Welcome to the latest edition of Social Commotion, Motion’s roundup of social media updates and news. Check out our top social media updates from February 2026.
2026 Social Media Benchmarks: Insights for Your Brand’s Success
Emplifi analyzed 200,000-plus branded social profiles to identify performance benchmarks across major platforms. And the results confirm what we’re already seeing across paid and organic campaigns: short-form video, interactive formats and platform-native content are driving growth and engagement. You can read the full report here, or skim the main takeaways below.
TikTok
Brands saw a 200% YoY median increase in follower count, making TikTok the clear growth leader.
In Q4 2025, brands achieved a 27.6% median engagement rate. TikTok generated twice the median interactions of Instagram and 20 times more median interactions than Facebook.
Reels and carousel posts produced 44% higher median engagement than image-based posts, while overall follower growth remained steady.
Facebook Live posts delivered a median of 37.5 interactions per post—four times more engagement than link posts and six times more than image-based posts. Follower growth was largely flat.
Brands experienced double-digit median follower gains, particularly aligned with professional content and employer branding strategies.
X
Brand profiles saw flat to slightly negative median follower growth. GIFs and text-only posts performed best, while link posts significantly underperformed as the platform continues to limit the reach of external links.
TikTok’s New “Local Feed” Could Be a Big Win for Local Businesses
TikTok has announced a new feature called the Local Feed that is designed to help users “discover and connect with content, businesses and services wherever you are.”
Unlike the global For You page, the Local Feed prioritizes posts based on location, topic and timeliness. That means nearby restaurants, shops, events, and services can now be discovered more easily by people in their own community.
For local businesses and creators, this presents a major opportunity to boost visibility and connect with audiences right in their backyard.
How to Optimize for the Local Feed:
- Enable precise location. Check your device’s settings.
- Use geotags. Add your specific city or location when posting.
- Add hyperlocal hashtags, such as #ChicagoFoodie or #ThingsToDoInCincinnati.
- Include local keywords in captions, like “Try Cincinnati’s best matcha latte.”
If you’ve been on the fence about creating a TikTok account for your local business, now may be the perfect time to jump in.
Meta Is Working on a Dedicated AI Chatbot for Group Chats
Meta is reportedly developing a new AI chatbot called “Kai” designed specifically for group chats. Spotted by researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, the bot would operate in a private sidebar within group conversations, helping users catch up on missed messages, find mentions, recall meetup details, generate images and even compose responses. Kai would analyze group chat content but is expected to keep that data separate from users’ broader AI interactions within Meta’s apps, potentially addressing privacy concerns.
The feature is part of Meta’s broader effort to embed AI across its platforms, from in-stream prompts to image generation tools and other AI-driven features. While the company is investing heavily in AI infrastructure with long-term ambitions such as advanced AI development, it’s also looking for practical ways to integrate these tools into everyday user experiences and maximize return on that investment.
Still, the usefulness of AI in social and messaging apps remains debatable. Although features like message summaries and keyword searches could be genuinely helpful in busy group chats, more creative tools—like generating images or crafting polished replies—may feel less aligned with platforms traditionally centered on authentic personal connection. Kai is currently in internal development, with no official release timeline announced.
