Social media formats change faster than most teams can keep up with. What worked last year — or even last quarter — doesn’t always deliver the same engagement or ROI today. With platforms constantly updating their algorithms and features, choosing the right formats is no longer just a creative decision; it’s a strategic one.
The challenge isn’t whether brands should invest in social media. It’s deciding which types of content for social media drive engagement, and how to prioritize them across platforms without spreading teams too thin. Between short-form video, carousels, live streams, text posts, and emerging interactive formats, marketers are navigating more options than ever,
This guide breaks down the most effective social media formats in 2026, backed by and real-world examples.
Table of Contents
- Most engaging social media content formats of 2026
- Most Engaging Social Media Content Types in 2026
- Choosing the right social media format for each platform
- Frequently Asked Questions About Social Media Formats
- Want more social media insights?
Most engaging social media content formats of 2026
Before diving into specific examples, it’s important to clarify what a social media format is. A content format refers to how content is delivered, rather than the message or goal behind it.
Understanding which social media formats perform best helps marketers choose the right delivery method for their content and optimize it for each platform. Teams managing multiple platforms can use to centralize publishing, monitoring, and performance tracking across social channels.
Here are the most engaging social media content formats.
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1. Short-Form Video
Short-form videos are fun to watch, (too) easy to binge, and relatively fast for businesses to create. Short-form video is video content roughly under 90 seconds that delivers quick, engaging messages optimized for mobile viewing on social platforms. These quick, stimulating videos are the most engaging social media content there is.
According to the , short-form videos are more important than ever for businesses:
- 21% of social media marketers said that short-form video content has the highest ROI.
- Short-form video content is the #1 priority among social media marketers.
- 17% said that they plan to increase their investment in short-form video.
Short-form videos can be published on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and X (previously Twitter).
The TikTok video below is a great example from Brooki Bakehouse, offering a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to run a bakery. This content format is highly relatable and markets the business without the video content feeling like marketing. It’s also a low-budget way to create short-form videos.
Great for: Brand awareness, lead generation, and showcasing customer success.
What I like: I like short-form video for its ability to communicate value quickly without asking much from the audience upfront. It works especially well on platforms where speed and immediate relevance determine whether content earns attention or gets skipped.
HubSpot Pro Tip: Teams using can track how video formats contribute to downstream engagement and conversions across platforms.
2. Long-Form Video
Video content is now so diverse that it’s been split into several different social media content categories. Despite having a lower ROI than short-form videos, long-form video content remains relevant and in demand on social media. A few quick differences from short-form video content:
- Longer = more costly to produce.
- Consumers expect higher production quality.
- Content needs to be highly engaging, as the average viewer lacks the attention span to finish long-form content.
Below is a long-form video example from the coffee accessory company AeroPress. This company knows that its target audience is interested in the lifestyle that accompanies its product, and they create videos that cater to that lifestyle:
Great for: Relationship building, customer retention, and customer education.
What I like: I only watch longer video content when I’m emotionally invested in a brand’s voice, mission, or product. Short-form videos are great top-of-funnel content, while long-form content nurtures existing leads.
Curious how often to share content on social media? Check out this publishing experiment.
3. Live Video
Live video has the third-highest ROI of all social media content types, but is one of the least-used content types according to surveyed marketers. This digital marketing medium packs a punch, and brands that ignore it are missing out on an incredible opportunity to connect.
Live video gained popularity during the pandemic, allowing remote participation in events. Twitch and other popular live-streaming platforms let people interact with their favorite creators in real time.
Marketers can choose a virtual-only live video or live stream an in-person event to offer physical audience members and virtual viewers the same real-time experience. Here’s an example of a live-streamed event from Sephora:
Great for: Customer engagement, solution education, and building trust/credibility.
What I like: I like seeing brands use live video because it can’t be faked: There’s no AI or repurposed content. It feels like a genuine investment in engaging with viewers.
