Buzzmonitor analyzed 9.2 billion posts on Instagram, X, YouTube, and Facebook since 2020 to understand how brand post formats on social media have evolved over this period. The data collected complies with each platform’s data gathering rules and privacy restrictions.
According to the study, video posts published by product and service brands have increased over the past three years, and this year videos lead as the most used post format, accounting for 38.4%. Image posts remain consistent with 2023, making up just over a third of all posts. The least used format was text, showing a 50% decrease compared to 2023, dropping from 53.6% to 26.8%.
The study also reveals that Instagram is the most used platform by brands, a position it has held since last year when it surpassed X in terms of post volume. 69.5% of the collected posts came from Instagram, well ahead of X with 23.3%. Facebook and YouTube have declined in their share of brand buzz, representing just 0.1% and 1.4%, respectively.
It is noteworthy that Instagram, at least in brand usage, has shifted from a photo-focused platform to a video-first one. Videos now represent 46.8% of brand posts, while images account for 44%. Of these videos, 99.7% are Reels. Stories are also relevant, totaling 2.28 million posts.
On X, text has lost ground. Although it remains the dominant format at 76.9%, it has ceded space to video posts (9.6%) and especially to image posts (13.5%). Facebook maintained its 2023 proportions: the platform continues to be a space for sharing images (57.1%), links (31.1%), and videos (11.8%). On YouTube, another format drew attention: text posts increased their share over videos, rising from 23.8% to 39%.
Across all platforms, purely textual posts typically represent conversations between customers and brands and are often found in comments or other forms of interaction.
Another interesting insight relates to the posts that generated the most engagement. For this, Buzzmonitor analyzed the top 100 best-performing posts of 2024 and compared the results to 2023. Videos stood out, accounting for 61% of the top-performing posts in 2024, a 10 percentage point increase from 2023.
Reels also saw an increase, representing 24%, which is 8 percentage points higher than the previous year. Despite its lower overall share of total posts, Facebook proved its capacity to generate results, contributing to 72% of the top 100 most engaging posts—an increase of 10 percentage points compared to 2023.
Annual platform presence evolution (%)
A decrease in X’s share is observed, and despite all the data collection restrictions imposed by Meta, Instagram’s share increased. Facebook continues to reduce its presence in data collection and maintains the lowest volume among platforms.
Evolution of post formats by year (%)
Videos have become the primary format for brand posts, and this year their share is three times higher than last year. Image formats remain stable, while text continues to decline.
