The news: Social media is no longer moving as a single ecosystem. Performance gaps between networks widened through 2025, forcing sharper channel choices, per Emplifi’s 2026 Social Media Benchmark Report. 

• TikTok remains dominant. Median brand followers rose more than 200% YoY and engagement rates peaked near 35.9% before ending 2025 at 27.6%, still far ahead of competitors. 
• Instagram is still critical but more challenging. Median engagement fell from 16.9% in early 2024 to 9.7% by the end 2025. 
• Facebook engagement stayed stable. Its median engagement rates varied between 1.4% and 2.4%, reinforcing its role as a predictable reach channel rather than an interaction driver. 
• X showed flat to negative audience change. Its strategic value narrowed to conversations and real-time updates.

Zooming in: Large brand accounts on TikTok generated more than twice the interactions on Instagram and over 20 times that of Facebook, showing how discovery algorithms amplify content beyond follower bases, per Emplifi. 

Content performance is diverging by platform behavior with consumer engagement gravitating more toward dynamic content and less on static text and images.

• Facebook Live video delivered roughly four times the engagement of links and six times images. 
• On Instagram, carousels and Reels generated about 44% more interactions than images did. 
• On X, even lightweight formats like animated GIFs outperformed text-based formats. 
• TikTok’s algorithm-driven For You feed accounted for more than 70% of video views by late 2025, while traffic from follower pages and search declined, reducing the advantage of large audiences. 

Implications for brands: The attention economy divide is now strategic. Each network behaves like a different media channel with its own economics, creative rules, and growth ceiling. Brands are challenged to diversify their campaigns’ media mix. 

• Treat TikTok as the growth engine. Reach comes from boosting time spent and user interactions through meaningful, targeted campaigns.
• Use Instagram for sharing. As reach declines and shares rise, focus on dynamic content people repost to their feeds, not just skim.
• Engage in Facebook for scale and conversion. Stable user reach and lower costs make it effective for testing, retargeting, and sustaining broader awareness.

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