TikTok has revolutionized the way we digest content.

And as a result, it's vital to understand how you can measure your success on the platform, so you can give your audience more of what they love.

The first key metric you should look at is engagement rate, which tells you how your content is resonating with your viewers. Understanding engagement rates is crucial within the broader context of digital marketing, as it supports everything from your content writing efforts to your SEO strategy.

Of course, your social media strategy relies heavily on understanding engagement. But what is a good engagement rate on TikTok? And what does it actually mean for brands? Well, this guide is here to help.

Understanding TikTok engagement rates

TikTok engagement rates teach you about how audiences interact with your content. It helps measure the success of videos and accounts on the platform.

Engagement rates will vary depending on how many followers you have, as well as the type of content you post and your audience demographic. As a benchmark, the average engagement rate across TikTok is 4.07%. That's not much but it's across the entire platform. Many brands generate far better engagement than this.

Indeed, if you have a smaller follower base of below 50,000, then rates of engagement may be around 5.7%. This is a fairly good TikTok engagement rate – but it could be better.

Accounts with 5,000-10,000 followers may be averaging around 9.3%. Notice that the percentage rate increases for accounts with lower followers. We'll dive into that a little more later in this guide.

You shouldn’t worry if the numbers don’t completely match up. The most important part is focusing on creating content that your audience wants to see.

Tracking engagement rates over time will allow you to understand what is working and how to make adjustments if it isn’t. This will ultimately boost your overall TikTok success.

What does engagement rate mean on TikTok?

Engagement rates on TikTok ultimately tell you how viewers are interacting with your content. This includes likes, comments, shares, and views. The higher the rate, the more the content resonates with viewers.

A good rate of engagement will vary depending on your niche. Educational accounts currently top the average engagement charts at 9.5%, with the food and drink industry seeing an engagement rate of between 6-8%. Most accounts should strive for 2-5% as a solid target.

For smaller accounts, you will see higher engagement rates because it’s relative to the number of followers you have. Accounts under 1,000 followers may see rates of around 8-10%. This just shows how valuable a tight-knit, active follower base really is.

How to calculate TikTok engagement rates

Engagement rates will usually be displayed in your TikTok Analytics dashboard, but you can easily calculate engagement rates for single posts and your overall account. Here’s how:

Single post engagement rate

To calculate the average TikTok engagement rate of a single post, look at the total engagement (likes, comments, shares, and saves) and divide that total by the number of followers. Then simply multiply that figure by 100 to get a percentage.

Say you have 3,000 followers and your recent video generates:

  • 100 likes
  • 50 comments
  • 25 shares
  • 25 saves

Your engagement rate for that post would look like this:

(Total engagements / (Total followers) x 100

(200 / (3,000) x 100 = 6.66%

Your average TikTok engagement rate

Now, say you have 10 posts, which combined generated the following stats from your 3,000 followers:

  • 1,200 likes
  • 75 comments
  • 250 shares
  • 140 saves

You can calculate your per-post rate across all 10 posts by doing this calculation:

(Total engagements / (Total followers x Number of posts)) x 100

(1,665 / (3,000 x 10)) x 100 = 5.5%

By tracking these metrics over time, you will have a far deeper understanding of how your video content is performing. This will teach you what your audience is enjoying and what they aren’t, helping you to adjust your strategy accordingly.

What is a good engagement rate on TikTok?

Your engagement rates on TikTok will vary depending on different factors such as follower count and industry. The median engagement rate is a useful benchmark to evaluate your performance against industry standards. A good rate will typically be between 6-10%, but this varies depending on the size of your account.

Remember, the bigger your account, the lower your overall engagement rate is likely to be (even if the total engaged audience is higher!).

Average engagement rates by industry

The average engagement rate across TikTok widely varies depending on industry.

Here's a quick breakdown:

  • Higher education: 9.23%
  • Schools and sports teams: 9.5% and 4.2%
  • Drinks: 7.69%
  • FMCG food: 6.92%
  • Travel: 5.23%
  • Home living: 4.76%
  • Arts and crafts: 4.54%
  • Jewelry: 4.01%
  • Beauty: 3.48%
  • Fashion: 2.51%

These numbers aren’t set in stone, but they give you a general idea to help understand your own performance. You should always create benchmarks and targets that are specific to your niche.

Good engagement rates by follower count

Follower counts directly impact what a good engagement rate looks like.

For a micro influencer (1,000-10,000 followers), you’re looking at around 10%+.

