Are you unhappy with your YouTube channel’s performance? Are you wondering how to increase engagement on YouTube? In reality, knowing what constitutes a good engagement rate on YouTube and understanding how to improve it is key to building a successful YouTube channel. 

In this article, we will not only discuss how to increase YouTube engagement but also explore how YouTube itself is designed to boost user engagement. We will touch upon topics such as how to optimize your content, as well as how to best interact with your audience. Throughout, we will share actionable tips that will help you to increase your YouTube engagement rates.

What Is the YouTube Engagement Rate?

The engagement rate on YouTube is a metric that measures the interaction between a YouTube channel’s audience and its videos. Similar to other platforms, the engagement rate is presented as a percentage. The higher the value, the better the engagement rate.

Why Is the Engagement Rate Important for YouTube Channels?

The engagement rate is an important success metric for YouTube channels because it provides valuable insights into how well the channel’s content resonates with its audience. 

High engagement rates indicate that a large portion of a channel’s audience is actively engaged with the content. High engagement rates also increase a channel’s visibility and growth, which, in turn, can generate more views, subscribers, and revenue. At the same time, low engagement rates may indicate a need to improve content and engagement strategies. 

Overall, tracking engagement rates is critical as it can allow channels to maintain high performance, recover from poor performance, and inform future content strategies for boosting engagement, growth, and search engine optimization. It can also be helpful to compare or benchmark your engagement rate next to profiles you consider to be successful. In this way, you can set goals about how high your engagement rate should be.

How to Calculate the YouTube Engagement Rate?

You can calculate the engagement rate on YouTube by dividing the total engagement (total number of likes + comments + shares) the channel has received by the total number of views that the channel has received. 

Similarly, to calculate the engagement rate of a single YouTube video, you divide the total engagement (total number of likes + comments + shares) that the video has received by the total number of views it received. 

What Is the Average Engagement Rate on YouTube?

If you want to know the YouTube average engagement rate, you need to know the factors influencing the calculation of the YouTube engagement rate. These are: the type of content, the number of views, and the level of competition.

Studies suggest that the average engagement rate YouTube is between 2 % and 3.5 %. By comparing your own YouTube engagement rate with this YouTube engagement rate benchmark, you can see if there is room for you to grow or if you are already making your viewers interact more with your YouTube videos than other people.

What Is a Good Engagement Rate on YouTube?

Besides knowing the YouTube average engagement rate, it’s also useful to know what is a good engagement rate on YouTube. For YouTube, a high engagement rate is one that earns an above-average engagement rate compared to all other channels within a certain niche, industry, or on YouTube in general. 

Generally speaking, an engagement rate on YouTube of 3 to 7% is considered good to very good, while an engagement rate that’s over 10% is exceptional.

How to Increase Your Engagement Rates on YouTube: 10 Tips

If your current videos fall short against expectations, you may be wondering how YouTube is designed to help you increase user engagement?” Are there tips that can help improve your channel’s performance? Don’t despair. Learning how to increase YouTube engagement  is not impossible. Even if you have had a consistently below  average engagement rate on YouTube, sometimes a few minor improvements can go a long way. 

Below, we have compiled a list of 10 proven tips that focus on how to increase your engagement on YouTube.

1 – Know What Your Viewers Want To See

If you are wondering how to increase engagement on YouTube, the first thing you should do is to get to know your target audience. Research what kind of video styles they enjoy watching, what questions your audience has that you can answer, and which kinds of videos in your niche get the most views and generate engagement. 

You should always start by taking a look at and studying what content is already out there. Search for questions or keywords on YouTube itself and find videos of other video creators in your industry. If you are wondering if these are good profiles to learn from, you can conduct a benchmarking analysis using a social media analytics tool to help show what channels are preforming the best in your niche. This will give you an idea of what topics your audience wants to learn about or what entertains them.

You can also go to the comments of your own and other high-performing videos and find out the questions your target viewers ask and the feedback they provide to you and other content creators in your niche. 

Take notes of topic ideas, questions, and video styles that your target viewers enjoy. Always review this list and check if what you are trying to produce is likely to be interesting for your audience

2 – Spread Shareable Content

A fantastic way to increase your engagement rate on YouTube is to make content that other people want to share. 

But here’s the thing: Some content is just more shareable than others. And the most shareable videos are either funny videos or videos that many people can identify with.

If you make a funny video, your fans can share it with their friends and make their friends feel good. In the end, your viewers will associate all those positive feelings they get from watching your videos AND from the approval they get from their peers with you. 

Another video format that can boost your YouTube video engagement is showing relatable situations. Videos that make people go: “Oh, that’s so ME!” or “That is totally my friend Adam, Kelsie or Lindsey!” are highly shareable. The YouTube algorithm favors videos that are being shared and commented on, so making relatable videos will likely not only increase your engagement rate, but also your reach and views.

