Mass media being the fourth most authoritative power in a state, it’s only natural that we conducted a thorough analysis of its social media presence.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the Media content industry on Facebook and Instagram in Q1 2023 and compare the two platforms. Just like we did before for eCommerce, Electronics, and Finance.

We’ll be using Emplifi again because it provides just the data we need. Without further ado, here are the main sections I’ll go through:

Sections

I. Total Interactions Distribution of Media Brand Pages/Profiles on Facebook & Instagram

II. Median Post Interactions for Facebook & Instagram on Media Posts

III. Relative Median Post Interactions for Facebook & Instagram on Media Posts

IV. Median Post Engagement Rate for Facebook & Instagram on Media Posts

V. Distribution of Post Types on Facebook for Media Posts

VI. Distribution of Post Types on Instagram for Media Posts

VII. Organic Performance of Post Types on Facebook for Media Posts

VIII. Organic Performance of Post Types on Instagram for Media Posts

IX. Top Performing Media Pages on Facebook

X. Top Performing Media Profiles on Instagram

XI. Relative Expenditure by Platform Position on Facebook & Instagram for Media Posts

XII. Click-Through Rate by Platform Position on Facebook & Instagram for Media Posts

XIII. Cost per Click for Media Posts on Facebook & Instagram

XIV. Click-Through Rate for Media Posts on Facebook & Instagram

XV. Expenditure for Media Posts on Facebook & Instagram

Below, I’ll emphasize the main highlights from every section (sometimes multiple highlights), so you have an easier time navigating this beast of an article.

Highlights

• Media posts on TV Channels (the most interactions) get more interactions on Instagram than on Facebook.
• Instagram has around 11-12 times more median post interactions per Media post compared to Facebook
• Facebook’s median post interactions decreased by 22% over a 1-year period
• Instagram’s median post interactions decreased by 14% over a 1-year period
• Instagram has 6-7 times more engagement per media post compared to Facebook
• Link posts are the most used in the Media industry on Facebook (more than half of all Media posts are link-type)
• Reel Posts are the most used in the Media industry on Instagram and have kept growing in usage over the year
• Image and Video posts have gone through sharp decreases on Instagram Media posts
• Live video posts get the most interactions in the Media industry (24) on Facebook out of all other post types
• Carousel posts get the most interactions in the Media industry (262) on Instagram out of all other post types
• JagBani was the most performing Media page on Facebook with over 179 million interactions
• TNT Sports Brazil was the most performing profile on Instagram with over 929 million interactions
• Most advertising expense goes to the Facebook Feed (48%) compared to the Instagram feed and other types of promotional mediums
• The Facebook Feed had the biggest CTR compared to other promotional platforms on Facebook and Instagram (2.36% CTR)
• On average, the Media cost per click is around $1.5-$1.7
• The CTR for Media posts dropped sharply from 2.2% to 1.5% from 2022 to 2023. Still, the Media CTR is higher than the worldwide average for all industries
• On average, the expenditure in the Media industry is lower than the worldwide average and sits at around $2,000

Let’s start!

Section I: Total Interactions Distribution of Media Brand Pages/Profiles on Facebook & Instagram

Let’s see how social media interactions are distributed on Facebook and Instagram depending on the type of page and profile.

Here’s the data:

Type of Brand Page/Profile	Facebook Share of Interactions	Instagram Share of Interactions
TV Channels	39.8%	46.1%
Daily News	28.8%	14.6%
Magazines & Journals	12.6%	21.5%
Sports Media	9.2%	9.5%
Radio Media	5.5%	2.9%
Media House	3.4%	4.6%
Press Agencies	0.4%	0.2%
Web Portal	0.3%	–
Others	–	0.2%

On both Facebook and Instagram, TV channels had the biggest share of interactions out of all media channels.

However, Instagram still had a bigger share of interactions for TV Channels compared to Facebook (46.1% vs. 39.8%). This must be because Instagram’s audience is generally more interactive with the content on the platform.

There are key differences between the two platforms, though. For instance:

• Daily News gets more interactions on Facebook than on Instagram
• Magazines & Journals get more interactions on Instagram than on Facebook

That’s where the largest differences end. Other categories differ too but the differences are insignificant.

Section II: Median Post Interactions for Facebook & Instagram on Media Posts

Now, we’ll see how many median post interactions Media posts get on Facebook and Instagram in a year (2022-2023).

