How to Turn On Live Ranking on TikTok

Wondering how to get your name on the TikTok LIVE leaderboards? Enabling the LIVE ranking feature is your first step toward gaining massive visibility and growing your audience during a stream. This guide will walk you through exactly how to turn on LIVE ranking, what it means, and the strategies top creators use to climb to the very top.

What is TikTok LIVE Ranking, Anyway?

The TikTok LIVE ranking system is a real-time leaderboard that showcases the most popular and supported LIVE streams at any given moment. Streamers are ranked based on the number of "Diamonds" they receive from their viewers during a single broadcast. Diamonds are a virtual currency credited to creators when they receive gifts, which viewers purchase with TikTok Coins.

Essentially, the more gifts you get, the higher you climb. Being on this leaderboard can dramatically increase your stream's exposure, as TikTok often showcases top-ranking streams to a broader audience on the "For You" page and within the LIVE section. It’s a powerful tool for discovery, turning a standard broadcast into a competitive, community-driven event.

First Things First: Are You Eligible to Go LIVE?

Before you can even think about rankings, you need the ability to go LIVE on TikTok. The platform has a few prerequisites in place to maintain the quality and safety of its live-streaming feature. While these can sometimes change, the general requirements are:

• Age Requirement: You must be at least 18 years old to go LIVE.
• Follower Count: You typically need to have at least 1,000 followers. This can vary by region, but it's the standard benchmark.

If you meet these criteria, the LIVE option should automatically appear on your creation screen. The LIVE ranking feature itself is available to anyone who can go LIVE - there are no extra follower or engagement requirements to participate in the leaderboard.

How to Turn On Live Ranking on TikTok: A Step-by-Step Guide

For most creators, the LIVE ranking feature is enabled by default. However, if you find that your ranking isn’t visible or you want to double-check, turning it on is a simple process directly within your LIVE stream’s settings. Here's how to do it:

1. Start Your LIVE Stream: Open your TikTok app, tap the "+" create button at the bottom of the screen, and swipe to the "LIVE" option. Set your title, add a cover photo, choose your effects, and tap "Go LIVE."
2. Access the Settings Menu: Once you are live, you'll see a few icons at the bottom of your screen. Look for the three dots labeled "More" to access your stream settings panel.
3. Navigate to Settings: Inside the "More" panel, you will find an option called "Settings." Tap on it.
4. Toggle on the Ranking Feature: Within the settings menu, you'll see a toggle for "Ranking." If it’s off, simply tap the toggle to switch it on. A small leaderboard icon or a ranking panel will now appear on your screen (and on your viewers' screens), showing your real-time position.

That’s it! Your stream is now officially participating in the rankings. If your account is eligible, you can also be featured on the various leaderboards available in the LIVE viewing section, such as Daily rankings or Rising Stars.

Understanding How the Ranking System Actually Works

Climbing the leaderboard isn't random, it's a direct result of viewer support through gifting. Here’s a quick breakdown of the mechanics:

• Viewers Buy Coins: Your audience purchases TikTok Coins with real money through the app.
• They Send Gifts: During your stream, viewers can use their Coins to send virtual gifts, which range from simple "Roses" (costing one coin) to elaborate animations like a "TikTok Universe" (costing thousands of coins).
• You Receive Diamonds: When you receive a gift, TikTok credits your account with "Diamonds." The amount of Diamonds is based on the value of the gift.
• Rank is Determined by Diamonds: Your position on the leaderboard is determined by the total number of Diamonds accumulated within that single LIVE session. The rankings reset daily, giving everyone a fresh chance to compete.

Getting into the top 99+ on the daily leaderboard is a significant accomplishment and can send a flood of new viewers your way as others curiously check out who is trending.

Strategies to Climb the TikTok LIVE Leaderboards

Just turning on the ranking feature isn't enough. If you want to see your name among the top streamers, you need a strategy that encourages engagement and support. Here’s how you can improve your chances.

