Worldwide Social Media Benchmarks: Auto Q2 2026

User-generated content: what’s achievable

Brands using Emplifi’s UGC solution this quarter saw:

• 19.88x increase in conversion rate
• 5.06x increase in website visits
• 1.08x increase in average order value

These figures represent the median uplift seen across Emplifi’s Brands UGC Accounts Benchmark for Q2 2026.

Organic performance: Facebook and Instagram

Interaction share by industry

On Facebook, Ecommerce accounts for 27.5% of total brand interactions — the highest share of any category, with Auto ranking 7th at 3.9%. On Instagram, Ecommerce leads with 37.4% of interactions, with Auto again ranking 7th at 4.8%.

Facebook interaction distribution (Q2 2026):

Instagram interaction distribution (Q2 2026):

Platform landscape at a glance

In Worldwide, Auto’s Instagram brand profiles carry a lower median follower count than Facebook pages carry in fans. Activity volume — how often brands post — is almost identical across both platforms, while user engagement runs meaningfully higher on Instagram.

Activity volume on both platforms is roughly comparable, while user engagement on Instagram outpaces Facebook.

Median post interactions

Median post interactions track the middle-ranked page or profile by monthly interactions — a measure of typical performance rather than outlier peaks.

Instagram median post interactions trended down over the past year, from around 61 in May 2025 to the mid-40s by Q2 2026, while Facebook held in a narrower band throughout — briefly touching the mid-20s around the turn of the year before settling back near 18 by June 2026.

Relative median post interactions

Relative median interactions index each platform’s performance against its own peak over the reporting period, making it easier to compare directional trends across platforms regardless of absolute scale.

By Q2 2026, Instagram’s relative median interactions had drifted down to roughly two-thirds of its peak, its lowest point in the period, while Facebook — after climbing to its own peak around January 2026 — had eased back to a broadly similar relative level, leaving both platforms in comparable indexed territory by quarter’s end.

Median post impressions

Impressions measure how many times posts were displayed, regardless of interaction. This metric is available for both platforms and reflects reach rather than engagement.

Instagram impressions climbed sharply through mid-2025, peaking around 5,100 in September before falling back to roughly 1,900 by Q2 2026. Facebook impressions stayed comparatively flat in the 4,000–4,800 range for most of the year before declining to around 2,600 by June 2026.

Engagement rate trends

Median post engagement rates this quarter:

• Instagram: ~3.6%
• Facebook: ~1.4%

Instagram engagement has held in a fairly narrow 3.2%–3.8% band over the past year with no clear directional trend, while Facebook engagement has crept gradually upward, ending Q2 2026 near its highest point of the period.

Best-performing post types

Facebook: Live Video and standard Video continue to outperform other formats organically. In Q2 2026, Live Video generated a median of 35 post interactions, while Reel — the second-best performer — reached 16.

Instagram: Carousel and Reel posts lead organic performance. Carousels generated a median of 58 post interactions this quarter; Reels reached 49.

Full organic post type performance (Q2 2026):

Post type distribution trends:

On Facebook, Photo remains the dominant post format at around 62% of posts, though Reels have gained significant share over the year — climbing from near zero in early 2025 to approximately 32% by Q2 2026. On Instagram, Reels, Carousels, and Images each account for a substantial share of posts published, with Reels slightly ahead at around 38% and Carousels and Reels together driving the majority of top-performing content.

Top performing pages and profiles

Facebook — top pages by total interactions (Q2 2026):

Instagram — top profiles by total interactions (Q2 2026):

Top posts this quarter

The highest-performing individual posts by interactions across Worldwide brands in Q2 2026:

Facebook:

Instagram:

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Paid performance: Facebook and Instagram ads

Where brands are spending

The majority of paid spend for Worldwide Auto brands goes to FB feed, followed by FB facebook reels and IG instagram reels. Spending on FB feed is 20.15 percentage points higher than on FB facebook reels.

CPC and CPM by placement

The most cost-efficient placements for Worldwide Auto brands this quarter:

• Lowest CPC: FB feed, FB facebook reels, and IG feed
• Lowest CPM: FB facebook reels, FB feed, and IG instagram reels

CPC and CPM by placement (Q2 2026):

Click-through rate by placement

Within the Worldwide Auto brands benchmark, FB feed leads on CTR at 1.58%, compared to FB facebook reels at 1.02%.

CTR by placement (Q2 2026):

Cost trends over time

Q2 2026 ad cost benchmarks for Worldwide:

Auto’s CPC ran consistently above the worldwide cross-industry average over the past year, spiking to around $0.43 in January 2026 before dropping sharply and recovering to roughly $0.29 by Q2 2026, while the worldwide figure stayed in a tighter $0.17–$0.23 band throughout. CPM followed a similar pattern — Auto peaked near $3.40 in November 2025 versus a worldwide peak closer to $2.30 — with both lines dipping in January 2026 before climbing back into Q2. CTR for Auto was more volatile than the worldwide line for most of the year but converged with it by June 2026, with both landing just above 1.0%.

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