you can do this. The first, and most relevant for TikTok, is to use a trending sound. Our data suggests that using a trending song can up your engagement by up to 20%.
You can also dive into the topic of your video from the start. Start with the intrigue, make people curious, and they will watch till the end.
10. Measure your results
A engagement rate calculator for TikTok might be what you need for now, but for your long-term TikTok engagement measuring needs, you’re better off using a powerful analytics tool that can give you all the right TikTok engagement metrics and much more.
Learning how to measure TikTok engagement in depth is a crucial step in developing the perfect strategy for this social media channel.
As part of this process, you will learn what types of videos resonate most with your audience, how much brand awareness they’re generating, what your competitors are doing on this platform (through competitor analysis) and how you compare to them.
Thankfully, a tool like Socialinsider can automate all of this and give you the TikTok analytics data you need for your analysis and reporting. Think of it as your permanent TikTok analytics calculator.
By adding your TikTok profile(s) into the app, you gain access to a lot of diverse data about your performance. However, for the purpose of this article, we’ll be focusing our attention mainly on the engagement section.
As you can see, you can track the evolution of your engagement and see your post volume, total engagement, engagement rate by views and more, from one single click.
In the same section, you can find insights on the best time to post by engagement, and your likes, comments, views and saves evolution.
Using Socialinsider, you can always have a quick and accurate answer to the question: What is my TikTok engagement rate?
Final thoughts
Between a free TikTok engagement rate calculator and a bunch of useful tips on how to improve your TikTok engagement, I believe we’ve covered everything you need to grow your brand on TikTok and increase your odds of going viral.
TikTok may seem like a volatile platform, where trends come and go every day, but some TikTok engagement best practices will never go out of fashion or stop being effective. So, stick to the tried-and-true expert strategies and your brand will benefit from it every day.
FAQs about TikTok Engagement Rate Calculator
What is the 3 second rule of TikTok engagement?
Due to short attention spans, viewers are likely to keep scrolling if the first 3 seconds of your video don't grab their attention. So you should be hooking your viewers and convincing them to stop scrolling and keep watching within the first 3 seconds of your video.
Why is my TikTok engagement rate low?
A low TikTok engagement rate low can be explained in several ways: either you're not optimizing your content for TikTok SEO, you're not partnering up with the right influencers for your niche or joining any TikTok trends, or you're not adjusting your TikTok strategy based on analytics data.
What are the peak hours for TikTok engagement?
According to research, the peak hours to post on TikTok to get more engagement are 2 p.m. on Mondays, 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 8 a.m. on Saturdays. However, this is just a platform standard.
To find the ideal time to post on TikTok, you can look at your own analytics data in Socialinsider and see when your audience is more likely to engage with your content:
