Q2 2025 social media benchmarks reveal UGC surge and Reel momentum

The social media landscape continues to shift in 2025, and the latest Q2 Social Media Benchmark Report from Emplifi highlights several key trends for brands in the United States. From user-generated content (UGC) delivering higher returns to subtle shifts in platform engagement and paid media efficiency, these quarter-over-quarter changes offer valuable guidance for marketers planning their next moves.

Here’s how brand performance changed from Q1 to Q2 and what you can do about it.

UGC in the spotlight: Q2 delivers bigger wins

User-generated content continues to show its power, and in Q2 it performed even better than in Q1.

Brands using Emplifi’s UGC solution in Q2 achieved:

• Conversion rates 5.29× higher than posts not using UGC (up from 3.73× in Q1)
• Website visits 2.35× higher than posts without UGC (up from 1.05× in Q1)
• Average order values 4.3× higher than posts without UGC (up from 3.78× in Q1)

These lifts compare UGC brands to non-UGC brands within each quarter—not a “times more than last quarter” measurement.

Actionable insight: If you’re not yet integrating UGC into your content strategy, you’re leaving performance on the table. Start by identifying top-performing customer-generated assets, and test their placement in key touchpoints like product pages, ad creative, and email campaigns.

Instagram still wins, but organic engagement slipped slightly

Instagram remains the leading organic channel for brands, outperforming Facebook in audience size, activity, and engagement. Still, median interaction rates dipped in Q2:

• Instagram Carousel posts dropped from a median of 46 interactions in Q1 to 40 in Q2.
• Reels saw a similar decline, from 38 to 35.
• On Facebook, Live Videos decreased from 21 to 17 median interactions. Interestingly, Reels on Facebook rose slightly, from 4 to 6.

While declines were modest, they may hint at audience fatigue or minor algorithm changes.

Actionable insight: Refresh your creative mix on top-performing formats. For Carousels, experiment with sequencing and storytelling. For Reels, test different lengths, hooks, and captions to re-engage audiences without abandoning proven formats.

Engagement at the top: viral highs not as high in Q2

The most engaging posts in Q2 didn’t match Q1’s peaks. Facebook’s top post dropped from 1,040,287 to 783,040 interactions, and Instagram’s from 4,385,523 to 3,239,710.

This doesn’t necessarily point to declining engagement overall. Instead, it highlights that viral surges are unpredictable, and consistent performance from top brands like Netflix, DraftKings, and Prime Video remains the real driver of sustained success.

Actionable insight: Don’t chase virality at the expense of consistency. Prioritize regular posting schedules, trend-aligned creative, and strong audience alignment to ensure steady engagement—even if top-post numbers fluctuate.

Ecommerce stays strong across both quarters

If you’re in ecommerce, there’s good news: your sector is still leading in engagement. On Instagram, ecommerce brands made up 23.6% of all interactions in Q1 and 23.7% in Q2. On Facebook, the share went from 27.0% to 27.6%. These are small increases but point to sustained user interest and brand resonance in the category.

The increases are small but reinforce the ongoing strength of ecommerce in social channels.

Actionable insight: Use your category’s strong engagement baseline to push into new creative formats and campaign types. Ecommerce brands can experiment with interactive posts, shoppable video, and behind-the-scenes content to keep audiences active.

Paid media performance: Reels gain traction, Feed retains spend

Q2 paid media trends show stability with some notable shifts:

• Facebook Reels CTR: 0.56% → 0.63%
• Facebook Feed CTR: 1.34% → 1.3% (still the highest CTR placement)
• FB Feed spend lead over IG Feed: 23.99 percentage points → 22.78

While Facebook Feed still dominates in spend, Facebook Reels are becoming more efficient in delivering engagement supported by low CPMs and increasing CTR.

Meta’s Q2 2025 earnings add perspective: advertising revenue reached $46.56 billion, up 22% year-over-year. This backdrop shows advertisers are continuing to invest heavily, especially in proven placements like Feed and growing ones like Reels.

Actionable insight: Revisit your paid allocation mix. If Reels are delivering stronger efficiency, gradually reallocate a portion of Feed spend to test broader Reels campaigns, measuring both CTR and downstream conversions.

Final takeaways

While the Q1 to Q2 shifts weren’t dramatic, they underline important trends: UGC is proving its worth in hard metrics, Instagram still leads in organic despite small dips, and Reels are steadily becoming a more valuable format both for engagement and paid efficiency.

Marketers heading into Q3 should lean into authenticity, creative experimentation, and strategic budget adjustments guided by data-backed insights each quarter.

Want to benchmark your brand’s performance or identify new opportunities? Get a personalized assessment from an Emplifi expert to explore the insights that matter most to your industry.