Social Media Trends 2026

Curious what works (and what doesn’t) on social media? We analyzed formats, hashtag usage, post timing, and more.

Featuring exclusive insights from Angela Losik, Head of Content at Innovise.

What You’ll Find In This Report

We compiled this report by analyzing anonymized post data from Social Champ’s internal platform. Our team analyzed more than 100,000 posts published across 12 major social networks.

Instead of looking at individual accounts, we focused on the bigger picture: platform-wide performance patterns.

Key Attributes Evaluated

  • Post formats (video, image, carousel)
  • Engagement (hashtags, emojis, links)
  • Publishing (manual vs. scheduled)
  • Timing (hourly distribution)

The Top Social Media Trends in 2026

Post Publishing Volume by Platform

  • 📘 Facebook 82.79%
  • 📸 Instagram 4.70%
  • 💼 LinkedIn 4.06%
  • 🐦 X (Twitter) 3.81%

Video Content Share

Instagram leads the way in video-based platforms.

  • 📸 Instagram 51.1%
  • 🎵 TikTok 30.3%
  • ▶️ YouTube 18.6%

Content Feature Usage

Emojis are the most used feature appearing in 64% of posts.

  • 😂 64% Emoji Usage
  • #️⃣ 20% Hashtags
  • 🔗 15% Links
  • @> 1% Mentions

Golden Hour

The absolute best time to post across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and X for maximum engagement.

The Data is Just the Beginning

Don’t stop scrolling here… the juiciest, platform-specific insights are waiting for you in the full report.

If You Post On Social Media, This Report Is for You

Social Media Managers

Who rely heavily on data-backed posting strategies.

Marketing Teams

Wanting to align campaigns with platform-wide trends.

Content Creators

Looking for formats that propel engagement.

Small Business Owners

Wanting practical guidance without trial-and-error.

Meet the Platform Behind the Data

Social Champ is your all-in-one platform for all things social media management. We assist businesses, social media managers, agencies, and creators in simplifying social media management across 11+ platforms.

We analyzed over 100,000 anonymized posts to bring you this report. Real data from real users.