Engagement on TikTok is unlike any other channel. You can generate incredible reach and views for a single video, and fall flat on the next. That unpredictability prompts a common question asked by many creators and brands: What exactly is a good engagement rate on TikTok?
While it may be cool to create a viral video that ends up on everyone’s FYP, generating consistently high engagement rates for your brand is the ultimate goal. With the right TikTok engagement strategies, you can reach the right audience, amplify reach, and increase brand awareness.
Below, we’ll cover what counts as a good engagement rate on TikTok, how to calculate your TikTok engagement rate, and effective ways to increase your brand’s engagement on the platform.
What is a Good Engagement Rate on TikTok?
The median engagement rate by follower is 1.73%, according to our 2025 Social Media Benchmark Report. This rate is nearly five times more engaging than the next most engaging channel, Instagram.
And since TikTok is a video channel, it’s also worth noting what the median engagement rate by view is. Counting the number of times a viewer liked, commented, or shared and dividing it by the overall number of views measures just how compelling your content was. On TikTok, the median engagement rate by view is 3.4%.
When it comes to posting frequency, the average brand publishes about 1.97 videos per week or about eight per month. The most active brands, those in the top 25%, published videos at least four times per week on average.
How to Calculate Engagement Rate on TikTok
At Rival IQ, we define engagement as measurable interaction on organic and paid social media posts. On TikTok, this includes likes, comments, and shares.
TikTok engagement rate is calculated based on all of these interactions divided by total follower count. Here’s the formula to calculate your brand’s TikTok engagement rate:
TikTok engagement rate = [engagement total] / [total number of followers]
There are a few different ways to calculate engagement rate, but we find that dividing by the number of followers paints a more accurate picture of how your brand’s engagement rate compares to similar brands in your industry — regardless of audience size.
Top 5 Industries on TikTok
While brands of all industries and sizes are finding success on TikTok, there are a few industries that are doing especially well on the platform.
The top five industries on TikTok, as ranked by engagement rate by follower, are:
- Higher Ed (7.36%)
- Nonprofits (3.04%)
- Travel (2.73%)
- Sports Teams (2.68%)
- Food and Beverage (2.04%)
Schools and nonprofits stand out as the two industries with the highest engagement rates on TikTok. To put it into perspective, Higher Ed’s median engagement rate of 7.36% is more than 4x the all-industry median, while nonprofits’ 3.04% engagement rate is nearly double.
So what are these industries doing to generate impressive engagement rates like these? Let’s take a look at a couple of ways these top-performing industries are tapping into TikTok’s influential reach.
Top Industry on TikTok: Higher Ed
Schools and universities dominate across social channels year after year, and their performance on TikTok is no different.
As we mentioned, the median engagement rate by follower for schools is 7.36%, nearly four times the average engagement rate across industries. Even more impressive is that the top-performing schools (those in the top 25%) earn more than double that rate at a little over 19%. When it comes to posting frequency, schools and universities post 1.59 times per week on average. This comes out to around six to seven posts per month (which is about a third of how often they post on Instagram).
All that to say, Higher Ed has found a sweet spot for themselves on TikTok that many brands would hope to emulate — fewer posts with major impact. So, what exactly are schools doing differently to earn such impressive engagement rates on TikTok?
For starters, school pride is unmatched. Schools often tap into that school spirit by sharing things that current and past students alike can relate to. While on Instagram this often means sharing celebratory carousel posts, on TikTok, this spirit shows up in the form of informal, short videos — moments from a game, glimpses of a school tradition, or even user-generated content that shares an insider’s perspective.
This TikTok by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is a great example. Their TikTok showing a beloved mascot reveal — when a graduating student finally gets to share that they were the mascot all along — hit a jaw-dropping 90.7% engagement rate by follower. That’s more than 12x the median rate for higher ed.
The University of South Carolina, Columbia, posted a similar mascot reveal and also saw incredible results: a 74% engagement rate by follower, or about 10x the higher ed median. Both schools tapped into the same trend, using #mascotreveal to boost visibility and connect with audiences who already love this type of content.
These examples highlight how powerful it can be to lean into authentic, shareable traditions that spark pride and support. They also show the value of tracking hashtags your industry peers are using. By keeping an eye on popular hashtags, your brand can spot rising trends early and join the conversation in ways that feel timely and relevant.
Top Industry on TikTok: Nonprofits
Nonprofits thrive by tapping into passion and purpose — whether it’s showcasing the impact of their work, spotlighting their community, or giving fans and supporters a special look at something they can’t get anywhere else.
The video below from Boston Ballet highlights a breathtaking moment from Swan Lake, showing a dancer completing the iconic 32 fouetté turns. Paired with a short, expressive caption and a handful of strategic hashtags, the video drew nearly 90K engagements and an astounding 682% engagement rate by follower. That’s 224x greater than the median engagement rate for nonprofits (3.04%).
