Australia and New Zealand Social Media Benchmarks: FMCG Food Q2 2026

What’s in this report

In Q2 2026, FMCG Food brands in Australia and New Zealand saw Instagram median post engagement rates of around 3.75%, well ahead of Facebook at roughly 1.05%. Ecommerce brands led total interaction share on both platforms overall, while within the FMCG Food category, Facebook Live Video and Instagram Reels and Carousels were the top-performing organic post types.

This quarterly benchmarks report pulls from Emplifi’s dataset of 262 Facebook pages and 134 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. FMCG Food itself ranks 5th on Facebook with a 3.2% share and holds 0.9% 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 FMCG Food. The figures below reflect median values across all profiles in the sample at the end of Q2 2026.

Note: the underlying chart for this slide (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 23 in May 2025 to roughly 18 by June 2026, dipping as low as 16 in the spring before a slight late recovery. Facebook held in the 6–9 range for most of the period before slipping to about 5 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 55% — its lowest point in the series — after peaking near 100% around July 2025. Instagram peaked at 100% in August-September 2025 and drifted down to roughly 77% by period 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 from around 1,050 in May 2025 to a peak of roughly 3,400 in October 2025, then declined steadily to approximately 1,450 by Q2 2026. Facebook impressions started higher, near 3,600, and trended downward more gradually across the period, ending around 1,600.

Engagement rate trends

Median post engagement rates this quarter:

• Instagram: ~3.75%
• Facebook: ~1.05%

Instagram engagement held broadly steady in the 3.3–4.0% range throughout the period, ending close to its starting level. Facebook engagement rose gradually from around 0.55% in mid-2025 to about 1.05% by Q2 2026 — its highest point in the series.

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 1,282 post interactions, while standard Video reached 8.

Instagram: Carousel and Reel posts lead organic performance. Carousels generated a median of 19 post interactions this quarter; Reels reached 20.

Full organic post type performance (Q2 2026):

Post type distribution trends:

On Facebook, Photo remains the dominant post format at around 48% of posts, though Reels are gaining share steadily — rising from near zero earlier in the year to approximately 41% 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 FMCG Food brands goes to FB feed, followed by IG feed and IG instagram reels. Spending on FB feed is 23.56 percentage points higher than on IG feed.

CPC and CPM by placement

The most cost-efficient placements for Australia and New Zealand FMCG Food brands this quarter:

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

CPC and CPM by placement (Q2 2026):

Click-through rate by placement

Within the Australia and New Zealand FMCG Food brands benchmark, FB feed leads on CTR at 0.32%, compared to FB facebook reels at 0.15%.

CTR by placement (Q2 2026):

Cost trends over time

Q2 2026 ad cost benchmarks for Australia and New Zealand:

FMCG Food-specific CPC held in a fairly tight $0.23–0.39 band throughout the period, ending around $0.34 in Q2 2026. The broader Australia and New Zealand CPC ran consistently higher, climbing from about $0.36 to a peak near $0.53 in November 2025 before settling at roughly $0.45. CPM for FMCG Food stayed remarkably flat all year, in the $0.85–$1.10 range, while the region-wide CPM trended upward overall, rising from about $3.10 to end at approximately $4.55 — its highest point in the series. CTR for FMCG Food held steady in a narrow 0.20–0.28% band and ended around 0.25%, while the region-wide CTR climbed from roughly 1.02% (with a dip to about 0.80% mid-period) to close at approximately 1.18%.