Socialinsider (2026) — Social media content trends across 16 industries

Summary:

The study is based on platform data, not a survey. Socialinsider analyzed 23M Facebook posts and 33M Instagram posts from brands in 16 industries that were active on both platforms between January and December 2025.

Posts were grouped into content pillars, and engagement rates were compared by quarter, industry and platform. The number of brands, how they were selected, the engagement formula and how posts were tagged into pillars are not disclosed. The figures are measured engagement, not self-reported results.

Key findings:
• Engagement fell in most industries during 2025 — the drop started in Q2 for some (alcohol, health & fitness), in Q3 for others (fashion) and in Q4 for others (FMCG food). Airlines were the exception, with engagement rising from Q2.
• Even top pillars lost ground — in alcohol on Facebook, Events & Partnerships fell from 0.29% to 0.17%; in retail, UGC dropped from 0.16% to 0.09% in Q4.
• Collaboration posts took some of the biggest hits — from 0.18% to 0.11% on Facebook in FMCG beverages, and from 0.67% to 0.57% on Instagram in health & fitness.
• Behind-the-scenes led for airlines on both platforms, averaging 0.23% engagement rate on Facebook.
• Practical content led in tech — New Launches averaged 0.14% on Facebook and Tech Tips & Tutorials 0.40% on Instagram.
• Family & Group Travel declined all year on both platforms, and Travel Tips & Guides fell from 0.17% to 0.11% on Facebook.

Margin notes:
This is a vendor report from a company that sells social analytics, so it has a clear interest in showing that content tracking pays off. The post sample is very large, but without the brand count, selection rules or pillar-tagging method, the findings are hard to audit. Engagement is a measured outcome, but the report shows which themes coincided with higher engagement, not that the themes caused it.

The executive summary and the body chapters disagree in four places, so what a card says depends on which half it was taken from.

• Travel on Facebook. The summary makes Travel Tips & Guides the headline decline, 0.17% to 0.11% starting Q2. The travel chapter says that pillar, together with destination spotlights, saw the gentlest drop of all categories.
• Retail on Instagram. The summary says UGC and Brand Story fell over Q1, rose over Q2 and fell again over Q3. The retail chapter says engagement was strongest at the start of the year, dipped in Q2 especially for brand narrative posts, and recovered somewhat by Q3 — the reverse on all three quarters.
• Healthcare on Facebook. The summary puts the Company News & Updates drop, 0.19% to 0.17%, over Q2. The healthcare chapter puts the most notable decrease over Q3.
• Fashion on Facebook. The summary says engagement dropped over Q3 across all content pillars. The fashion chapter says vintage and retro content had a small lift in Q3 and that Q4, not Q3, was the year's low point; the industry's own chart shows the same shape.