The Publishing Industry Social Media Benchmark Report
Find out how your brand stacks up against publishing industry leaders.
Download the Benchmarks
To understand how your brand is doing on social, start by seeing what’s typical in the publishing industry. Download the report to see publishing industry averages across important metrics and platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Use these findings to set clear goals, sharpen your content plan, and grow your audience faster.
Key Takeaways: 2025 Publishing Benchmark Report
TikTok is a stronghold. Publishing brands lead the industry in engagement rate, now at 5.2%.
Reels outperform static. While static is used more, Reels drive stronger engagement per post.
YouTube needs attention. Despite high subscriber counts, view performance is low across both Shorts and On-Demand.
Publishing Industry Benchmarks and Statistics
TikTok
220.8K
453.0K
YouTube
20.6K
* Video views are the total number of times a video is played, including repeat plays by the same viewer.
Dash Social Insight: Publishing brands are thriving on short-form content. There’s an opportunity to replicate that success on YouTube by reimagining content for longer formats and fresh storytelling.
Publishing Industry Highlights From Leading Brands
Leading publishing brands are making content that’s structured and built to last. They grab attention with strong openings, use clear on-screen text and visual cues to make ideas easy to absorb, and lean into repeatable formats that keep viewers coming back for more.
them leads on TikTok with clips that invite conversation. The brand’s blend of buzzy pop culture moments and its own personality makes each post a standout in the algorithm.
Digital Spy packages Hollywood memes, clips, and interviews into posts that stand out in feeds. The brand succeeds through its focus on visual storytelling and witty captions, usually within the visuals themselves.
The Wall Street Journal drives strong views with in-depth explainers about world events, as well as simpler videos that answer questions audiences may have about businesses. Its concise, well-paced storytelling turns complex topics into content viewers can quickly understand.
Dash Social pulled a sample of global companies across TikTok (n=970), Instagram (n=2,967), and YouTube (n=630) analyzing their activity between January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025 to determine average performance against a predetermined set of KPIs. These benchmarks include organic, boosted and promoted content but exclude paid ads. They apply to handles with at least 1K followers, covering both customers and non-customers.
