Australia and New Zealand Social Media Benchmarks: Auto Q2 2026

What’s in this report

In Q2 2026, Auto brands in Australia and New Zealand saw Instagram median post engagement rates of around 3.7%, well ahead of Facebook at roughly 1.5%. Ecommerce brands led total interaction share on both platforms overall, while within the Auto category, Facebook Link and Photo posts and Instagram Reels were the top-performing organic post types.

This quarterly benchmarks report pulls from Emplifi’s dataset of 168 Facebook pages and 99 Instagram profiles across Australia and New Zealand, covering April 1, 2026 through June 30, 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 62.4% of total brand interactions — the highest share of any category. On Instagram, Ecommerce leads with 61.8% of interactions. Auto itself ranks 6th on Facebook with a 2.4% share and holds 0.7% of interactions on Instagram, in Australia and New Zealand.

Facebook interaction distribution (Q2 2026):

Instagram interaction distribution (Q2 2026):

Platform landscape at a glance

In Australia and New Zealand, Instagram brand profiles carry a lower median follower count than Facebook pages for Auto. The figures below reflect median values across all profiles in the sample at the end of Q2 2026.

Note: The underlying chart for this dataset (a bubble/circle comparison) carries no printed numeric labels, so the cells above reflect the deck’s qualitative callouts rather than exact figures.

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 declined from around 52 in May 2025 to roughly 35 by June 2026, dipping as low as 33 in mid-2026 before recovering slightly. Facebook held in the low-to-mid 20s for most of the period before slipping to about 19 by the end of Q2 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, Facebook’s relative median interactions had fallen to around 70% after peaking near 100% around January-February 2026. Instagram peaked at 100% in May 2025 and drifted down to roughly 66% by period end — its lowest point in the series.

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 to a peak of around 5,100 in August 2025 before declining steadily to approximately 1,850 by Q2 2026. Facebook impressions stayed in a tighter 4,000–4,800 band through most of the period before falling to roughly 2,500 in the final months.

Engagement rate trends

Median post engagement rates this quarter:

• Instagram: ~3.7%
• Facebook: ~1.5%

Instagram engagement held broadly steady in the 3.0–3.7% range throughout the period, ending near its starting level. Facebook engagement rose gradually from under 1% in mid-2025 to around 1.5% by Q2 2026.

Best-performing post types

Facebook: Link and Photo posts continue to outperform other formats organically for Auto in this region. In Q2 2026, Link posts generated a median of 27 post interactions, while Photo posts reached 17.

Instagram: Reel and Carousel posts lead organic performance. Reels generated a median of 76 post interactions this quarter; Carousels reached 39.

Full organic post type performance (Q2 2026):

Post type distribution trends:

On Facebook, Photo remains the dominant post format at around 60% of posts, though Reels are gaining share steadily — rising from near zero earlier in the year to approximately 30% by Q2 2026. On Instagram, Reels, Images, and Carousels each account for roughly a third of posts published, with Reels and Carousels 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 Australia and New Zealand brands in Q2 2026:

Facebook:

Instagram:

How does your brand compare?

These benchmarks reflect median performance across thousands of brands in Emplifi’s dataset. Get a free personalized assessment to see exactly where your brand stands today.

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Paid performance: Facebook and Instagram ads

Where brands are spending

The majority of paid spend for Australia and New Zealand 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 Australia and New Zealand 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 Australia and New Zealand 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 Australia and New Zealand:

Auto-specific CPC climbed from around $0.30 in May 2025 to a peak near $0.44 in December 2025, dropped sharply to about $0.23 in January 2026, then recovered to roughly $0.31 by Q2 2026. The broader Australia and New Zealand CPC followed a similar shape but at a consistently higher level, ending the period at around $0.45. CPM for Auto rose from about $2.50 to a peak of $3.45 in December 2025 before ending near $2.80, while the region-wide CPM climbed further, peaking around $4.50 in January 2026 and ending Q2 2026 at approximately $4.55 — its highest point in the series. CTR for Auto held in a fairly tight 0.7–1.15% band and ended around 1.07%, while the region-wide CTR trended upward overall to close at roughly 1.19%.