4. Images
When asked about the type of content that they use most, marketers reported that images were used almost as frequently as short-form video. Images are convenient because they can be shared on all social media channels. The image umbrella primarily includes photography, not designed graphics (that’s the next point).
Some easy image post ideas include:
- Product announcements.
- Before and after photos.
- Product photography.
- Behind-the-scenes.
- Office life.
Here’s an example of a simple image post from The Woobles showcasing new products:
Great for: Product awareness, storytelling, and staying top of mind.
What I like: I like images for anchoring a brand visually and reinforcing familiarity over time. They’re easy to recognize at a glance and work well for maintaining a consistent presence across multiple platforms without heavy production.
5. Infographics/Carousels
A carousel post is a multi-slide social media format that lets users swipe through multiple images or graphics in a single post. Infographics are a content type with the shareability and visual appeal of photos, but are filled with helpful data and information. It’s an impactful form of social media content and educational content. Infographics are effective, too: 51% of marketers who regularly use them say they yield high ROI.
Carousels are even more valuable in 2026 than raw infographics. This is reflected in both user behavior and algorithmic preference. If an Instagram follower views the first slide of a carousel without engaging, the platform may resurface the post later by showing a different slide to recapture attention.
Carousels have become extremely popular on certain social media platforms (like Instagram, LinkedIn, and even TikTok). Both infographics and carousels serve the same purpose: to educate and share industry news. Here’s an example from apparel brand Gnara that educates viewers on the history of women’s pants:
Great for: Industry authority, shareability, and customer education.
What I like: I like infographics and carousels because they break information into manageable, scrollable pieces. As a reader, they make it easier to follow along and actually retain the takeaway when structure and clarity matter.
HubSpot Pro Tip:Tools like can help teams quickly draft captions and hooks that match each format’s pacing and platform norms.
6. Text Posts
Text-based content on social media is shared every day, from X “threads” to Meta’s Threads app to thought leadership posts on LinkedIn. The primary goal is to share insight through words. Marketers can pair it with an eye-catching image, but the focal point is the writing itself.
Blogs are popular text-based content where people read longer posts and discover helpful information. But a common mistake is sharing blog links directly on social media. Social platform algorithms don’t favor linking out – they want viewers to stay!
Marketers reported that their blog or website is the #2 area seeing an increased investment this year, and sharing snippets as text-only posts on social media is a great way to repurpose. Break a blog post down into snackable takeaways that are more suitable for social users’ habits.
Here’s an example of a highly engaging text post from copywriter Jasmin Ali? on LinkedIn:
Great for: Engagement, problem awareness, and product awareness.
What I like: I like text posts for articulating ideas clearly when visuals aren’t necessary to carry the message. They work well for commentary and thought leadership that benefit from precise language rather than heavy production.
7. User-Generated Content (UGC)
is content your audience creates that features your business/brand, which is not paid for by your business. For example, someone shares a non-sponsored Instagram Reel about how much they like your product or posts a picture wearing your clothing and tags your business.
And for many marketers, it’s their third-highest focus area, behind short-form video and images. UGC pays off, as customers trust reviews from friends and family more than they trust branded ads. And say UGC has a greater influence on their purchases than search results or promotional emails.
This type of content is powerful because it helps your audiences see that people use and like a product, vouching for a brand in a real-life way. It naturally funnels in new social media followers.
Here’s an example of user-generated content posted by featuring the Stasher Bag. Stasher Bag commented on this post, which is a free way to boost user-generated content in the algorithm and get more exposure.
Great for: Lead generation, brand awareness, and conversions.
What I like: I already own several Stasher Bag products, and seeing people using their product reminds me of its value. UGC brings in new leads while reinforcing the buying decision of past customers
HubSpot Pro Tip: For paid social strategies, support ad management, audience targeting, and conversion tracking across major social platforms.
8. Audio Chat and Live Rooms
Audio content is particularly trendy among Gen Z, the biggest social media demographic. A found that Gen Z enjoys audio content because it creates a feeling of genuine connection (more so than other online content).
