How long should a TikTok description be?
Longer than a few words. Videos with no written description (nothing, or only hashtags) got 13% fewer views than the same creator's average video, and descriptions of 150 characters or more did best (5% more views).
What we found
- No description: 13% fewer views. Under 50 characters: 3% fewer views.
- 150–299 characters: 5% more views. 300 or more: 5% more views.
- Saves followed the same pattern: −11% with no description, +8% at 300+ characters.
- Emojis made no difference, and 4–6 hashtags did best (see "How many hashtags should you use on TikTok?").
Views by description length
Written characters, not counting hashtags or tags, against the same creator's average video.
How we know: We measured the written description of 542,444 TikToks (without hashtags, tags or the "Replying to" label) and compared each creator's videos of different description lengths with their own average.
Read the full study: Do Part 2s and comment replies actually get more views?
Related questions
What should I write in my TikTok description?
What the video is about, in the words people would search for. TikTok reads descriptions for search, which may be why longer ones did better.
Do emojis in a TikTok description help?
No measurable difference in views, saves or shares.
Should I ask a question in my description?
It's a small trade: 4% more comments and 3% more views, but 5% fewer saves.