Let’s have a look:

Period	Facebook Median Post Interactions	Instagram Median Post Interactions
February 2022	20	270
April 2022	20	225
June 2022	20	200
August 2022	17	200
October 2022	17	230
December 2022	17	240
February 2023	16	239

There’s really not much I can say about this because you can see for yourself. On average, Media posts on Instagram get at 11-12 times the number of interactions per post.

However, it seems that both platforms have lost some interactions over the year. Facebook started with 20 median post interactions in February 2022 and ended with 16 in February 2023.

Instagram started with 270 and ended with 239. So, there’s a decrease in the case of both platforms, which might showcase a growing disinterest in news posts for both audiences.

But these might also be regular fluctuations and we’ll see a return in median post interactions over time. It remains to be seen.

Section III: Relative Median Post Interactions for Facebook & Instagram on Media Posts

Next, I’ll show you the relative median post interactions, which calculates how the median post interactions have changed over time, from 100% (February 2022) to 0% (February 2023).

Let’s see the chart:

Period	Facebook Relative Median Post Interactions	Instagram Relative Median Post Interactions
February 2022	100%	100%
April 2022	83%	82%
June 2022	79%	76%
August 2022	81%	73%
October 2022	78%	83%
December 2022	78%	85%
February 2023	78%	86%

It seems that Instagram had a sharper decreased in median post interactions. However, it was also Instagram that recouped some of those losses near the end of the year.

Facebook remained stagnant during the last three months of this experiment at 79%.

All in all, Instagram’s median post interactions for Media posts dropped by 14% and Facebook’s dropped by 22%. That’s an 8% difference that can account for a lot given the right content.

For now, Instagram remains king in terms of interactions per post in the Media industry. But there are plenty of other categories to explore, so keep reading!

Section IV: Median Post Engagement Rate for Facebook & Instagram on Media Posts

What about the median post engagement rate for the Media posts on the two platforms? That’s what we’ll see below:

Period	Facebook Median Post Engagement Rate	Instagram Median Post Engagement Rate
February 2022	0.5	2.9
April 2022	0.5	2.8
June 2022	0.5	2.7
August 2022	0.5	2.8
October 2022	0.5	2.9
December 2022	0.5	3.1
February 2023	0.6	3.2

There we go again – Instagram has a lot more engagement per Media post compared to Facebook. Even though it’s more unstable, that doesn’t matter when the difference is so great.

Even at its lowest point, Instagram’s engagement rate is almost 6 times larger than Facebook’s. So, Instagram is the place to be for Media posts.

There’s no question about that.

Section V: Distribution of Post Types on Facebook for Media Posts

This is where we’ll see what Media content creators prefer in terms of post type on Facebook. Video posts, photo posts, link posts, and more.

Here’s the data I found:

Type of Post	February 2022	April 2022	June 2022	August 2022	October 2022	December 2022	February 2023
Video Posts	12%	13%	13%	13%	13%	13%	12%
Status Posts	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%
Link Posts	53%	52%	50%	51%	51%	50%	51%
Photo Posts	30%	30%	31%	31%	31%	33%	33%
Live Video Posts	2%	2%	2%	2%	2%	1%	1%

Link posts are the most popular on Facebook for the Media industry, and it’s not unexpected. Most media channels will post a link to a news article that further explains the event itself.

Media sites like CNN and The New York Times will regularly post on Facebook with links to their articles on the official news sites.

Then, there are also photo posts, which account for around 30-31% of all Media post types used on Facebook. These are also very relevant because they show what’s happening out there.

Last, we have video media post types, accounting for around 11-12% of all post types used for the Media industry.

Just like photo posts, these ones will show the core issue that’s being discussed in the news piece, and in some cases, it’s even better than a photo.

Section VI: Distribution of Post Types on Instagram for Media Posts

Now let’s see what Media news outlets or content creators are using on Instagram. Here’s the data:

Type of Post	February 2022	April 2022	June 2022	August 2022	October 2022	December 2022	February 2023
Video Posts	22%	22%	21%	11%	11%	5%	3%
Carousel Posts	20%	21%	21%	20%	20%	20%	20%
Image Posts	53%	51%	49%	46%	44%	45%	43%
Reel Posts	3%	6%	9%	15%	25%	30%	34%

Compared to Facebook, Instagram fluctuates greatly for most of its content types:

• Video Media posts have dropped in usage in the 2022-2023 period
• Reel Media posts have sharply increased in usage in the 2022-2023 period
• Image Media posts have subtly decreased in usage in the 2022-2023 period

Carousel Media posts have remained largely the same in terms of usage, which means that this content is still good for media posts over the long term.

