Metricool, a global social media management platform, today released its 2025 State of Short-Form Video Report, which analyzes over 5.6 million videos across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook. The study uncovers significant shifts in performance, audience behavior, and growth opportunities for creators and brands navigating the fast-changing social video landscape.
As of 2025, short-form video represents 82% of all global internet traffic and is considered the most engaging format by marketers. Short videos tracked on Metricool grew by 70% YoY, while the number of accounts using this format rose by 51%. Proving the rising competition makes it imperative for brands to publish compelling, high-quality video content that captures attention within seconds, or risk losing audiences to the next TikTok or Reel in their feed.
Key findings:
- TikTok’s paradox: While reach on TikTok fell 47% and views dropped 25%, engagement surged 36%, signaling fewer but more committed viewers.
- Instagram’s decline, except for small creators: Reels views dropped a staggering 59%, but accounts with under 1,000 followers saw engagement climb 30%, proving smaller communities can still win.
- Facebook’s unexpected comeback: Reels on Facebook jumped with 72% more posts and 55% more creators, leading to a 24% increase in views.
- YouTube Shorts overload: Despite a 61% rise in Shorts published, engagement declined 36%, with interactions nearly cut in half.
- Shrinking attention spans: Average TikTok watch time fell to just 3.75 seconds, giving creators less than four seconds to hook their audience.
- TikTok leads in growth potential: Nearly 1 in 4 TikTok accounts broke into a larger tier in 2025, far outpacing other platforms.
“Short-form video is the standard of social media. Our data shows the platforms where creators can still grow, and where the rules are changing fast," said Juan Pablo Tejela, CEO and Co-Founder of Metricool. "TikTok remains the engine of growth, but Instagram’s smaller accounts and Facebook’s resurgence are stories that brands can’t afford to ignore.”
The 2025 Short-Form Video Report provides marketers, creators, and businesses with actionable insights into how short-form video is evolving across platforms, offering guidance on where to invest for the biggest impact.
The full report is now available at https://metricool.com/social-media-short-video-report-2025/.
Methodology
The report analyzed more than 5.6 million short-form videos published across TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook Reels in 2024 and 2025. Findings are based on data from over 582,000 Metricool-connected accounts worldwide, segmented by follower size for comparative insights.
Metricool
Metricool is a global social media and online ad management platform that serves more than 2 million professionals, agencies, and brands in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Spain, France, Germany, and Latin America. They help social media managers simplify tasks, automate processes, and unify tools to plan and execute successful campaigns. Metricool is a trusted partner of global brands including Louis Vuitton, David Guetta, Adidas, H&M, Costco, etc.