Nonprofits make an impact in the world — and that extends online. By sharing moments that are visually striking, inspiring, or mission-driven, nonprofits turn casual scrollers into engaged supporters. Whether it’s a powerful performance, a heartwarming story, or a behind-the-scenes glimpse, short-form video offers the perfect format to inspire, educate, and garner support.
8 Ways to Increase TikTok Engagement
Whether you’re just getting started on TikTok or want to shake up your approach, here are eight ways to navigate the algorithm and increase TikTok engagement in 2025.
1. Mention other brands
When you mention another brand, especially if that brand is a big TikTok account with a lot of reach, the tagged account may engage with it, share it, and ultimately help get your video and brand in front of its audience.
The median brand on TikTok includes a mention in about 11.2% of its videos. However, it seems that using mentions in moderation is the most strategic approach. We found that brands that include mentions in 10% of their videos or fewer receive the highest engagement rates by view, with effectiveness dropping off when that percentage goes over 30%.
Now, that’s not to say that you should abandon mentions altogether. In fact, brands that included no mentions at all had notably less engagement than those that used mentions in moderation (or less than 30% of their TikToks). So, let’s take a quick look at exactly how mentions can impact your performance on TikTok.
When Coach mentioned The Summer I Turned Pretty, Amazon, Lola Tung, and Prime Video in the video below, it saw great results. The video received over 2M views and generated a 27.1% engagement rate by follower, which is more than 21x higher than the average for retail brands on TikTok (1.28%).
Note how the mentions were relevant and appropriate, with the brand simply tagging the appropriate accounts when discussing its collaboration rather than mentioning accounts just for the sake of it. The result was a TikTok that appealed to diverse audiences, from fans of the Prime Video show to Amazon shoppers.
All in all, mentions matter. If you’re ever talking about another brand or product, be sure to mention them if they’re on TikTok. It’s also wise to tap into social media listening so you can get involved in relevant conversations in your industry and mention other brands when it makes sense.
While it’s not a good idea to mention accounts simply for the sake of reach and exposure (you don’t want to risk coming across as spammy), keep mentions in mind for about 10% of the videos you post, and you’ll be primed to generate more views and engagement.
2. Engage in the comment section
You’ve invested time and effort into creating content, so get the most out of it by staying engaged with your followers and other users. Being active in the comment section is a simple yet effective way to generate higher engagement rates on TikTok. This includes the comment section under your own videos as well as other users’ videos.
Replying to your followers’ comments and questions, commenting on other users’ videos, and mentioning brands in your comments all help amplify your account’s reach by getting it in front of a larger audience.
The interaction in the comments section of this video by Fenty Beauty, one of the top beauty brands on TikTok, is a great example of how to engage thoughtfully. Fenty Beauty consistently interacts with its followers in the comments of its TikToks. For instance, when a user commented on the satisfying appearance of the brand’s new primers, Fenty Beauty took the opportunity to shed a little more light on what made the new release special.
Actively monitoring your comments section ensures you never miss an opportunity to share more details with your followers, loop in other brand accounts, and effectively increase engagement.
3. Leverage hashtags
Want to increase your chance of landing on someone’s FYP? Use hashtags. Niche hashtags and hashtag challenges are a great opportunity to join in on a relevant trend or conversation.
Like other social channels, TikTok uses hashtags to curate content and help users discover videos they could be interested in. Hashtags can also help boost your brand’s searchability on TikTok, which is especially important when you consider how many people use TikTok as a search engine, especially among younger generations.
When using hashtags on TikTok, less is more. According to our report, the median number of hashtags used by brands across all industries is four per video, with 16% of the brands we analyzed including one or fewer hashtags in their videos. The takeaway here is to be intentional when choosing which hashtags to include. Focus on using just a few that have the most potential to increase your video’s number of views and engagement.
For instance, if we take a look at Rival IQ’s hashtag analysis for top-performing airlines, we can see which hashtags were most used, how many airlines on TikTok were using them, and what the engagement rate is for each one.
If you were a marketer for an airline, you could use this to determine which hashtags are worth using in your videos to increase your engagement. You could also use this as an opportunity to tap into a lesser-used hashtag that still performs well in order to stand out above your competitors.
4. Reply with videos
In the same vein as mentions, replies are one of the best ways to increase your engagement by amplifying your video’s reach. By re-engaging a follower who previously commented, you’re creating an opportunity to grab their attention and get back on their radar again.
Creating content as a reply is also a great way to give followers the content they want to see and let them know you’re taking their comments, questions, and feedback into consideration, making them active participants.