1. Plan and Promote Your LIVE Streams Beforehand

Spontaneity is great, but a planned event almost always performs better. Don't just go live without warning. Build anticipation! Create short videos announcing the date and time of your stream a day or two in advance. Use the countdown sticker in your Stories. Let your followers on other platforms (like Instagram or X) know when you’ll be online. The more of your existing community you can get to show up at the start, the stronger your initial push will be.

2. Set a Clear Goal or Theme for Your Stream

People are more likely to support a cause or join in on a goal. Frame your stream around a specific objective. For example:

• A Challenge Stream: "Let's see if we can reach the Top 50 today! Every 10 ranks we climb, I'll do a silly dance."
• A Goal-Oriented Stream: "I’m saving up for a new camera for the stream! Any and all support is appreciated."
• A Themed Stream: Host a Q&A session, a tutorial, a musical performance, or a "get ready with me" (GRWM) stream. A clear theme gives viewers a reason to stick around.

3. Master the Art of Audience Engagement

Running a successful LIVE is not a monologue, it's a conversation. A highly engaged chat is a good indicator to the algorithm that your stream is valuable, but more importantly, it makes your viewers feel seen and connected.

• Acknowledge Viewers by Name: Welcome new people as they join. Give shout-outs to followers who regularly attend your LIVEs.
• Thank Every Gifter: Make people feel appreciated for their support. A simple "Thank you, [Username], for the Rose!" goes a long way. More enthusiastic reactions for larger gifts can motivate others.
• Answer Questions: Use the Q&A feature to organize questions and actively answer them. Make your audience a part of the show.

4. Don't be Afraid to Ask (The Right Way)

There's a fine line between a genuine creator with ambitious goals and someone who just seems to be begging for gifts. The key is in how you frame it. Instead of saying, "Send me gifts," try something more community-focused:

"Wow, we just hit the top 100! That's incredible. Do you all think we have what it takes to get to the top 75? Let's give it a shot!"

This approach transforms the goal from something personal into a shared objective for the entire community. It’s "we" vs. "me," which is much more effective at rallying support.

5. Use TikTok LIVE Features to Your Advantage

TikTok gives you plenty of tools to make your streams more interactive. Use them!

• LIVE Goals: Set a visual goal for a specific type of gift. It creates a simple, fun target for your audience.
• Polls: Let your audience vote on what you should do next - what song to play, what game to try, or what topic to discuss.
• Go LIVE with a guest: Co-hosting a stream with another creator exposes you to their audience and vice versa, often leading to a spike in viewers and gifts from two communities combined.

The Good, The Bad, and The Leaderboard: Weighing the Pros and Cons

Chasing a high rank can be a thrill, but it's smart to approach it with a balanced mindset.

The Pros of Ranking

• Unmatched Visibility: Landing on the leaderboard puts you in front of countless potential new followers who would have never seen your content otherwise.
• Increased Monetization: The more gifts you receive, the more Diamonds you earn, which can be converted into actual money.
• Stronger Community Bonding: Competitively ranking can become a shared "mission" for you and your top supporters, creating an incredibly loyal core community.

The Cons of Ranking

• Potential for Burnout: Competing requires long, high-energy streams. Doing this daily can be mentally and physically exhausting.
• Creates Pressure: Constantly watching your rank rise and fall can be stressful and takes focus away from a more natural interaction with your audience.
• Can Feel Transactional: If not managed well, it can make it seem like your primary purpose is collecting gifts rather than providing valuable or entertaining content.

The best approach is to use the ranking system as a tool when it serves you, not as the sole reason you go live. Focus on building genuine connections, and the support will follow naturally.

Final Thoughts

Turning on LIVE ranking on TikTok is mechanically simple, but successfully climbing that leaderboard is an art form. It requires consistent promotion, genuine engagement, a clear strategy, and a community-centric approach. Use the rankings as a way to boost your visibility and engage your audience, but never forget that authentic connection is what truly builds a lasting presence on the platform.

Managing the promotion for recurring LIVE sessions can feel like a job in itself. Since consistency is key, I use a visual calendar from Postbase to schedule all my announcement posts days or weeks in advance. This helps me get the word out on TikTok, Instagram Stories, and more, without having to scramble last minute which ensures that when it's time to go live, my audience is actually expecting it.