January analysis snapshot shows saves and shares drive early travel consideration

AUSTIN, Texas, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Orange 142, LLC (“Orange 142”), a division of Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), today released new analysis from its Social Media Council examining how travel content performs within TikTok’s search-driven discovery environment. The findings show short-form travel videos earn four times the views of longer content, and that saves and shares play a more meaningful role in visibility than comments.

To better understand travel discovery on the platform, Orange 142 analyzed the top 20 organic videos surfaced in TikTok’s Top tab for the keyword “travel” during a January snapshot, reviewing publicly available metrics including views, video length, saves, shares, and comments. Sixty percent of top-ranking videos were 15 seconds or shorter, and those videos averaged approximately 1.5 million views, four times the views of longer content in the dataset.

Across the 20 videos analyzed, the average video generated just over 1 million views, nearly 16,000 saves, and 14,500 shares, compared to fewer than 400 comments per video. Saves occurred at more than 40 times the volume of comments, and 80 percent of the ten most-viewed videos ranked in the top half of the dataset for shares. Comment volume did not consistently correlate with higher views.

“TikTok is influencing travel decisions earlier than many brands realize,” said Calvin Scharffs, Vice President of Marketing at Orange 142. “Users are searching with intent, comparing options, and saving ideas in real time. That changes how brands need to show up. The content that performs delivers value quickly and moves people closer to a decision.”

The analysis also found that creator size was not a prerequisite for visibility. Half of the top-performing videos came from creators with fewer than 10,000 followers, and there was no measurable performance difference between people-led and scenery-driven formats. The January snapshot reinforces a clear takeaway: on TikTok, clarity and shareability matter more than scale.

To learn more about Orange 142 and its approach to data-driven social and digital advertising, visit orange142.com.

About Orange 142

Orange 142 is a digital marketing and advertising company helping businesses and agencies of all sizes grow their reach and revenue through strategic, data-driven media execution. As the buy-side arm of Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), Orange 142 delivers customized solutions across programmatic, search, social, connected TV, and emerging digital channels. With deep expertise in high-growth sectors such as Travel & Tourism, Healthcare, Energy, and Financial Services, Orange 142 creates results-driven campaigns that connect brands with their most valuable audiences. To learn more, visit www.Orange142.com.