TikTok Brand Follower Counts Grew 200% YoY
Emplifi's 2026 Social Media Benchmark Report revealed that median brand follower counts on TikTok increased by 200% year-over-year. The report highlights key social media performance data for brands across TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X, underscoring TikTok's continued growth as a platform for brand engagement.
- Beyond follower growth, TikTok's engagement rate reached 3.70% in 2025, marking a 49% year-over-year increase. For comparison, Instagram's engagement rate was nearly static at 0.48%, and Facebook's was 0.15%. - While follower numbers surged, the average number of comments per post on TikTok actually fell by 24%, indicating a potential shift toward more passive engagement like viewing and sharing. - TikTok's growth in brand interactions was substantial, generating twice the median interactions of Instagram and 20 times the median interactions seen on Facebook. - This trend aligns with the broader shift of social platforms becoming search engines; research shows nearly a quarter of users now turn to apps like TikTok and Instagram for search and discovery over Google. - Accounts with fewer than 100,000 followers on TikTok achieve the highest engagement rates at an average of 7.50%, whereas accounts with over 10 million followers see an average engagement rate of 2.88%. - The average number of likes for each TikTok post grew by 12%, another indicator of strong visible engagement compared to other platforms. - The growth in TikTok's user base and engagement is mirrored by its advertising revenue, which is projected to exceed $20 billion in 2026, representing a 35% increase from the previous year.