Many new social media platforms have native audio features, like X Spaces, LinkedIn Live, and Facebook Live Audio. Audio chat rooms enable brands to communicate directly with their audiences and foster closer relationships, unlike traditional methods such as seeing a billboard or watching a YouTube video. And, during a time when customers value connections with brands more than ever, audio chat rooms are a valuable tool.
Having multiple social media accounts and sharing different types of content can help brands create a wide funnel. Here’s an example from a chat hosted by The SAS Collective on X:
Great for: Conversions, industry authority, and community building.
What I like: I like audio chats because they create a conversational, low-pressure way to engage. As a listener or participant, it feels easier to join the discussion and stay present when the focus is on real-time exchange rather than polished production.
9. Forums and Private Groups
There’s more to a social media strategy than just gaining followers and making sales. Some brands are facilitating a genuine community around their product. One of the most effective ways to do this is through forums and private groups.
When asked about the biggest benefits of building social media communities, increased brand sentiment/loyalty as the top benefit.
Here’s an example from the pressure cooker company Instant Pot?. This group keeps its audience engaged by creating a place to share recipes, troubleshoot together, and celebrate wins:
Great for: Ongoing audience engagement, community building, peer-to-peer support, and long-term brand loyalty.
What I like: As a participant, private groups feel more approachable and genuine, which makes it easier to engage and stay involved over time.
HubSpot Pro Tip: help teams prioritize the most important social interactions and respond faster to high-intent conversations.
Most Engaging Social Media Content Types in 2026
While social media formats describe how content is delivered, content types define why it’s being shared. Social media content types define the purpose of a post — educational, promotional, or community-building — while formats describe how content is delivered, such as video, image, or text. Content types reflect what a post is designed to do, regardless of whether it’s shared as a video, image, carousel, or text post.
Understanding these content types helps marketers build more intentional social strategies by aligning each post with a clear goal rather than relying solely on format.
1. Content That Represents Brand Values
Almost half of marketers say content that reflects brand values is part of their existing social media strategy. This type of content highlights what your company stands for, such as commitments to sustainable production practices, fair treatment of employees, social justice, and more.
Consumers about what the brands they buy from stand for and the values they have. They want to know the causes businesses support and the commitments they make to better the world.
If you need an example of , look no further than Patagonia. It’s not just about loyalty: Marketers also say that it has the 3rd highest ROI of any trend. Marketers also report that creating content that reflects brand values is a top priority.
Great for: Building trust and credibility.
2. Shoppable Content
Shoppable social media content lets consumers browse products on your accounts, discover items they like, and even make purchases without leaving the app.
The image below is an Instagram shop for Ink Meets Paper, where people can browse its products, find what interests them, and make a purchase. This is a valuable content type as social shopping is currently on the rise, and consumers are discovering new products and buying products on social media apps more than ever before.
In fact, social media is the most popular way for Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X to discover new products — over one in five have made an in-app purchase in the past three months. No wonder 87% of marketers said they would increase their investment in social selling enablement tools.
Great for: Conversions and product awareness.
3. Ephemeral/Disappearing Content
Ephemeral/disappearing content is content that only lasts for a limited time, like Instagram Stories that disappear after 24 hours. Leveraging people’s FOMO (fear of missing out) is one of the oldest tricks in the social media marketing playbook. The feeling is amplified even more on social media.
Users only have a limited time to engage with disappearing content, so they might be more eager to keep track of your profiles and return to experience it.
Creating quizzes and polls in your Stories is a great way to leverage this format. People only have a limited time to respond, which generates excitement and immediate action and inspires respondents to come back and see results.
See the Instagram story example below from Harvard Business Review, or browse more ideas from LEGO, NASA, Outback Steakhouse, and more.
Great for: Customer engagement, lead nurturing, and education.
4. Educational Content
Educational content shares helpful information with audiences, helping them reach their goals and meet their needs. Any of the content types discussed can deliver educational content: infographics, videos, text-based posts, images, etc.
