Should you’ve spent any time on social media these days, it’s simple to consider that video is the be-all and end-all. Instagram Reels, TikToks, LinkedIn’s new video feed: it’s all over the place, and it appears like each platform is constructing for it.
Should you’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 finest on some platforms, whereas it’s not fairly as cut-and-dried on others.
We dug into Buffer’s latest knowledge, analyzing tens of millions of social posts from a number of platforms to seek out out. And, on the threat of sounding like a clickbait-y video hook (sorry) — the outcomes would possibly shock you.
Whereas video usually will get the highlight, it’s not all the time the most effective path to engagement. Let’s look at how totally different content material sorts carry out on Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, X (previously Twitter), Instagram, and Fb.
Earlier than we dig in, the standard Ts and Cs: The very best content material for you is dependent 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 finest for you, I’d encourage you to begin 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 springboard that will help you work out what sort of content material is most definitely to resonate along with your followers.
💡 One other fast notice: In our numerous analyses, we used totally different metrics to measure content material success for every platform. These networks are utilized in vastly alternative ways, so what makes for a “profitable” submit on one doesn’t essentially imply success on the opposite.
For instance, on TikTok, we thought views had been the most effective measure of efficiency, whereas on conversation-focused Threads, we opted for engagement. Since we’re not evaluating apples and apples right here, take all of it with a pinch of salt (and a wholesome dose of widespread sense).
Received all that? On to the information. Listed here are the most effective varieties of social media content material for every platform in 2025
The very best content material format on TikTok
Let’s begin with what is maybe the least stunning discovering in our evaluation: on TikTok, video actually does reign supreme. The short-form video-sharing platform is, in spite of everything, simply that.
Regardless of TikTok introducing carousels (successfully picture posts) and even text-only posts in latest months, movies are nonetheless the TikTok algorithm’s bread and butter. What is fascinating is how shut the race has change into.
TikTok might have began as an unique video platform, however carousels and textual content posts are proving surprisingly aggressive. The hole in efficiency there actually isn’t that huge, particularly when you think about the numbers on a number of the different social media platforms, beneath.
On this evaluation, we measured success by median* video views. We discovered that movies tended to get probably the most views, adopted by carousels, then text-only posts.
Even so, should you’re aiming to achieve as many individuals as doable on TikTok, video continues to be your finest wager.
Right here’s a more in-depth take a look at the numbers:
- 🏅 Movies claimed the highest spot, incomes 18% extra views than textual content posts and seven% greater than photographs or carousels.
- 🥈 Footage and carousels held their very own, with 10.5% extra views than textual content posts.
- 🥉 Textual content posts got here in final, attracting the fewest views total.
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Utilizing the median (center worth) somewhat than the common helps give a extra life like image of how video content material performs for many creators and types, with out excessive outliers distorting the numbers.
The very best content material format on Instagram
It usually appears like Instagram has gone all-in on video, with Instagram Reels getting their very own discovery feed, and even an unique video enhancing app.
At face worth, this appears to be the case — in relation to median attain per submit on Instagram, video does come out tops.
Attain on Instagram measures, because the platform defines it, the “whole variety of instances the account’s media objects have been uniquely considered.” In layman’s phrases, the overall variety of distinctive customers who’ve seen your submit or video.
Right here’s a take a look at the rankings:
- 🏅 Reels led the way in which on Instagram, pulling in 39% extra attain than carousels and an enormous 122% greater than single-image posts.
- 🥈 Carousels carried out strongly, incomes 60% extra attain than photos.
- 🥉 Single photos landed in final place for attain on the platform.
Carousels weren’t too far off from reels, and streaks forward of single-image posts. However our knowledge exhibits issues are somewhat extra nuanced than that.
Instagram was initially a photo-sharing app, so whereas some people are excited in regards to the shift to video, not all Instagram veterans are followers of reels. (A fast peek at Instagram head Adam Mosseri’s feedback part is sufficient to inform you it’s a little bit of a contentious situation.)
This — together with the truth that Instagram has a number of feeds and algorithms, whereas most platforms could have one — is why we determined to dig somewhat deeper in one other research.
