For those who’ve spent any time on social media currently, it’s straightforward to consider that video is the be-all and end-all. Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, TikToks, LinkedIn’s video feed: it’s in all places, and it looks like each platform is constructing for it.
For those who’re trying to construct an viewers, “extra video” is commonly touted as the reply.
However is that true? It seems — as is commonly the case with social media — it relies upon. Video definitely performs greatest on some platforms, but it surely’s not fairly as cut-and-dried on others.
This information comes from our 2026 State of Social Media Engagement report, which analyzed hundreds of thousands of posts throughout all main platforms.
And, on the threat of sounding like a clickbait-y video hook (sorry) — the outcomes may shock you.
Whereas video typically will get the highlight, it’s not all the time the perfect path to engagement. Let’s study how totally different content material varieties carry out on Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, X (previously Twitter), Instagram, Fb, Pinterest, and Bluesky.
Earlier than we dig in, the standard Ts and Cs: The most effective content material for you depends upon your audience. Each viewers is totally different, so there isn’t any one-size-fits-all strategy that’s going to work for each social media account.
To pinpoint what works greatest for you, I’d encourage you to start out with a social media content material technique and, from there, experiment with various kinds of content material in your social media content material calendar.
Use the information on this article as a place to begin that can assist you work out what sort of content material is more than likely to resonate together with your followers.
Key takeaways
- LinkedIn carousels (PDF posts) earn a median engagement fee of 21.77% — 196% greater than video and 585% greater than textual content posts — the best of any format throughout all platforms on this evaluation.
- Instagram carousels drive 109% extra engagement per particular person reached than reels — however reels attain 2.25× extra folks than single-image posts, making format alternative goal-dependent.
- TikTok video earns 77% extra engagement than carousels and pictures (3.39% vs. 1.92% median engagement fee).
- Pinterest video earns 83% extra engagement than photos (5.75% vs. 3.15%), regardless of the platform’s image-first repute.
- Threads video leads engagement at 5.55% — practically double textual content posts (2.79%) — on a platform primarily related to dialog.
- Fb is probably the most format-agnostic platform on this dataset: photos, video, and textual content posts all fall inside one proportion level of one another.
- On X, textual content leads with a 3.56% median engagement fee — however photos have narrowed the hole to only 5%.
- Attain and engagement typically level in reverse instructions: the format that reaches probably the most new folks (normally video or reels) is never the format that drives the deepest engagement from current followers (normally carousels).
On to the information. Listed here are the perfect varieties of social media content material for every platform in 2026.
Finest content material format by platform — at a look
| Platform | Finest format for engagement | Engagement fee | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carousels (PDF posts) | 21.77% | Video: 7.35% | |
| Video | 5.75% | Pictures: 3.15% | |
| Threads | Video | 5.55% | Pictures: 4.55% |
| Carousels | 6.9%* | Single photos: 4.4%* | |
| Fb | Pictures | 5.20% | Video: 4.84% |
| TikTok | Video | 3.39% | Carousels/pictures: 1.92% |
| X | Textual content | 3.56% | Pictures: 3.40% |
| Bluesky | Video | 5 interactions† | Pictures: 4 interactions† |
*Instagram engagement fee measured as a proportion of attain. Word: Reels outperform all codecs for attain — 2.25× greater than single-image posts.
†Bluesky makes use of median whole interactions relatively than engagement fee; information is early-stage.
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The most effective content material format on TikTok
On TikTok, video earns a median engagement fee of three.39% — 77% greater than carousels and photograph posts — making it the clear top-performing format on the platform.
To say that video reigns supreme on TikTok feels a bit like stating the plain. The short-form video-sharing platform is, in spite of everything, simply that.
Regardless of TikTok introducing carousels (multi-photo posts) in recent times, movies are nonetheless the TikTok algorithm’s bread and butter. What’s fascinating is how a lot of a spot stays between the 2 codecs.
On this evaluation, we measured success by median engagement fee. We discovered that movies pulled nicely forward of carousels and photograph posts.
This is a better take a look at the numbers:
- 🏅 Movies claimed the highest spot, incomes a median engagement fee of three.39% — 77% greater than carousels and photograph posts at 1.92%.
- 🥈 Carousels and pictures positioned second, however with a big hole behind video.
For those who’re aiming for engagement on TikTok, video is not only a good guess — it is a considerably higher one.
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Utilizing the median (center worth) relatively than the common helps give a extra sensible image of how content material performs for many creators and types, with out excessive outliers distorting the numbers.