I’ve also noticed that Reels kept on growing in usage even after February 2023, so we might see Image posts being replaced by Reels in the future.

Videos have already been replaced by Reels in the Media industry (and not only) sometime around August 2022. That was the breakpoint when Video posts dropped behind Reels in terms of usage.

Section VII: Organic Performance of Post Types on Facebook for Media Posts

In this section, I will show you the organic performance of the above-mentioned post types on Facebook. We’ll see how various Media post types perform and which is better.

Here’s the data:

Post Type	Median Post Interactions
Link Post	7 interactions
Status Post	13 interactions
Photo Post	13 interactions
Video Post	15 interactions
Live Video Post	24 interactions

Live video posts get the most interactions in the Media industry on Facebook. That’s not a surprise, actually.

Seeing an event as it is happening is much more engaging and will prompt you to react a lot more than a regular video or photo.

You get to witness first-hand what is happening on the ground, and this is obviously more engaging to viewers.

So, why aren’t media outlets posting so few live videos? Well, because it’s not feasible to run around and be present at every event that’s happening out there.

Many times, news outlets will report on events after they happen, which is where regular videos and photo posts come into play.

Section VIII: Organic Performance of Post Types on Instagram for Media Posts

Now let’s do the same for Instagram. I wonder which posts will get the most interactions. Here’s the data:

Post Type	Median Post Interactions
Video Post	150 interactions
Image Post	165 interactions
Reel Post	194 interactions
Carousel Post	262 interactions

Carousel Media posts get the most interactions, at 262, apparently. The next most popular type of content is the Reel, followed by images and then videos.

Again, we see a type of post that is underutilized but produces the most interactions, which begs the question – Why?

Well, because Carousel posts are very specific in their use. They contain at least 3 images, if I remember correctly, which isn’t useful all of the time.

Videos, Reels, and Images, on the other hand, are fit for almost any type of news reveal.

Section IX: Top Performing Media Pages on Facebook

Let’s take a look and see which Media pages are the most popular on Facebook, and why. We’ll see their number of fans, posts, and overall interactions (as of Q1 2023).

Here’s the table:

Facebook Page	Fans	Posts	Interactions
JagBani	3,262,860	23,644	179,430,142
LADbible	37,312,518	4,298	142,804,999
Just Bollywood	1,586,216	1,879	116,231,006
GOAL	19,093,390	2,416	86,196,601
Jamuna Television	4,476,812	15,735	79,068,894
UNILAD	42,149,344	4,797	78,602,929

These pages are ranked based on the number of their interactions. So, JagBani naturally comes on first with 179 million interactions.

But they also have 23,644 posts, which is an absolute TON. Compared to them, LADbible (second place) only has 4,298 posts and 142 million interactions.

This means that their posts are much more engaging since they got that many interactions on 5-6 times fewer posts.

This applies to every page on this list. Some have more posts than others and the number of interactions and followers aren’t necessarily tied to one another.

It really depends on how good the actual content posted by these pages is.

Section X: Top Performing Media Profiles on Instagram

Next, we should see which Media profiles are performing the best on Instagram. We’ll be using the same analytics metric as before.

Here’s the data:

Facebook Page	Followers	Posts	Interactions
TNT Sports Brasil	15,480,263	8,959	929,534,245
The Shade Room	28,055,818	3,241	613,251,018
Manotoo Official	11,850,504	8,834	490,982,901
Irani TV	9,719,404	6,028	456,789,030
TyC Sports	4,243,343	5,414	443,408,162
BBC News Persia	19,286,549	5,983	250,778,573

The numbers look starkly different from Facebook, already. The top-performing Media profile on Instagram is TNT Sports Brasil with over 929 million interactions.

Comparatively, JagBani had 179 million interactions as the most performant Media page on Facebook.

That’s around 5 times more interactions with a bit over 2 times fewer posts. Clearly, Instagram attracts more interactions per piece of content in the Media industry.

Even the least-performing Media profile on Instagram’s top 6 has more interactions than the most-performing page on Facebook. That should make you think twice before choosing Facebook over Instagram.

Section XI: Relative Expenditure by Platform Position on Facebook & Instagram for Media Posts

This section will deal with the relative expenses of Facebook and Instagram for Media posts based on the platform position and the amount that they spend.

