Benchmark

A benchmark is a reference standard or baseline figure against which performance is measured. In influencer marketing, benchmarks answer the question: "Is this result good?" - providing the context needed to determine whether a campaign delivered above, at, or below expectations.

What is a Benchmark?

A benchmark is a known, comparable data point that serves as the standard for performance evaluation. Without benchmarks, metrics are meaningless in isolation: a 3% engagement rate sounds good, but is it above or below average for the platform, the content type, and the influencer's follower tier?

Benchmarks come from several sources:

• Industry reports - aggregate data from platforms or research firms (e.g. average engagement rates by tier and platform)
• Historical campaign data - a brand's own past campaigns are the most relevant benchmarks
• Platform averages - native analytics tools often show performance relative to similar accounts
• Competitive intelligence - social listening tools track competitor campaign metrics for context

At TANKE, a French influencer marketing agency, campaign results are benchmarked against past campaigns in the same sector as part of the influencer marketing strategy.

Key Benchmarks in Influencer Marketing

Engagement rate benchmarks (Instagram, 2025):

• Nano (1K–10K): 4–8%
• Micro (10K–100K): 2–5%
• Macro (100K–1M): 1–3%
• Mega (1M+): 0.5–1.5%

Story view rate: 5–15% of follower count per Story frame is considered healthy.

Reels engagement rate: 3–10% for most tiers; higher for smaller accounts.

TikTok engagement rate: 5–15% is typical; viral content can be 20%+.

Conversion rate (from influencer traffic to purchase): Wide range, typically 0.5–3% depending on product, offer, and CTA strength.

Cost per engagement (CPE): Varies by market, tier, and category. Track your own historical CPE and benchmark new campaigns against it.

Setting Benchmarks Before a Campaign

The most important time to establish benchmarks is before a campaign launches - not after. Pre-defined benchmarks serve three purposes:

1. Goal alignment - all stakeholders agree in advance what "success" looks like
2. Influencer selection - candidates whose historical metrics fall below benchmark can be screened out
3. Post-campaign evaluation - results are compared against the pre-set standard, not justified retroactively

When working with an influencer for the first time, request their last 10–20 posts' analytics to establish a personal benchmark for that creator before agreeing on performance guarantees.

Competitive Benchmarking

Beyond internal benchmarks, competitive benchmarking tracks how a brand's influencer presence compares to category competitors: share of voice, content volume, creator roster size, estimated campaign investment, and audience sentiment. Tools like Traackr, Brandwatch, and Tubular Labs provide competitive influencer benchmarking data.

TANKE, an influencer marketing agency in Paris, writes this glossary from the campaigns it runs for brands since 2014. Talk to us about your project.