The most effective content material format on Instagram
It typically looks like Instagram has gone all-in on video, with Instagram Reels getting their very own discovery feed and even a devoted video modifying app. However our newest information says one thing totally different: carousels lead the platform with a 6.9% median engagement fee — greater than reels, single photos, and tales.
Nonetheless, efficiency appears fully totally different while you take a look at attain, relatively than engagement fee.
This is the engagement image first. We checked out median engagement fee as a proportion of attain — in different phrases, how most of the individuals who noticed your put up really interacted with it.
- 🏅 Carousels led the way in which, with a median engagement fee of 6.9% — the best of any format on the platform.
- 🥈 Tales got here in second at 5.1%, although the pattern dimension right here is small (n=520), so deal with that one with warning.
- 🥉 Single photos adopted in third at 4.4%.
- 4️⃣ Reels landed final, with a median engagement fee of three.3%.
However wait! cue video rewind sound impact This evaluation isn’t the entire story.
Right here, we measured engagement fee. However reels are sometimes optimized for views relatively than these sorts of interactions, so a decrease engagement fee does not essentially imply reels aren’t working. It might simply imply individuals are consuming them in another way.
Additionally, the format breakdown above does not seize the total image, as a result of attain and engagement level in several instructions on Instagram.
A separate evaluation of 4M+ posts printed by way of Buffer between January 2022 and October 2024 confirmed us that:
Reels are inclined to get probably the most attain
- Reels vs carousels: 1.36× the attain (+36%)
- Reels vs single-image posts: 2.25x the attain (+125%)
Instagram has a devoted reels discovery tab, so reels have a built-in benefit for reaching individuals who do not already comply with you — codecs that reside solely within the common feed do not get that very same enhance.
Carousels preserve folks on the put up longer, which means extra probabilities to save lots of, share, and remark, and probably a number of probabilities to reappear in-feed.
It is a bit like Instagram is 2 totally different platforms in a single, relying on the place you put up your content material. And which ‘platform’ you select depends upon the objective of your content material.
Fascinating, proper? So whereas reels are nice for discoverability (and getting extra followers on Instagram), in case your objective is deeper engagement out of your current viewers, carousels may deserve more room in your content material plan.
The “greatest format on Instagram” has no single reply — it actually depends upon your objectives.
The quick model: use Instagram Reels while you need to attain individuals who do not comply with you but, and carousels while you need to deepen engagement with the viewers you have already got.
The most effective content material format on Fb
On previous trustworthy Fb, photos nonetheless lead at 5.2% — however the actual story is how shut the race has develop into. Pictures, movies, and textual content posts are all clustered inside one proportion level of one another.
This is a take a look at the numbers:
- 🏅 Pictures took first place for engagement fee on Fb at 5.2%, edging out the opposite codecs.
- 🥈 Movies adopted intently in second at 4.84% — solely 7% behind photos.
- 🥉 Textual content posts have been shut behind at 4.76%, simply 9% under photos.
- 4️⃣ Posts with hyperlinks got here in final at 4.43%, drawing the bottom engagement of all content material varieties on the platform.
The actually notable factor right here is not who received, however relatively, it is how shut the race has develop into.
The clearest sign on this information is definitely on the backside: hyperlinks proceed to underperform every little thing else, which inserts with the broader pattern towards zero-click content material. Platforms and their customers more and more choose to remain put.
The most effective content material format on Threads
Threads stunned me in our final evaluation — and it is achieved it once more, simply in a unique route. This time, video has taken the highest spot with a 5.55% median engagement fee, up from second place in our earlier information.
The numbers:
- 🏅 Movies claimed first place for engagement fee on Threads at 5.55% — 22% forward of photos and practically double textual content posts.
- 🥈 Pictures adopted in second at 4.55%, nonetheless nicely forward of the text-based codecs.
- 🥉 Textual content posts landed in third at 2.79%, with 19% extra engagement than hyperlink posts.
- 4️⃣ Posts with hyperlinks got here in final at 2.34%.
What I discover most fascinating right here is the continued hole between visuals (video and pictures) and textual content or hyperlinks. For a platform that is constructed round dialog, visuals appear to cease the scroll extra successfully. Value noting for those who’re trying to develop on Threads!
That mentioned, Threads continues to be a younger platform, and its algorithms are actively evolving — so preserve a detailed eye by yourself analytics right here, and watch the Buffer weblog for updates.
The most effective content material format on LinkedIn
For those who’ve learn any of our earlier information research, this one will not shock you: LinkedIn carousels are nonetheless on high. Carousels earned a median engagement fee of 21.77%, 196% greater than video and 585% greater than textual content posts.