Educational content is perfect for all social media channels. HubSpot often shares educational content through YouTube videos, where viewers can learn more about concepts of interest, like this example below:
Great for: Problem awareness, brand awareness, and industry authority.
5. Funny, Trendy, and Relatable Content
Social media marketers know the value of a viral post too well. Creating buzzy content requires a high level of awareness of what’s happening online, cultural moments, and current events.
In 2024, funny content was the for brands we surveyed (24%), with relatable content in second (18%) and interactive content in a distant third (12%). In 2025, brands are investing more in relatable and authentic content, while maintaining investments in funny content and interactive content.
Our very own social media team is savvy at this kind of content, like this funny and relatable X post:
Great for: Audience engagement and staying top of mind.
6. Community Content
Community content brings people together around a brand by creating spaces for conversation and shared experiences. Instead of focusing solely on reach, this type of content prioritizes interaction, participation, and long-term engagement.
Community content typically lives in private groups and social communities on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, and Discord. These spaces give audiences a place to ask questions, share advice, and connect with others who use or care about the same products or topics.
Here’s an example from Facebook group where members share recipes, troubleshoot together, and celebrate successes:
Great for: Brand loyalty, customer retention, audience engagement, and referrals.
HubSpot Pro Tip: To streamline content creation, can be used to draft captions and variations tailored to different social platforms.
Psssst… check out these social media marketing resources.
Choosing the right social media format for each platform
Different platforms reward different behaviors, technical specs, and levels of production, which means not every format works equally well everywhere. Tools like help marketers manage multi-platform strategies by centralizing publishing, performance tracking, and content scheduling across different formats and channels. The right social media format depends on both the platform and the brand behind the content.
Backed by expert insight from , Founder of , the tips below outline how marketers can decide which formats to prioritize based on platform dynamics, audience expectations, and measurable business outcomes.
1. Prioritize short-form video on platforms that reward speed and retention.
Short-form video is effective for awareness, consideration, and conversion. They perform best on platforms where feeds are optimized for fast consumption and continuous scrolling.
Use short-form video when the goal is to stop the scroll and deliver value quickly without requiring long-form commitment.
Technical requirements to consider:
- Vertical video (9:16)
- Under 60 seconds
- Captions or on-screen text for sound-off viewing
- Strong hook in the first 3 seconds
Tools to support this format: Short-form video editing tools, native in-app editors, and AI-assisted social post generators that help script and caption videos quickly.
What the expert says: “The highest level of engagement and conversion through social media content is through short-form video, less than 1-minute long. Today's consumers require quick and easy value without requiring long content to read,” Heimlich says. “Through video, we are seeing an average increase in our conversion rates of 40-50% over static content because video is able to grab our audience's attention prior to scrolling past.”
2. Create native, non-promotional content for AI-driven feeds.
Treat social platforms as destinations, not traffic funnels — value-first content earns distribution.
Educational posts, commentary, and save-worthy content tend to perform better than posts that rely on external links. This approach is especially important on platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and X, where outbound links can reduce reach.
Technical requirements to consider:
- Native post formats (no primary external links)
- Clear, scannable text or visuals
- Save- and share-friendly structure
- Platform-specific formatting
Tools to support this format: Social scheduling tools, AI content generators for captions and post copy, and analytics tools that track saves and shares, not just clicks.
What the expert says: “ Algorithms tend to penalize any content that drives users off the platform,” warns Heimlich. “If there is an external link on the post, it will be hidden unless the engagement is extremely high immediately after posting. Content that is native to the platform – like, does not drive users off the platform –generally gets more exposure.”
3. Replace polished brand ads with behind-the-scenes and real customer stories.
Authenticity outperforms polish — show real people, real processes, and real outcomes. Highly produced, ad-like content is increasingly ignored on social media.
brands should focus on behind-the-scenes content, real people, and authentic customer experiences that feel native to the platform. This approach works well across nearly every major platform, particularly where audiences value transparency and relatability.