3 – Interact With Your Audience and Ask for Comments

If you want to increase the amount of comments you get on your video, try asking your viewers questions. Ask your viewers for their opinions. Ask what they think about something you do or show in your video. Let them share their own perspective. Open a conversation. 

Calls to action such as “What do you guys think about XYZ?”, “Let me know in the comments!” or “Should I do XYZ?” can really make your viewers feel valued and that they are a part of your community. 

There are other ways to interact with your audience. You can create a video which focuses on answering their questions, by doing a meet and greet with your fans, and by listening to their suggestions and tips. There are some of the best ways to build a strong community with your subscribers long-term. These activities make your viewers feel listened to, which is important if you want to develop a strong relationship with your audience. You can also show your viewers that you care about their questions and comments by integrating them into your video and replying to their comments quickly.

One challenge that building an active YouTube community brings about is that, once your YouTube channel starts growing, it can become time-consuming to keep up with all the messages and comments you get. Many YouTubers choose to answer only a few comments and DMs (or stop answering all together). 

This is a fatal mistake if you want to grow and have high engagement rates on your YouTube videos. Not answering comments and DMs makes your viewers feel like you don’t care about them. And why should they take time to comment on your video and support you if you don’t show them that their actions are appreciated? 

There are some community management tools for YouTube and social media in general that can help you answer comments and DMs efficiently. They allow you to automate workflows when it comes to answering comments and DMs on social media. See this guide for more.

4 – Tell Your Viewers To Like and Subscribe

It might seem simple, but including a clear and compelling call-to-action can encourage viewers to like, comment, and share the video.

Tell your viewers that their likes and comments are important to you, and prove it to them by actually responding to each of their comments relatively quickly. You can also tell them to activate notifications, so every time you post a new video to your channel they’ll get notified.

Some YouTubers go so far as to create a challenge for their viewers by telling them that if their video reaches a certain number of likes, they will have a surprise for them or they will do a special video for them. By doing this, your viewers will feel more motivated to like your video.

5 – Edit Your Videos in a Way That Encourages Interactions

Always focus on telling an engaging story. In doing so, think about how to inspire your audience or how to include emotions in your videos. Consider creating inside jokes with your audience and include their names, suggestions, and questions in your videos. Mentioning your viewers can help create a stronger bond between you and your audience. Remember, relationship building is what you should focus on most if you want consistently high engagement rates across your videos.

6 – Surprise Your Audience or Do Something Unheard Of

A perfectly polished video often gives too little room for people to find something funny or interesting to comment on. The videos that receive the highest number of comments actively insert special moments into their video that they know viewers will want to comment on. YouTube viewers generally react to and comment on the following: 

• Surprising moments
• Shocking moments 
• Awkward moments 
• Relatable moments 
• Unexpected moments
• Empathy provoking moments 
• Astonishing moments

If you want to have more comments and higher engagement rates, it is your job is to create those surprising and emotionally charged situations. In other words, give people something to talk about. Hand those moments to your audience on a silver platter and your comment section will flourish.

7 – Show Your Personality

People connect with people that they identify with. For this reason, it is important to show your character and what you stand for. Show your passions and knowledge. The more your viewers feel like they know you – your tastes, your values, your history, your goals – the closer they will feel to you and the stronger their support will be.

8 – Jump on Trends

If people are already talking feverishly about a certain subject, why not jump on the bandwagon? Buzzing topics and trends have the advantage that you don’t have to create any discussion around the topic anymore. However, make sure the topic you choose is somewhat related to your channel and your target audience. 

9 – Track Your Engagement Rate

10 – Be Consistent

Relationship building requires regular posting. You don’t want to be forgotten and your viewers should know that you are creating videos for them regularly. Regularly publishing videos that your audience wants to watch will make them come back and keep you top of mind. 

YouTube is one of the best storytelling platforms on the internet and by consistently creating high-quality content, you can be sure people will keep coming back and support your channel.

Final Thoughts on Increasing Your Engagement Rate on YouTube

Enhancing engagement rates on your YouTube videos is about building a community and connecting with your audience. By understanding what drives engagement and by tracking and analyzing your engagement rates, you can tailor your approach to meet the interests and needs of your viewers. 

The key to a successful YouTube channel lies in consistent posting, engaging storytelling, and genuine interaction with your audience. As you implement these tips and continuously adapt to your audience’s preferences, you’ll find that your YouTube engagement rates will grow. This will greatly contribute to making your channel a dynamic and sought-after destination on the platform.

If you are searching for an all-in-one social media tool to help bring your social media performance to the next level, you can try Fanpage Karma’s free 14-day trial. Fanpage Karma also offers a free weekly webinar that focuses on how you can use social media management tools to improve your social media activities.