The numbers:
- 🏅 Carousels (doc posts) earned a median engagement fee of 21.77% — 196% greater than movies, 234% greater than photos, and 585% greater than text-only posts.
- 🥈 Movies got here in second at 7.35%, with 13% extra engagement than photos.
- 🥉 Pictures adopted in third at 6.52%.
- 4️⃣ Hyperlinks landed in fourth at 3.81%, drawing extra engagement than text-only posts.
- 5️⃣ Textual content posts got here in final at 3.18%.
These carousel numbers are powerful to disregard. A 21.77% median engagement fee is outstanding for any platform, not to mention one as crowded as LinkedIn has develop into.
That mentioned, the recommendation I gave final time nonetheless stands — LinkedIn is evolving quick, and video is clearly the format the platform is pushing. In an episode of our podcast, Buffer Chat, LinkedIn’s Head of Premium Content material & Neighborhood Technique, Callie Schweitzer, advisable that creators lean into video.
“Video, Video, Video, Video,” she mentioned, after I requested for her progress recommendation. When you’ve got the time and power to do each, carousels for engagement and video for attain is a strong mixture.
The most effective content material format on X
Textual content nonetheless sees probably the most median engagement on X (previously Twitter).
Even with the social community’s much-talked-about want to develop into “the every little thing app,” X stays true to its microblogging roots.
This is a better look:
- 🏅 Textual content posts noticed a median engagement fee of three.56% — 5% forward of photos, 20% forward of movies, and 58% forward of hyperlink posts.
- 🥈 Pictures adopted intently in second at 3.40% — the hole between first and second is now razor-thin.
- 🥉 Movies landed in third at 2.96%, with 32% extra engagement than hyperlink posts.
- 4️⃣ Posts with hyperlinks got here in final at 2.25%.
X is essentially a text-first platform — scorching takes, real-time reactions, and punchy one-liners are what it was constructed for. However photos have crept as much as nearly match textual content in engagement fee, which is a shift value watching.
Quick video clips may also offer you an edge over static posts you probably have them.
The most effective content material format on Pinterest
I will admit — I wasn’t anticipating this one. Pinterest is principally synonymous with stunning nonetheless photos, so video main on engagement feels counterintuitive. However the numbers are fairly clear.
The numbers:
- 🏅 Movies earned a median engagement fee of 5.75% — 83% greater than photos.
- 🥈 Pictures adopted in second at 3.15%.
Pinterest has been investing closely in video, and the information suggests these efforts are paying off in engagement. For those who’re utilizing Pinterest primarily as a visible catalogue — which, actually, is how most individuals nonetheless use it — it may be value testing just a few video pins to see if the engagement bump holds to your viewers.
The most effective content material format on Bluesky
Bluesky is the newcomer on this record, and we’re working with earlier-stage information — so deal with this as a primary look relatively than a last verdict. That mentioned, the early sign is evident: video leads with a median of 5 interactions, 25% greater than photos.
The numbers:
- 🏅 Movies earned a median of 5 whole interactions — 25% greater than photos.
- 🥈 Pictures adopted with a median of 4 interactions.
- 🥉 Hyperlinks and textual content posts tied in final, each incomes a median of three interactions.
A number of caveats value holding in thoughts: Bluesky’s person base continues to be comparatively small in comparison with the opposite platforms on this evaluation, and video content material on the platform is way much less widespread than photos (253K video posts vs. over 2 million picture posts in our dataset).
We’ll be watching this one intently because the platform matures.
So, which content material format is the perfect?
As I touched on above, that actually depends upon you and your viewers.
What works for many creators or manufacturers won’t be the candy spot for you, and it’s all the time, all the time value experimenting with different content material varieties to see what works.
Maybe much more importantly: What’s the content material format you’re going to have the ability to create most constantly?
In different research, we’ve discovered that content material efficiency on all platforms is strongly linked to consistency. (Actually, it would yield as a lot as 5x extra likes, feedback, and shares throughout the board.)
So for those who’re going to have the ability to present up extra constantly with text-based posts, nice — follow these.
Again to video: whereas it performs nicely throughout practically each platform — and is commonly actually nice for attain — it’s not universally the best engagement format. On some platforms, like LinkedIn and Fb, carousels and pictures steal the present. On X, textual content nonetheless guidelines.
My (most likely oversimplified) abstract of all these numbers: video is implausible for attain and discoverability, serving to you entice new followers and audiences.
Different codecs (carousels, photos, textual content) might be higher for engagement, deepening connections together with your current viewers.
Finally, the perfect content material format is the one you possibly can produce constantly — and the one which resonates with your audience.
