TikTok Benchmarks: Measuring Your TikTok Performance in 2023

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 Marketing Trends for 2023

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.

Beauty Industry TikTok Benchmarks

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 Industry TikTok Trends

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.

Top Beauty Brands on TikTok

• r.e.m. beauty relies on influencers and ultimately, their celebrity founder to encourage engagement and educate their audience. They see an average engagement of 12.8%, 8% higher than the average engagement rate.  
• Sigma Beauty benefits from being an established brand with a long-standing social media presence — their average engagement rate is 15.4% 
• Ourself is a growing brand that continues to bypass the industry average of 4.8% with an average 22.1% engagement rate  
• florence by mills consistently earns high entertainment benchmarks with its celebrity-led brand and voice that speaks to Gen Z.

Industry Fashion and Luxury Industry TikTok Benchmarks

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.

Fashion and Luxury Industry TikTok Trends

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.

Top Fashion and Luxury Brands on TikTok

• Alexander McQueen uses TikTok to showcase its latest collections, as well as its looks in action on the red carpet. The brand makes sure to highlight celebrities and entertainers extensively with its #SeenInMcQueen tag.‍
• alice + olivia shows off editorial-style vidoes on their TikTok account, while partaking in the occasional TikTok trend 
• Jacquemus is a large brand who also use TikTok to share footage from runway shows — they also have a bevy of surreal, avant-garde, AI-rendered videos incorporating their products which are compelling short form video. 
• Grailed showcases styling tips and information for their products, and also use photo of celebrity outfits featuring clothing or accessories they carry.  

CPG, Food, and Beverage Industry TikTok Benchmarks

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.

CPG, Food, and Beverage Industry TikTok Trends

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 times per week on average, but earning the third-highest amount of video views, only falling behind Fashion and Luxury and Media and Publishing. 

Top CPG, Food, and Beverage Brands on TikTok

• Flow is a growing brand — growing brands with a robust audience tend to see higher engagement as they grow their following, however, this water brand has surpassed the industry average by 18.7% 
• While Hello Fresh’s paid efforts focus on deals, promotions and price, their TikTok focuses on recipe development and behind the scenes ingredient-testing. 
• Question and answer game and brand We’re Not Really Strangers made a splash on social upon their release — they continue to stand out on social with bold visuals and statements made with graffiti focused on love, romance, growth and self-love. 
• ZenWTR’s brand focuses on preventing ocean pollution — their TikTok presence reflects this, and also features product information and behind the scenes footage. 

Home Industry TikTok Benchmarks

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.

Home Industry TikTok Trends

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 still receiving a similar number of views to more established industries like CPG, Food and Beverage. Home brands have a real opportunity to conquer their niche with distinctive content and appear on people’s For You pages.

Top Home Brands on TikTok

• Ototo Design’s colorful and fun kitchen gadgets are a perfect match for #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt.‍ 
• BOXI is an established brand that continues to make a splash on social media. They stand out with before-and-after footage of kitchen transformations with their kitchen cabinets. They receive a 379% higher average engagement rate. 
• Cozy Earth is a bedding and loungewear brand that focuses on nighttime routines when people will likely use their product most. They outperform the average home industry engagement rate by 347%.
• Jenni Kayne Home is a top-performing in terms of Entertainment Score, and showcase a variety of content on TikTok like interior design, house tours and dinner parties.

Media and Publishing Industry TikTok Benchmarks

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 Industry TikTok Trends

Media and Publishing brands are also fairly  successful on TikTok. This industry has the highest posting frequency, at 6 times per week, and the second-highest amount of video views, coming second to Fashion and Luxury brands. 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.

Top Media and Publishing Brands on TikTok

• The Office is a large brand that proves a TV show does not need to be current to be popular or make an impact. The show’s humor still suits the fast-paced comedy found on TikTok. 
• Only Murders in the Building outperforms the average engagement rate for the Media and Publishing industry by 233%. 
• Vogue Scandinavia capitalizes on their localized handle and presence to bring news focused on Scandinavian brands and personalities — they’ve also produced a highly popular exclusive series with the cast of ‘Young Royals’, a Swedish original. 
• British GQ is an established brand that uses their TikTok to share short clips from their longer series on YouTube.  

Retail Industry TikTok Benchmarks

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.

Retail Industry TikTok Trends

The Retail Industry sees an average lower number of followers and views, while its reach is close to the Beauty Industry at 64,457. Large Retail Brands also post the second-highest number of weekly posts and see an average reach of 99,308. 

Top Retail Brands on TikTok

• Cotton On succeeds in capturing TikTok’s energetic spirit, and it brings its store to life with fun product highlights.
• KastKing is a fishing gear brand that boosts their engagement with memes, funny content and product education.  
• Patagonia knows their audience is just as interested in outdoor activities as they are their brand — they showcase athletes climbing, running and exploring in Patagonia gear. 
• Urban Outfitters understands the impact of a great influencer and creator partnership — they harness the power of UGC to showcase products and how to style them. 

Children and  Baby Brands Industry-Wide

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.

While their average follower count is the lowest of the industries analyzed, Childrean and Baby brands have an astounding average 55% Monthly Follower Growth Rate with just 2 average weekly posts. Of the industries we looked at, they also have the third highest average reach at 64,457, which indicates a huge potential for growth from this industry. 

Top Retail Brands on TikTok

• Ryan & Rose is an accessories brand that caters to families, and posts fun TikTok trends that show-off their products in action.
• Barbie outperforms the average engagement rate for Children and Baby by 293%. They reach not only their consumer, but their customer with funny stop-motion videos featuring Barbie and her friends. 
• Little Planet is a children’s apparel brand that features clothing hauls and favorite pieces, plus, their apparel in-action on little ones.

What We Can Learn From Brands’ TikTok Marketing Strategies

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.