If you’re a mid-tier influencer (10,000-100,000 followers), then you can expect around 6-8% to be good.

When you hit the more macro-influencer territory (100,000-1 million followers), then 5-7% is considered good.

Once you become a mega-influencer (1 million+ followers), then anywhere between 4-6% is solid.

Smaller accounts see higher engagement rates due to more personal connections, so once the follower counts grow, the engagement could be a lot higher, it’s just the rate of engagement will be lower.

The more you grow your account, the greater the challenge to maintain high engagement. After all, it’s still very important for TikTok success.

Factors influencing TikTok engagement rates

There are many different aspects to how users interact with TikTok content. Engagement strategies are essential tactics for boosting TikTok engagement rates and achieving consistent interactions with the audience. The quality of your videos obviously matters, as well as your post time, but also how well you tap into trends plays a key role.

Here’s what to look for.

Content quality and relevance

The video content you create needs to grab peoples' attention quickly, because that’s what TikTok is all about.

TikTok changed the game by specializing in quick-viewing videos that are short and snappy. As a result, users scroll fast, so the beginning of your TikTok video needs to be something that draws them in. Think about catchy openers, high-quality visuals, and trending music to create that draw.

Content needs to be kept fresh and exciting, so mix up styles to reflect that. Avoid boring your audience with the same content as the engagement will drop.

You should know and understand who your target market is. Create videos that speak to them and what they are interested in. The more relevant your content, the higher the engagement rate will be as the audience will keep coming back.

Your hashtag game should be based on your content and help users easily find your videos. You shouldn’t overdo it though, between three and five hashtags per post is enough.

Posting frequency and timing

Posting often is important, but never post for the sake of it – especially if it’s going to lower the quality. Consistency is always key, so aim for one or two videos per day to keep you visible but won't overwhelm audiences.

Find your optimal posting times using TikTok Analytics to see when your followers are most active. But still consider different times as well to experiment and see what works best.

Remember, consistency is always key, so set a posting schedule and keep to it. Followers will then begin to understand when they can expect you to post.

Holidays and special events should always be taken into consideration. Themed content is a great way to boost engagement as it’s relevant to the time.

As TikTok is such a fast-paced platform, its algorithms and trends change all the time, and it’s important to stay on top of this. You should look to jump on any challenges, dances, songs, or effects that are becoming popular to reach a wider audience.

Research and understand how the TikTok algorithm works. TikTok likes videos with high watch time, which means shorter videos are preferred. It also favors likes, comments, and shares – so ask users to do this and create content that encourages it.

Utilize TikTok features such as duets, stitches, and effects to keep your content fresh. They make your videos more engaging and connect you with like-minded creators.

A video should mainly be short but engaging as TikTok users tend to have short attention spans. Videos around 15-30 seconds will keep most users watching until the end.

How to improve your TikTok engagement rate

It takes effort and strategy to boost your TikTok engagement rate. Below are some tips that will help you create content that resonates with your followers and encourage them to interact with your posts.

Create attention-grabbing content

The key to increasing engagement is putting a focus on catching the audience’s eye quickly. The best way to do this is by using sounds and effects that are trending, as the user will likely have heard it already.

Keep content short and snappy – between 15 and 30 seconds – to hold this attention once it is initially grabbed.

Mix up your content with different styles such as tutorials, behind-the-scenes clips, and challenges. The first few seconds of your TikTok video is crucial to drawing the user in. An effective way to do this is taking an entertaining two- or three-second clip from later in the video and putting it at the start.

Use text overlays to ensure your messaging is clear even when users are watching without sound.

Remember, consistency is what is most important. If you post a couple of times a day, then have a period of posting once a week, the algorithm won’t show as many TikTok users your content.

Engage with your audience

Whilst your content is important, you can’t forget your target audience who are actually tuning into it. Building connections is key, so ensure you respond to and like comments, as this builds a deeper relationship with your followers.

You can ask questions in your captions and even post video responses to comments on a TikTok video, which creates a fantastic source of engagement and builds trust.

Live streams are a big way to interact with your audience in real-time. Don’t forget to engage with other creators as well, because this helps you dive into their community and build stronger visibility.

Collaborate with other creators

Collaborating with fellow TikTokers will help you build new audiences – and it works both ways. Look out for creators that have a similar niche or create content like yours, then reach out about collaborating.

You can do duets together, challenges, host live events, or cross promote each other’s content.

