The greatest challenge social media marketers face at present is the shift in consumer attention. Social entertainment, with its quick bursts of short-form video on channels such as TikTok or Instagram Reels, 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, with its 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 from what you’re used to, and the baseline performance metrics you can expect are also completely different. To help you set performance goals and level-set your strategy, Dash Hudson analyzed the top brands on TikTok in six 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. The channel has already surpassed 1 billion users in its early years, but more surprising is how its average engagement rates exceed Instagram posts by 10X, according to Dash Hudson’s benchmarks. 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 vote of confidence to the algorithm that you want to see more of that type of content.
Dash Hudson also learned that a greater number of followers correlates with a higher engagement rate, which is the opposite of the trend seen on other social channels. While follower count is less important on TikTok than on other channels, brands with higher followers are doing a better job of driving results at this stage. It remains to be seen whether this trend will shift over time as smaller brands become more TikTok-savvy and purposefully create lo-fi content rather than repurposing content from other places.
There are fewer posts from brands on TikTok compared to other social media platforms. It does not take much 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 such as Dash Hudson’s Entertainment Score are powerful measurements 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 this 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 have the opportunity to adjust their strategy to continue to lead in engagement and entertainment, particularly by partnering with celebrities and creators, which bring in high numbers of views and reactions for top-performing brands. 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.
Check out our full Beauty Industry TikTok Benchmark Report for more information.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in this industry to determine the average performance for brands with 10K to 100K followers, 100K to 500K followers, and over 500K followers.
The Fashion brands that are doing the best are behaving more like Media and Publishing companies and making good use of celebrity endorsements and red-carpet looks to earn the highest engagement. A key lesson that can be learned 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 are succeeding with audiences are doing a mix of both, focusing on supplementing campaigns with behind-the-scenes peeks at new products.
Check out our full Fashion and Luxury Industry TikTok Benchmark Report for more information.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in this industry to determine the average performance for brands with 10K to 100K followers, 100K to 500K followers, and over 500K 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 2 times per week on average, but earning the second-highest engagement rate out of the industries we’ve analyzed, surpassing both Beauty and Fashion/Luxury.
Check out our full CPG, Food and Beverage Industry TikTok Benchmark Report for more information.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in this industry to determine the average performance for brands with 10K to 100K followers, 100K to 500K followers, and over 500K followers.
The Home industry on TikTok is a market ripe with opportunities for early adopters. While home brands have the fewest followers of all industries studied, they're still receiving a similar number of views to more established industries like Beauty. Home brands have a real opportunity to conquer their niche with distinctive content and appear on people’s For You pages.
Check out our full Home Industry TikTok Benchmark Report for more information.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in this industry to determine the average performance for brands with 10K to 100K followers, 100K to 500K followers, and over 500K followers.
Media and Publishing brands are the most successful on TikTok. This industry has the highest posting frequency, at 9 times per week. Brands garner a high number of comments and an extraordinary number of shares, indicating that audiences are tuned in and sharing content with friends. Media brands have a high average number of followers, as TikTok has become a cultural epicenter and media brands play a large role in social entertainment.
Check out our full Media and Publishing Industry TikTok Benchmark Report for more information.
We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in this industry to determine the average performance for brands with 10K to 100K followers, 100K to 500K followers, and over 500K followers.
Retailers receive a high number of views, and their greatest opportunity is to focus on growing engagement. Despite weak engagement, brands in this sector perform well in terms of earning views, which indicates success from the For You page.
Check out our full Retail Industry TikTok Benchmark Report for more information.
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 to be spoken to like friends rather than customers. The production value of content matters less than simply being funny and relatable.