Let’s see the data:

Platform	Expense
Facebook Feed	48%
Instagram Feed	16.6%
Instagram Stories	11%
Facebook Video Feeds	5%
Facebook InStream Videos	4%

Most of the ad expenditure goes to the Facebook Feed, apparently. So, most advertisers prefer being found on the Facebook feed compared to Instagram or other types of Facebook mediums.

That says a lot about Facebook’s influence over people and how advertisers make use of its reach among potential clients.

Even if you compare the two feeds, Facebook and Instagram, there’s a clear advantage to Facebook any way you look at it. Most advertisers flock to Facebook without a second thought.

Perhaps we’ll see Instagram getting a larger pie of the advertising money in the future. But will it overcome Facebook’s dominance? Quite possibly, given its sheer advantage in user engagement.

Section XII: Click-Through Rate by Platform Position on Facebook & Instagram for Media Posts

The click-through rate will show us how attractive Media posts are depending on the platform and specific promotional medium (average feed, video feed, etc.)

Let’s see:

Platform	Click-Through Rate
Facebook Feed	2.36%
Facebook Video Feed	1.03%
Instagram Feed	0.15%
Instagram Stories	0.14%
Instagram Reels	0.1%

The Facebook feed gets the largest click-through rate compared to all other platforms. In fact, there’s a massive difference between the CTR of the Facebook feed vs. the Instagram feed.

Instagram’s feed gets a CTR of 0.23% while Facebook’s feed has a CTR of 1.4%. That’s a difference of around 1480% in Facebook’s favor.

That’s nothing to scoff at, and in fact, it makes Instagram massively worse than Facebook in terms of CTR per Media post.

But that’s not the entire picture. Let’s see what else I was able to dig out!

Section XIII: Cost per Click for Media Posts on Facebook & Instagram

In this section, you will see the average cost per click for Facebook and Instagram on worldwide and media posts through the 2022-2023 period.

Cue the chart:

Period	Worldwide	Media
February 2022	$0.16	$0.06
April 2022	$0.18	$0.07
June 2022	$0.20	$0.07
August 2022	$0.17	$0.06
October 2022	$0.18	$0.07
December 2022	$0.22	$0.07
February 2023	$0.17	$0.065

As you can see, the Media industry has a relatively low cost per click for every post, compared to the worldwide average. But that’s to be expected from any single industry.

Moreover, it seems that the Media cost per click has been fluctuating alongside the worldwide average, following the same overall pattern.

There is a slight difference, though. The Media cost per click doesn’t decrease or increase as much as the worldwide average, showing more stability.

Section XIV: Click-Through Rate for Media Posts on Facebook & Instagram

This is another click-through rate statistic that looks at the worldwide average vs. the Media industry CTR over a period of 1 year. Just like above.

Let’s see what the data shows:

Period	Worldwide	Media
February 2022	1.1%	2.2%
April 2022	1%	1.7%
June 2022	1%1%	1.7%
August 2022	1%	1.6%
October 2022	0.9%	1.5%
December 2022	1%	1.75%
February 2023	1%	1.5%

This is where we see a change. The Media click-through rate is apparently especially high, compared to the worldwide average for the rest of the industries.

However, it did go through a major decrease over the 2022-2023 period. In February 2023, the CTR was 2.2% but over time, it dropped to 1.5% in February 2023.

The worldwide average, on the other hand, was more stable and suffered almost no decrease. It’s too soon to tell whether the CTR for Media posts will continue to decrease or recuperate its losses.

It remains to be seen!

Section XV: Expenditure for Media Posts on Facebook & Instagram

Last but not least, we’ll have a look at the overall expenditure for the worldwide industries and the Media industry in the 2022-2023 period.

See the table below:

Period	Worldwide	Media
February 2022	$2,350	$1,650
April 2022	$3,000	$2,200
June 2022	$3,050	$1,750
August 2022	$2,850	$1,750
October 2022	$3,100	$2,250
December 2022	$4,500	$2,500
February 2023	$3,000	$2,150

It seems that the Media industry is slightly behind the worldwide industry average in the expenditure department. But that’s to be expected.

Even though the fluctuations, the same patterns repeat on both fronts. It’s just that the worldwide average goes through higher highs and lower lows.

These are still healthy expenses, if you ask me. What’s more, they’ve been getting higher in the 1-year period we’ve analyzed above. So, this looks promising for the Media industry.

But that’s all I have for you about the Media content industry on Facebook and Instagram. Stick around for more interesting guides!

Sources

1. Emplifi – Media Worldwide