The greatest challenge social media marketers face at present is the shift in consumer attention. With its quick bursts of short-form video on channels such as TikTok or Instagram Reels, Social Entertainment has become the predominant place where young audiences spend their time, supplanting everything from traditional social media platforms to Netflix.
Marketers cannot ignore this change in the status quo, as there has been a noticeable decline in engagement in traditional static posts on social media. While TikTok, which posses an interest-based algorithm for serving content, delivers astronomical consumer engagement, which then leads to sales growth, especially if you use e-commerce tools like a link-in-bio solution for TikTok.
TikTok is a different channel compared to platforms like Twitter and even YouTube, which means the baseline performance metrics you can expect are also entirely different. To help you set performance goals and level-set your strategy, Dash Hudson analyzed the top brands on TikTok in seven different industries to uncover the average performance for brands categorized into three follower buckets: growing, established and large. Take a look at Dash Hudson’s benchmark reports for in-depth insights and analysis into how brands are performing on TikTok, and continue reading for a preview of what to expect from the reports.
TikTok continues to show rapid growth. According to our research, TikTok has already surpassed 1 billion users in its early years. Video content simply does a better job of inspiring users to take action, whether it’s commenting, sharing with friends or liking the post as a signal to the TikTok algorithm that you want to see more of that type of content.
Dash Hudson also learned that brands with higher engagement rates correlated with an ability to attract more followers — the opposite of platforms like Instagram. Although, follower count is less critical on social media than ever before, with TikTok having just 335.3K average followers compared to Instagram at 2.2M or YouTube at 700.3K, and the highest average monthly follower growth rate at 7.7%.
Additionally, We discovered that TikTok remains the most engaging channel for brands, with a 4.6% average compared to YouTube at 3.6% and Instagram at 3.5%. However, your industry still makes a big impact on your TikTok engagement. For example, Fashion and Luxury brands on TikTok receive the highest views, while brands like Media and Publishing typically fare better on Instagram.
There are fewer posts from brands on TikTok compared to other social media platforms. It only takes a little content to make an impact. Instead, it is more important for brands to optimize content based on what they know their audiences want to see. Metrics like entertainment ccore are powerful indicators of how well content resonates with audiences and can help you optimize your strategy to grow your engagement. Focus on quality over quantity.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in the Beauty Industry to determine the average performance for brands with 10K to 100K followers, 100K to 500K followers, and over 500K followers.
Beauty brands are reaping the benefits of being early adopters. Brands in this sector continue to lead in engagement compared to Instagram and YouTube (however, this is likely also due to TikTok being a ‘younger’ platform). Beauty brands can adjust their strategy to continue leading engagement and entertainment, particularly by partnering with celebrities and creators, which bring in high numbers of views and reactions for top-performing brands. Since this sector continues to see a lot of competition, so brands might experience more challenges in expanding their views and reach.
Beauty’s largest brands, which benefit from celebrity founders and their motivated fanbases, continue to earn the highest Engagement Rates — smaller brands are competing by focusing on more niche creators who can capture various segments that celebrities do not speak to.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in the Fashion and Luxury Industry to determine the average performance for brands with 0K to 11.5K followers, 11.5K to 110K followers, and over 110K followers.
The Fashion brands that are doing the best on social media behave more like Media and Publishing companies, making good use of celebrity endorsements and red-carpet looks to earn the highest engagement. A key lesson to learn from publishers is to approach content like a storyteller and understand what will engage and resonate with audiences.
As luxury brands continue to figure out how to balance highly produced visuals with the lo-fi visuals that TikTok is known for, brands that succeed with audiences are doing a mix of both, focusing on supplementing campaigns with behind-the-scenes peeks at new products.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in the CPG, Food and Beverage Industry to determine the average performance for brands with 0K to 11.5K followers, 11.5K to 110K followers, and over 110K followers.
Quality over quantity proves to be a winning formula. CPG, Food, and Beverage brands are making the most out of their content, only posting 4-5 times per week on average, posting one more video on average than in 2022. but earning the fourth-highest video views, only falling behind Beauty, Retail, and Fashion and Luxury.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in the Home Industry to determine the average performance for brands with 0K to 11.5K followers, 11.5K to 110K followers, and over 110K followers.
The Home Industry on TikTok is a market ripe with opportunities for early adopters. While home brands have the second-fewest followers of all industries studied, they’re tied for the second-highest entertainment score at 3.5 and the third-highest average engagement rate at 4.1%. Home brands can conquer their niche with distinctive content, influential partnerships and a deep understanding of the TikTok algorithm to land on people’s For You pages.
We analyzed over 100 of the top Media and Publishing Industry brands in this industry to determine the average performance for brands with 0K to 11.5K followers, 11.5K to 110K followers, and over 110K followers.
Media and Publishing brands are also fairly successful on TikTok. This industry has the highest posting frequency, at eight times per week, and the second-highest amount of video views at 145.2K, coming second to Sports brands. Media brands have the second-highest average number of followers at 564.3K, also coming behind sports brands. As TikTok continues to grow as a cultural epicenter, media brands play a significant role in social entertainment.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in the Retail Industry to determine the average performance for brands with 0K to 11.5K followers, 11.5K to 110K followers, and over 110K followers.
The Retail Industry sees the fourth-highest TikTok views at 134.3K. The Retail Industry also sees the fourth-highest reach of all industries at 94.4K, while they see the sixth-highest followers at 216.9K average TikTok followers. Overall, the Retail Industry has seen its engagement rate reach 3.3%, and its entertainment score similarly reach 3.3.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in the Children and Baby Industry to determine the average performance for brands with 0K to 11.5K followers, 11.5K to 110K followers, and over 110K followers.
While their average follower count is the lowest of the industries analyzed, Children and Baby brands have the third-highest average monthly follower growth rate at 8.2%, posting just three times each week on average. Additionally, Children and Baby brands are resonating with users on TikTok, achieving a 61% retention rate compared to the industry average of 56%.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in the B2B Industry to determine the average performance for brands with 10K to 11.5K followers, 11.5 to 110K followers, and over 110K followers.
B2B brands tend to have lower average follower counts. However, they have a strong average engagement rate on TikTok at 4.4%. This is particularly robust compared to Instagram’s engagement rate of 0.4%. Additionally, they receive 133.9K average video views, compared to 56.2K on YouTube. TikTok is a great opportunity for B2B brands to showcase behind-the-scenes content and reach other relevant industries in their respective niches.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in the Travel Industry to determine the average performance for brands with 10K to 11.5K followers, 11.5 to 110K followers, and over 110K followers.
The Travel Industry generates some of the highest overall views at 202K, also achieving a strong 4.4% engagement rate, 0.3% higher than the industry average. They also have the fourth-highest average monthly follower growth rate at 7.9%, indicating promising potential for continued growth. Additionally, they have the fourth-highest number of average shares at 161 and the fourth-highest reach at 93.2K.
Focus on entertainment. Smaller brands are earning just as many views as bigger brands by focusing on delivering entertainment value over growing followers.
Partner with creators. Content that features real people using your products builds trust, especially when those people have an established audience.
Be authentic. TikTok audiences prefer authenticity, and to be spoken to like friends rather than customers. The production value of content matters less than simply being funny and relatable.