Emplifi report shows why TikTok is the King of the jungle

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Engagement performance across platforms

Between Q1 2024 and Q4 2025, TikTok consistently recorded the highest median engagement rates worldwide:

• 32% in Q1 2024

• 30.2% in Q3 2024
  

• 35.9% in Q3 2025 (peak)
  

• 27.6% in Q4 2025

Although engagement declined slightly in late 2025, TikTok maintained a clear lead over other platforms.

By comparison:

• Instagram declined from 16.9% median engagement in Q1 2024 to 9.7% in Q4 2025.

• Facebook remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 1.4% and 2.4% across quarters.

Engagement at scale

The data indicates that TikTok maintains engagement more effectively as audience size increases.

At the large-brand level:

• TikTok generates more than twice the median interactions of Instagram.

• TikTok generates more than 20 times the median interactions of Facebook.

This contrasts with typical engagement patterns observed on other platforms, where interaction rates tend to decline as follower counts grow.

However, different platforms still shine in respective industries. TikTok favours transformation- and personality-led content that thrives on discovery and creator storytelling; X excels with timely, conversation-driven industries; Facebook engages audiences through utility- and service-focused content; while Instagram performs best for visually rich, lifestyle-oriented storytelling.

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Instagram users are also changing how they interact with branded content. In 2025, while likes and comments remained flat, shares per reach surged by more than 150%, becoming the fastest-growing engagement action.

At the same time, organic reach declined across Carousels, Images, and Reels, dropping 30–40%, which makes shares an increasingly important signal for broader distribution. For brands in 2026, creating content people genuinely want to share will be key to success on the platform

Follower growth trends

Year-over-year follower growth data shows TikTok as the fastest-growing platform, with median brand follower counts increasing by more than 200%.

Other platforms show more moderate trends:

• Instagram reports steady mid-single-digit median follower growth.

• Facebook remains largely flat in follower expansion.
  

• LinkedIn records double-digit median follower growth, aligned with professional and employer branding use cases.
  

• YouTube shows moderate, consistent growth supporting long-form audience development.
  

• X shows flat to slightly negative median follower growth.

Discovery patterns on TikTok

Traffic source data shows increasing concentration around TikTok’s “For You” feed.

By the end of 2025:

• Over 70% of video traffic originated from the “For You” feed.

• Traffic from follower feeds, profiles, and search declined steadily across the period.

This reflects the platform’s algorithm-driven discovery model, where distribution is primarily driven by content performance rather than follower networks.

Paid investment trends

TikTok records the highest median ad spend per account among major platforms, reaching approximately $14.9K in Q4 2025.

Top-performing TikTok ad accounts:

• Spend two to three times more per month than average advertisers.

• Generate significantly higher median impressions, often exceeding broader market averages by three times or more.

TikTok CPMs generally range between $0.90 and $1.30, lower than Meta platforms during the same period.