The social media benchmarks to guide your 2026 strategy | Emplifi
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The social media benchmarks to guide your strategy 2026
The Emplifi Social Media Benchmarks 2026 report analysed thousands of brand accounts across six major platforms. Key findings: TikTok leads on both follower growth (200%+ YoY) and engagement (35.9% median peak), Instagram engagement is in decline, and X is best treated as a tactical channel rather than a growth driver.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Platform growth & momentum: Who’s gaining ground
- Engagement benchmarks across platforms
- Content format Performance: What works where
- Engagement by industry
- Paid social benchmarks: Spend, CPM & placement dynamics
- Final takeaways: Competing in 2026
- Want the full benchmarks?
The Emplifi Social Media Benchmarks 2026 report, based on data from thousands of brand accounts, reveals five platform trends marketers need to act on now. TikTok leads all platforms in both follower growth (200%+ year-over-year) and engagement rates (peaking at 35.9% median in Q3 2025). Instagram engagement has declined from ~17% in early 2024 to under 10% by late 2025, shifting the content focus toward Reels and Carousels. Facebook remains the most cost-efficient Meta placement for paid reach. X shows flat to slightly negative follower growth and is best suited to tactical, real-time conversation goals.
Social media is entering 2026 with sharper divides between platforms than ever before. Audience growth, engagement behaviors, and paid performance are no longer moving in sync, forcing brands to rethink where and how they show up for customers.
TikTok continues to accelerate, Instagram engagement dynamics are shifting, Meta platforms retain scale and stability, and X shows more tactical value than growth potential.
In this blog, based on the Social media benchmarks 2026 report, we highlight key trends in platform growth, engagement, content performance, and paid investment to help you sharpen your strategy for the year ahead.
Platform growth & momentum: Who’s gaining ground
TikTok leads in brand follower growth. Median follower counts for brands on TikTok increased by over 200% year over year, driven by discovery-first content and algorithmic amplification.
Facebook and Instagram remain essential for scale, with Instagram delivering steady mid-single-digit follower growth and Facebook showing flat follower trends, reinforcing both platforms’ roles as reliable reach drivers rather than primary growth accelerators.
LinkedIn continues targeted, double-digit growth while YouTube shows moderate, consistent increases. X, by contrast, saw flat to slightly negative follower growth.
What this means for your strategy
- Prioritize TikTok for audience growth acceleration.
- Use Facebook & Instagram to anchor broad reach and predictable scale.
- Treat LinkedIn and YouTube as purpose-built channels for B2B, thought leadership, or long-form content.
- Clarify X’s role as a tactical conversation and real-time engagement channel.
Engagement benchmarks across platforms
TikTok continues to outperform all other networks. Across 2024–2025, median engagement rates peaked at 35.9% in Q3 2025 before easing to 27.6% in Q4 2025, still the highest of any major platform.
Instagram saw a gradual decline in median engagement from roughly 17% in early 2024 to under 10% by late 2025, while Facebook engagement stayed stable at lower levels (1–2%).
As audiences scale, TikTok generates more than twice the median interactions of Instagram and over 20× those of Facebook, underscoring its ability to convert scale into interaction.
What this means for your strategy
- Invest in TikTok content to drive interaction growth.
- On Instagram, focus on share-worthy and save-driven creative rather than passive likes.
- Streamline work on platforms with limited engagement if interaction is a primary KPI.
Content format Performance: What works where
Facebook:
- Live video generates significantly higher engagement than other formats, nearly four times more than links and six times more than images.
- Other formats cluster within narrower engagement ranges.
Instagram:
- Carousels and Reels register the strongest median interactions, driving about 44% more engagement than single images.
- Images remain valuable but are outpaced by immersive, swipe- and watch-driven content.
X:
- GIFs and status updates outperform richer media formats, confirming that immediacy and conversation are rewarded over production complexity.
What this means for your strategy
- Use live video on Facebook to drive deeper engagement.
- Lean into Reels and Carousels on Instagram for higher interaction.
- Prioritize lightweight, conversational content on X.
Engagement by industry
Industry engagement varies widely across platforms, reflecting how audience behaviors and content expectations shape performance. Aligning industry strengths to the right channel is critical for maximizing engagement.
Facebook: Utility-driven categories such as Airlines, Beverages, and Industrial deliver higher engagement per 1,000 impressions.
Instagram: Visually anchored industries like Airlines, Beverages, FMCG Food, and Alcohol lead engagement.
TikTok: Airlines, Alcohol, Beauty, and Accommodation outperform others in median engagement.
X: Alcohol, Automotive, and FMCG Food show the strongest conversation-driven engagement.
What this means for your strategy
- Align your industry with platforms where your category naturally over-indexes.
- Tailor your creativity to the format and behavioral preferences of each network’s audience.
Paid social benchmarks: Spend, CPM & placement dynamics
Ad spend insights
- TikTok commands the highest median ad spend per account, peaking near $15K.
- Facebook shows predictable, seasonal investment patterns.
- Instagram spend is lower overall but seasonal.
- X exhibits more tactical, fluctuating spend.
CPM trends
- Instagram carries the highest CPMs, reflecting intense competition for impressions.
- Facebook CPMs are more efficient.
- TikTok delivers lower CPMs than Meta platforms.
- X maintains the lowest CPMs among measured platforms.
Meta placements
- Facebook remains Feed-heavy.
- Instagram spreads spend across Feed, Stories, and Reels — with Reels investment nearly tripling over the period.
What this means for your strategy
- Diversify placements on Instagram, especially Reels and Stories.
- Use Facebook Feed for predictable scale and cost efficiency.
- Treat TikTok as a core channel, top performers spend 2–3× more and see significantly greater reach.
Final takeaways: Competing in 2026
Success in 2026 social media requires platform-specific precision, not broad uniformity:
- Growth: TikTok leads when treated as a core channel.
- Distribution: Instagram reach is driven by shares — not passive likes.
- Investment: Meta platforms justify higher spend through predictable scale.
- Prioritization: X is best used for tactical, conversation-driven goals.
Brands that tailor their content, format, and investment strategies to each platform’s unique dynamics will outperform competitors in both organic and paid performance.
Frequently asked questions
Which social media platform has the highest engagement rate in 2025?
TikTok has the highest engagement rate of any major social platform in 2025. Median engagement rates peaked at 35.9% in Q3 2025, compared to under 10% for Instagram and 1–2% for Facebook. TikTok also generates more than twice the median interactions of Instagram and over 20 times those of Facebook.
Is Instagram engagement declining?
Yes. Instagram median engagement rates declined from approximately 17% in early 2024 to under 10% by late 2025.
How fast are brands growing followers on TikTok?
Brand follower counts on TikTok increased by more than 200% year-over-year in 2024–2025 — the highest growth rate of any major platform.
What content format performs best on Facebook?
Live video generates the highest engagement on Facebook — nearly four times more than links and six times more than images.
Which platform has the lowest CPMs for paid social advertising?
X (formerly Twitter) has the lowest CPMs of all measured platforms. TikTok delivers lower CPMs than Meta platforms. Instagram carries the highest CPMs, reflecting intense competition for impressions. Facebook offers more cost-efficient CPMs than Instagram within the Meta ecosystem.
How much should brands spend on TikTok ads?
Median ad spend per account on TikTok peaks near $15,000 per quarter — the highest of any major network.
Is X (Twitter) still worth investing in for brands?
X shows flat to slightly negative follower growth and is not a primary growth channel for most brands in 2026. However, it retains tactical value for real-time conversation in specific categories — particularly Alcohol, Automotive, and FMCG Food.