We additionally checked out median engagement per submit. Engagement is the “variety of likes, saves, feedback, and shares on the submit, minus the variety of unlikes, unsaves, and deleted feedback.” In a nutshell, that’s what number of interactions you get in your posts, together with likes, feedback, and shares.
On this evaluation, it was carousels, somewhat than reels, that got here out on high.
Right here’s a more in-depth look:
- 🏅 Carousels claimed the highest spot for engagement on Instagram, incomes 12% extra engagement than reels and 114% greater than single-image posts.
- 🥈 Reels carried out strongly as properly, producing about 91% extra engagement than single-image posts.
- 🥉 Single-image posts got here in final for engagement on the platform.
Fascinating, proper? So whereas reels are nice for discoverability, in case your aim is deeper engagement out of your present viewers, carousels would possibly deserve extra space in your content material plan.
The very best content material format on Fb
On outdated devoted Fb, issues look just like Instagram.
Right here, we seemed to median engagement, a robust sign to Fb’s algorithm, as a measure of success. Regardless of Fb’s push into video (and even reels), photographs stay the engagement winner.
Right here’s a take a look at the numbers:
- 🏅 Footage took first place for engagement on Fb, incomes 35% extra engagement than textual content posts and almost 44% greater than movies.
- 🥈 Textual content posts adopted in second, with 6.7% extra engagement than movies.
- 🥉 Movies landed in third place, although they nonetheless noticed 58% extra engagement than posts with hyperlinks.
- 4️⃣ Posts with hyperlinks got here in final, drawing the bottom engagement of all content material sorts on the platform.
So on the Fb information feed, photographs nonetheless reign supreme. Whereas I’m undoubtedly not saying you ought to be posting 345 photos to an album after your newest creator occasion, à la 2017, it’s undoubtedly value prioritizing photos in your Fb advertising technique.
On the alternative finish of the spectrum, posts that comprise hyperlinks obtained the least engagement, which is smart. We’re more and more seeing platforms’ (and social media customers’) desire for high-quality zero-click content material.
The platforms need to maintain their customers inside their app or on their web site, and customers are much less inclined to click on on a hyperlink and eat their content material elsewhere.
On the subject of video, this comparatively low rank may relate to how Fb’s feed prioritizes easy-to-consume visuals like photos and carousels, particularly for informal looking. One other principle I’ve right here is that the Fb Reel feed, the place most video lives, will not be significantly remark and reaction-friendly. It’s finest suited to passive viewing.
Nonetheless, reels are seeing rising traction on the platform, and it’s clear Meta is working exhausting to enhance that have, so it’s value experimenting with quite a lot of codecs relying in your targets.
The very best content material format on Threads
Threads is… properly, in all probability the one which stunned me probably the most on this record, to be sincere.
It’s primarily a text-based platform, a sister to Instagram the place phrases somewhat than visuals are the order of the day.
However regardless of that, our evaluation confirmed that posts with photos carried out finest when it got here to median engagement per submit. (We opted for median engagement as our measure of success right here, since dialog and group are the first focus of the app.)
The numbers:
- 🏅 Footage claimed first place for engagement on Threads, incomes 0.6% extra engagement than movies, 37% greater than posts with hyperlinks, and 60% greater than textual content posts.
- 🥈 Movies adopted intently in second, with 36% extra engagement than posts with hyperlinks and 59% greater than textual content posts.
- 🥉 Posts with hyperlinks landed in third place, drawing 17% extra engagement than text-only posts.
- 4️⃣ Textual content posts got here in final, seeing the bottom median engagement on Threads.
The actually stunning merchandise on this record was that text-based posts ranked lowest on engagement.
Pictures narrowly outperform movies on Threads, however each codecs far exceed textual content or hyperlinks for engagement. So, even in a conversation-centric house like Threads, visuals — together with brief movies — show you how to stand out within the feed.
