TikTok Benchmarks: Measuring Your TikTok Performance in 2024

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 must recognize this change in the status quo, as there has been a noticeable decline in engagement in traditional static posts on social media. Meanwhile, TikTok, which has 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. These TikTok benchmarks will help inform your TikTok management strategy and overall video production strategy.

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. 

In the 2024 Social Media Benchmarks, Dash Hudson also learned that brands with higher engagement rates correlated with an ability to attract more followers — the opposite of platforms like Instagram. However, 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 an average engagement of 4.6% compared to YouTube's 3.6% and Instagram's 3.5%. However, your industry still has 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 core 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 Industry TikTok Trends

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, 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.

Top Beauty Brands on TikTok

• Gisou (@gisou) exceeds the average beauty industry engagement rate by 5.2%, earning 9.2% average engagement and over 311K views. 
• Glossier (@glossier) achieves a staggering 10.4% average engagement rate, exceeding the industry average by 6.4%. 
• Tatcha (@tatcha) exceeds the industry average by 4.9%, earning 35.8K average video views. 
• Sol de Janiero (@soldejaneiro) has an average 8.8% TikTok engagement rate, outperforming the industry average by 4.8%.

We analyzed over 100 of the top brands in the Fashion Industry to determine the average performance for brands with 0K to 11.5K followers, 11.5K to 110K followers, and over 110K followers.

Fashion Industry TikTok Trends

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. 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 fashion 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.

Top Fashion Brands on TikTok

• Browns Fashion (@brownsfashion), an established brand earns a 7.6% average engagement rate, outperforming the industry average by 4.4%. Despite earning the highway engagement among top-performing brands, they have the lowest video views at 2.1K average views. 
• PrettyLittleThing (@prettylittlething), one of two Large Brands among high-performing brands, earns a 6.4% average TikTok engagement rate, exceeding the industry average by 3.2%. They have significant average video views compared to other top-performing brands, with 152.1K average TikTok views. 
• Hurley (@hurely), an established brand, achieves a 6.2% engagement rate among fashion brands, surpasses the average industry engagement rate by 3%. 
• Everlane (@everlane) achieves a 5.9% engagement rate of 2.7%, and 7.4K average video views.

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.

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 also have the lowest reach and shares, indicating the potential for entertaining, eye-grabbing content that persuades followers to share. 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. 

Top Home Brands on TikTok

• The Inside (@theinside) outperforms the average engagement rate by 5%. 
• 1stdibs (@1stdibs) earns a 7% engagement rate, the second-highest rate from top-performing home brands. 
• OTOTO Design (@ototo_design), the only Large brand among list of high-performing home brands, earns a 5.9% engagement rate. 
• Serena & Lily (@serenaandlily), an Established home decorating company, exceeds the industry average engagement rate by 1%. They use pinned posts to share the most popular content on TikTok and a feed chock-full of inspiration for home designers and owners alike.

Media and Publishing brands are also fairly successful on TikTok. This industry has the highest posting frequency, at 11 times per week, and the fourth-highest amount of video four views at 159.9K, coming fourth behind Luxury, Sports and Food and Beverage. Media brands have the highest number of followers at 676.9K. As TikTok continues to grow as a cultural epicenter, media brands play a significant role in social entertainment.  

Media and Publishing Industry TikTok Trends

The Media and Publishing Industry has the most entertaining content, with the highest average Entertainment Score at 3.0 across all industries. They also have the highest amount of shares at 269 — repurposing compelling scenes from shows (both old and new) is a great way for this industry to capitalize and generate interest for upcoming shows, tap into trends (like TikTok trending sounds) with visual clips showing the context of the sound and play into nostalgic themes with clips from old TV shows that cater to specific audiences. 

Top Media and Publishing Brands on TikTok

• House and Garden UK (@houseandgardenuk), a growing brand, receives 28.4K average TikTok views — they also outperform the industry average engagement rate by 3.5%, satisfying its users’ curiosity by sharing tours and decorating from notable individuals, like Dior’s Cordelia de Castellane and more.
• Them (@them.us) showcase essential LGBQT+ stories and histories in their TikTok content, fostering a sense of community among their followers. They outperform the average Media and Publishing engagement rate by 202%.
• Buzzfeed (@buzzfeed) produces a range of shareable content that speaks to various interests. They lean into storytelling and pop culture in their short form TikTok content outperforming the average engagement rate by 3.5%.
• Teen Vogue (@teenvogue) shares shorter versions of its longer-form content, capitalizing on its past content by sharing things like styling evolutions or even older interviews with celebrities like Sabrina Carpenter, who are in a new career phase. They outperform the industry average by 4.6%.

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.

Retail Industry TikTok Trends

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. 

Top Retail Brands on TikTok

• Barnes & Noble (@bnbuzz), a large brand, has the highest engagement rate among retail brands at 7.6%, outperforming the industry average by 4.3%. 
• TUMI’s (@tumitravel) is a Growing brand that outperforms the average industry engagement rate by 3.3%. Its TikTok strategy highlights premium travel accessories and stylish luggage through influencer partnerships and travel tips to connect with global travelers.
• REVOLVE (@revolve) surpasses the average industry engagement rate by 3.1%, focusing largely on fashion-forward trends and influencer collaborations to engage their style-conscious audience.

While there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all strategy, brands can take a few general tips to improve their strategy overall, including: 

• ‍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.