Another way to boost engagement is hashtag challenges. Look for ones that are trending, create your own, or even encourage user-generated content.

Analyze and optimize performance

TikTok has a built-in analytics system that allows you to track engagement rates – so be sure to utilize this. Look for the content that’s performing best and try to understand why that is.

You can also use a tool like Brandwatch to dig even deeper into the data and extract useful insights that can transform your TikTok engagement strategy.

Pay attention to how many likes, comments, and shares your content gets, then experiment accordingly. Look at the data to understand when your audience is most active and try different video lengths and styles.

Don’t be afraid of repurposing content you’ve posted already. If it was popular then users might want to see it again. You can create follow-up videos or remake them with a twist. This reminds TikTok users of previous content that they enjoyed.

Why engagement rate matters for brands and influencers

When it comes down to it, high engagement rates lead to TikTok influencers and brands having far more influence over their followers. High view counts, likes, comments, and shares means that their content is really resonating.

Top influencers can see engagement rates of up to 15%, depending on their follower count. Sports teams often get high engagement rates from passionate fans, because they have the ability to post high amounts of reactionary content on the back of big wins or plays.

Brands want to work with influencers that spark real conversations, not just trying to build high amounts of followers. Whilst high follower counts can be important to brands, it's better to favor higher engagement rates over high-following accounts with less interaction.

How a strong engagement rate can drive business results

The higher your engagement on TikTok, the more visibility you're going to get. This ultimately leads to better business outcomes and more collaboration opportunities. When you get lots of interactions, TikTok’s algorithm favors this and shows it to more TikTok users. Think of it like free ad spend!

If you have a more engaged audience, it will lead to more clicks to your website, more product purchases, more sign-ups to email lists, and more followers on your other social media platforms.

For brands, high-engagement influencers are what they are looking for as it leads to more sales for them and a boost in brand awareness. This can be tracked by looking at website traffic from TikTok, coupon code uses, and new customer sign ups.

Tools to measure and track TikTok engagement

TikTok has its own built-in analytics and third-party tools to help you measure your content's performance. It gives you key data to improve your strategy and boost engagement.

Built-in TikTok analytics

Data and analytics can be overwhelming at times but TikTok's native analytics are at least free to use. You can find all the information you need on views, likes, comments, and shares for any post. There is also a growth chart for followers and demographics data.

You need to switch to a pro account in order to access these analytics, but it’s easy and free to do. Once set up, you can view stats from the last seven to 28 days, which helps you identify trends in data.

Third-party tools for deeper insights

If you do wish to explore more detailed analytics then there are third-party tools you can use. They offer more advanced features, more than what TikTok’s built-in system offers.

You will be provided with a deeper analysis of your content as well as influencer discovery and trend tracking.

There are some great options out there – including Brandwatch. The beauty of such tools is that they will calculate your engagement rates for you. They also provide benchmarks to help you compare to competitors in your industry. There are even some – such as Brandwatch – that integrate with your other social media platforms. This means you can manage all your analytics in one dashboard.

This way, you get access to comprehensive analysis reports that go beyond the simple data that TikTok offers. But make sure that whatever you choose, the platform matches the goals you're looking to achieve.

Most of them also offer free trials, so it’s a great chance to understand if they work for you.

Frequently asked questions

TikTok engagement rates can be tough to navigate. These are some common questions to help you make sense of this key metric.

How do you calculate a TikTok engagement rate?

Calculating your TikTok engagement rate requires you to add up your likes, comments, saves, and shares across the number of posts you want to assess. Then divide that number by your total followers multiplied by the number of posts you're looking at.

Then, just multiply by 100 to get a percentage. It will give you a basic engagement rate per follower.

What's the average engagement rate for brands on TikTok in 2024?

The average engagement rate for brands on TikTok in 2024 is about 3-5%. For most social media channels, engagement rates typically fall between 1% to 2%, but this can vary based on your industry and audience size. Smaller accounts often see higher rates than big brands.

Are there tools available to measure engagement rates on TikTok?

Yes, there are many tools to track your TikTok engagement.

TikTok's built-in analytics offer basic stats. For more in-depth data, you can use third-party tools like Brandwatch.

What's considered a good number of views for a TikTok post?

A good view count depends on your follower size. For accounts with 10,000 followers, then you should aim for around 1,000-2,000 views. That's roughly 10% to 20%.

Larger accounts should aim for the same percentage of views but accept that other engagements might be lower.