Technical requirements to consider:
- Minimal editing and branding
- Natural lighting and casual production
- Real customer images, videos, or testimonials
- Clear visual storytelling
Tools to support this format: User-generated content collection tools, simple video capture tools, and to surface and engage with community-created content.
What the expert says: Heimlich says, “Brands should discontinue production of heavily produced, highly polished content that resembles traditional advertising. Generally speaking, users ignore this type of content because it is perceived as an inauthentic sales copy rather than useful information.”
4. Use tutorials, comparisons, and before-and-after content to drive conversions.
Conversion-focused content should anticipate objections and show outcomes, not just features. When the goal is measurable business results, brands should focus on content that clearly demonstrates transformation or problem-solving.
Tutorials, before-and-after examples, and product comparisons help answer buyer questions and reduce friction during the decision-making process. This type of content performs especially well on platforms where users research and save content, such as YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Technical requirements to consider:
- Clear problem/solution framing
- Visual proof of results
- Structured walkthroughs
- Save-friendly formatting
Tools to support this format: Video hosting platforms, screen recording tools, and analytics tools that track conversions and assisted conversions. analytics dashboard enables marketers to track how different content formats contribute to conversions across the customer journey.
What the expert says: “Content that shows obvious before and after results, or how your product solves a problem that your target audience faces every day, generates measurable business results,” Heimlich says. “And content that compares your product to competing products and solutions that addresses the most common objections your target audience encounters will generate greater conversion rates as it answers the questions your potential buyer asks themselves during the decision-making process.”
It’s a new era for social media. Let this tutorial help you create a plan that will help you reach potential customers and turn them into fans:
Frequently Asked Questions About Social Media Formats
What is a content format on social media?
A content format on social media refers to how content is delivered on a platform, such as video, images, text, audio, or live experiences. Formats define the technical structure of a post — including layout, length, and interactivity — rather than the message or goal behind it. Selecting the right format helps ensure content aligns with platform algorithms and audience behavior.
What are the formats for social media?
Social media platforms support a wide range of content formats, each designed to serve different engagement goals. Common formats include short-form and long-form video, images and carousels, text-based posts, live video and audio rooms, ephemeral content like Stories, shoppable posts, and community-driven formats such as forums and private groups. Most brands use a mix of these formats, adapting them based on platform features, audience expectations, and campaign objectives.
What is the most popular social media format?
Short-form video is the most popular and highest-performing social media format today. shows that short-form video delivers the highest ROI for social media marketers and remains the top investment priority across platforms. Its effectiveness is driven by algorithmic preference for video and audience demand for fast, engaging, and easy-to-consume content.
What is the 5-3-2 rule for social media?
The 5-3-2 rule is a content distribution strategy that helps brands balance value and promotion. Under this framework, five posts share valuable or educational content from other sources, three posts share original, non-promotional brand content, and two posts directly promote products or services. This approach helps maintain audience trust while still supporting marketing and revenue goals.
Want more social media insights?
Have these social media content ideas inspired you to get creating? As a longtime marketer, I’ve seen the impact of a strong social media presence. I’ve also seen how much investment it takes to see results.
Creating endless social media posts is demanding. Social media users want to be entertained, educated, and informed. It’s a heavy lift for marketers, but the opportunity makes it worthwhile.
Learn more about the state of social media with more of this data, videos, and exclusive industry tips on our Social Media Trends report.
Repurposing content is still a valuable strategy.
Repurposing content is important to maximizing ROI and ensuring your content reaches your audience. The key to success, however, is repurposing content, not simply resharing it.
Viewers don’t appreciate seeing a brand share the exact same thing on each platform. Breeze’s AI social post generator is especially useful for adapting the same message across formats without starting from scratch.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
HubSpot's Social Media Management Software
Time-saving tools to help you prioritize your social interactions — so you can connect with the people who matter most.
- Manage campaigns.
- Monitor mentions.
- Attribute value.
- And more!
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