TikTok has been the most popular social media app since the beginning of 2020. Individual users and brands alike have taken to posting content of all kinds. Just like any other social media app, TikTok relies, to a large extent, on engagement. However, its formula for calculating engagement and how that engagement affects profile interactions is different from other apps.
Engagement Rate
This is a percentage of what attention and activity a post gets. It even analyzes details such as how long users spend on a post. On TikTok, the reach a user receives is organic compared to paid reach they and brands can get on other apps. Only brands and users with incredibly high followings can advertise on TikTok, which makes engagement more important.
With sponsorships and promotions through brands, the engagement rate of individual users can increase significantly. Unfortunately, most of these will be for accounts with millions of followers and a high engagement rate. Engagement, in general, is a vital element for success on the platform.
- The Calculation
A big question being asked by users is how TikTok’s engagement rate is being calculated. Let’s break down the formula:
- Interactions (i.e. likes, comments, shares, etc) = engagement
This is a fairly standard formula followed by most social media apps. However, TikTok focuses more on the views a post gets rather than the number of followers a user has. Thus, the official formula for TikTok’s engagement rate is:
((Number of comments + number of shares) ÷ number of views) x 100
Third-Party Calculators
While calculating engagement rate can be done by hand, there are many websites and apps that help with that. Additionally, they often provide more information over a longer period of time. They generally don’t cost anything and work for different social media accounts. Of course, it should be noted that the engagement rate calculations for different apps vary. For example, the calculation for TikTok’s engagement won’t have the same formula as the engagement rate of an Instagram account. Many third-party calculators do what they are designed for, but the specific information offered may also be different.
These sites calculate engagement by asking for the account name, social media platform, and a period of time to look for. Some sites have an extra cross-comparison feature that allows users to calculate engagement over various platforms.
Improving Engagement Rates
On TikTok, the time of posting content is important to consider, though not as crucial as the type of content. Creating videos that are interesting to watch, pose a thought or question, or seek to make people laugh are the most popular types. Still, the great thing about this app is the various communities within it. There is content for any niche or community.
The biggest criteria to keep in mind are the type and quality of the posted content, when it’s posted, and what the engagement rate is. Calculating that engagement rate can help users tweak their content to appeal to their audience, thus, in turn, raising that percentage.