All that stated, don’t take this early knowledge as gospel. Threads continues to be refining its algorithms, and I strongly suspect it’s going to make some shifts that prioritize text-based posts, lest Threads merely change into a poor man’s Instagram. Keep watch over the Buffer weblog for extra on this.
The very best content material format on LinkedIn
My private favourite private brand-building platform, LinkedIn, has exploded with creators in recent times — a lot of them constructing a following by serving to others construct their private manufacturers on the platform.
As such, the previous skilled networking platform has embraced video. LinkedIn now boasts a devoted video feed, making it simpler than ever to share video content material.
Within the wake of those enjoyable new feeds and options, creators — together with me — noticed wild ranges of virality in 2024. There wasn’t numerous video on LinkedIn on the time, so it made sense that what the platform did have was surfaced rather a lot.
Now, as extra customers have adopted the format and LinkedIn has refined its algorithms with the inflow, issues have settled down.
Video nonetheless performs properly, however carousels (PDF paperwork) carry out finest in relation to median engagement.
The numbers:
- 🏅 Carousels (doc posts) earned 278% extra engagement than movies, 303% greater than photos, and an enormous 596% greater than text-only posts.
- 🥈 Movies got here in second, with 7% extra engagement than photos and 84% greater than textual content posts.
- 🥉 Footage adopted in third, producing about 72% extra engagement than text-only posts.
- 4️⃣ Textual content posts landed in final place, with the bottom engagement throughout content material sorts on LinkedIn.
All that stated, that is one other platform the place issues are evolving quick, and I encourage you to maintain a detailed eye in your analytics should you’re severe about rising on LinkedIn.
In an episode of our podcast, Buffer Chat, LinkedIn’s Head of Scaled Packages, Callie Schweitzer, strongly beneficial creators discover video in 2025.
“Video, Video, Video, Video,” she stated, after I requested her to share her recommendation for creators trying to develop their followings in 2025.
Once I requested to present us a touch about what options creators can look out for in 2025, all she would say was, “Keep watch over video.”
The very best 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 change into “the every little thing app,” they will’t escape their microblogging roots.
On the subject of median engagement, text-only posts beat out movies, photos, and hyperlinks, and even photos, based on our 2025 knowledge.
Right here’s a more in-depth look:
- 🏅 Textual content posts noticed 30% extra engagement than movies, 37% greater than photos, 53% greater than hyperlink posts, and 113% greater than retweets.
- 🥈 Movies adopted in second, with 5.4% extra engagement than photos, 18% greater than hyperlink posts, and 64% greater than retweets.
- 🥉 Footage landed in third place, getting 12% extra engagement than hyperlink posts and 56% greater than retweets.
- 4️⃣ Posts with hyperlinks got here in fourth, drawing 39% extra engagement than retweets, however lower than different codecs.
- 5️⃣ Retweets (together with quote tweets) noticed the bottom engagement of all submit sorts on X.
So, whereas there’s a place for video on X, it’s essentially a text-first platform. Sizzling takes, real-time information, and punchy one-liners thrive there. That stated, video can nonetheless outperform photos, so including brief video clips would possibly provide you with an edge.
So, which content material format is the most effective?
As I touched on above, that actually is dependent upon you and your viewers.
What works for many creators or manufacturers may not be the candy spot for you, and it’s all the time, all the time value experimenting with different content material sorts to see what works.
Maybe much more importantly: What’s the content material format you’re going to have the ability to create most persistently?
In different research, we’ve discovered that content material efficiency on all platforms is strongly linked to consistency. (In reality, it’d yield as a lot as 5X extra likes, feedback, and shares throughout the board.)
So should you’re going to have the ability to present up extra persistently with text-based posts, nice — keep on with these.
Again to video: whereas it performs properly throughout almost 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 photographs steal the present. On X, textual content nonetheless guidelines.
My (in all probability oversimplified) abstract of all these numbers: video is implausible for attain and discoverability, serving to you appeal to new followers and audiences.
Different codecs (carousels, photos, textual content) might be higher for engagement, deepening connections along with your present viewers.
Finally, the most effective content material format is the one you possibly can produce persistently — and the one which resonates with your distinctive audience.