Use video replies to answer FAQs or fulfill audience demands like Laneige frequently does. The beauty brand makes it a point to give the audience exactly what they want, like the comeback of a popular product that fans have been asking for in the comments.
Garnering 689K views and earning 25.4K engagements, the TikTok below scored an engagement rate by follower of 2.58%, or more than 3x the median for health and beauty brands on Instagram (0.85%). Talk about a successful way to announce and promote the return of a product!
5. Find the posting frequency that works for you
As we mentioned earlier, the median posting frequency across all brands on TikTok is about 1.97 videos per week or about eight per month. While posting frequency on TikTok is growing over time, brands are still posting less here than on other channels.
This could be because creating video content requires more planning and resources than creating carousels or graphics on Instagram. Or it could be because brands are still figuring out the right cadence. Either way, it’s important to experiment with what works for your brand.
Take a look at your industry posting rates and, more specifically, your competitors to figure out how often you should be posting. Start by experimenting with one post per week, then increase or decrease your posting frequency depending on the engagement rates you generate.
6. Use a hook (and get straight to the point)
Short-form video is still TikTok’s bread and butter, but longer content is gaining traction. In fact, one study found that videos between three and ten minutes earned the most views, with clips longer than three minutes generating more than double the views of super-short videos (six to ten seconds).
Still, just because longer videos are performing well doesn’t mean you can take your time getting to the point. No matter how long the video is, the first few seconds still matter the most. According to the research by TikTok, over 63% of all videos with the highest click-through rate highlight their key message or product within the first three seconds. If it’s not immediately clear what your video is about, or there’s nothing visually appealing about it, then users will quickly scroll past it.
A common way to introduce the topic of a video is to use text overlay in the first frame. This can also be used as your cover photo, which helps your video stand out in the thumbnails on your page. After your hook, either a) deliver value quickly or b) promise a reveal. Let’s look at a video from Southern Connecticut State University for an example of this in action.
In the video below, the first frame uses text to introduce the focus of the TikTok: first day of college fits at SCSU. Immediately, the video starts spotlighting friendly faces across campus and their first day outfits. In other words, the TikTok uses a hook that’s instantly attention-grabbing and then delivers on that promise.
With a 25.6% engagement rate by follower, the video saw triple the median engagement for Higher Ed brands on TikTok, while the comments were filled with fellow students pointing out people they recognized.
7. Tap into audio
Trending audio was the main feature that propelled TikTok into popularity, so it’s no surprise that it continues to be a major engagement tool on the platform.
Not only does using trending TikTok sounds help increase your video’s discoverability, but it also makes it more memorable. 68% of TikTok users say they remember a brand better when they use a popular song in one of their videos.
Of course, this goes beyond songs to include any kind of trending audio. For instance, JetBlue joined in on a viral meme that’s centered around an edited audio of the song “So Mi Like It” by Jamaican dancehall artist Spice. The sound is paired with jokes about being “islanders” and, in this case, involved the airline pointing out how JFK airport, one of their main hubs, is on an island.
The video was a fun way to incorporate a viral trend while also creating something its followers will remember. The metrics also prove that the video resonated with followers. With a whopping 491% engagement rate by follower, the brand generated a rate that’s 180x greater than the median rate for travel brands (2.73%) by getting creative and leveraging a popular sound.
8. Track your analytics
At the end of the day, what works for other businesses on TikTok may or may not work for yours. The only way to figure out where to focus your TikTok marketing efforts is to track your analytics.
Compare your metrics to the average all-industry rates or the engagement rates in your specific industry, whether that’s Food and Beverage, Beauty, or Higher Ed. To get the most accurate picture of your performance, it’s best to track your analytics with similar brands.
Tap into live benchmarks for your industry to get real-time insights into top-performing posts and trending conversations. You can also use Rival IQ to create a landscape of competitors in your industry. Within the landscape, you can see which videos are generating the most engagement by view or by follower, and how your videos stack up. You can also see which topics and hashtags are being talked about the most within your industry.
Once you’ve tapped into what your competitors are doing, create, analyze, and measure your videos against this data to really understand what’s working and what’s not.
Wrapping it up
TikTok continues to dominate the social media landscape, proving to be a must-have channel for brands across all industries. While average engagement rates on TikTok have dropped since last year, they remain well above Instagram, Facebook, and X (Twitter), thanks to the platform’s massive reach and highly active user base.
To harness TikTok’s engaged audience for your brand, experiment with the proven engagement methods that the top-performing brands are using. Stay tapped into what other businesses in your industry are doing to drive engagement, but don’t hesitate to try something different to stand out above the pack. Just be sure to regularly track and analyze your performance. That way, you can refine your TikTok strategy and consistently drive higher engagement over time.
This post was originally published in June 2023 and has since been updated.
