Any marketer knows that social media is essential in any effective digital marketing strategy. But what exactly should you be looking at to help evaluate and enhance your social media performance? Social media stats can help you to answer that question.
Here are some key social media stats that every marketer should know about for each social media platform…
LinkedIn social media stats
1. Over half of UK-based LinkedIn users are between 25 and 34 years old (58.1%)
Proving that the platform is highly popular with those in the earlier years of their careers. So if you post regular content on LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to note the popular trends among this demographic.
2. LinkedIn saw 15.4 billion sessions in Q2 of 2022
While LinkedIn is traditionally known as a job platform, the huge amount of sessions lens itself to the fact that LinkedIn is just as much of a community platform for professionals looking to interact and share valuable information.
3. Employees are responsible for 30% of the engagement on their company’s LinkedIn page
It seems obvious that employees want to maximise their company’s reach by sharing and interacting with its content on LinkedIn. However, it’s important to bear this stat in mind when reviewing the metrics of your LinkedIn marketing campaigns.
4. 80% of users on LinkedIn “drive business decisions”
With so many people on LinkedIn having a key say in their company’s decision-making, it makes a lot of sense to leverage the platform for lead generation. You can find out how to do just that with conversational marketing techniques here.
5. There are around 58 million business pages on LinkedIn
If you find it challenging to find the right businesses to reach out to as part of your lead generation strategy, LinkedIn is the answer. With 58 million businesses, LinkedIn has businesses in just about every sector you can think of.
6. 40% of B2B marketers agree LinkedIn is the most effective platform for building high-quality leads
Not only does LinkedIn have a wide variety of businesses on its platform, but it also offers incredible lead generation tools such as Sales Navigator, which allow you to find the people in your target market based on filters such as sector, title, and seniority.
7. 93% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn for organic social marketing
People on LinkedIn want to see industry insights that are relevant to them. It’s no wonder then that almost all B2B content marketers make the most out of LinkedIn. Top tip: for more impactful organic content on LinkedIn, make sure you put time into growing your network with decision-makers from your target market.
8. 3 out of 4 B2B content marketers create paid-for LinkedIn ads
LinkedIn might not be the first platform that jumps to mind when thinking about social media advertising. But with LinkedIn Ads, you can target people based on factors such as their job title, company size, and location. And with 75% of B2B content marketers using the platform for paid social marketing, it’s definitely worth considering for your next social media campaign.
9. 70% of professionals agree that LinkedIn is a trustworthy source of content
If you’re looking to position your company as a thought leader in your industry, LinkedIn is the social media platform for you. With such a high percentage of professionals agreeing that LinkedIn is a trustworthy source of content, it’s the perfect place to share your company’s latest white paper or blog post.
10. Only 1% of LinkedIn users post content on the platform
Despite the fact that LinkedIn is a great platform for sharing content, very few users actually take advantage of this feature. So if you do post content on LinkedIn, you’re likely to stand out from the crowd. However, if you want to give your content a good chance of doing well, it still needs to be high quality and consistent – aim for at least two posts a week!
Facebook social media stats
11. Facebook’s biggest demographic is 25-34-year-olds (25.4%)
Similarly to LinkedIn, 25-34-year-olds make up the biggest demographic on Facebook, with 35-44-year-olds coming in second, accounting for 19.1% of the platform’s users. However, the growth in new users overall is small, an issue you should be aware of if focusing your marketing efforts on Facebook.
12. Facebook is the biggest social media platform with 2,910,000,000 monthly active users
Despite low growth, Facebook continues to dominate the world of social media platforms, showing that Facebook is still a viable option for marketers who want to reach large audiences.
13. In the US, the average time users spend on Facebook each day is 33 minutes
Many of us are guilty of spending too much time on social media, but for marketers, platforms like Facebook, where users spend a significant amount of time, equates to a great opportunity to engage users and run targeted marketing campaigns.
14. 98.5% of Facebook users access the platform through a mobile device
Whatever channels or platforms you choose to promote your brand on, it’s important to ensure it’s optimised for mobile. Almost all Facebook users access the platform through their phones, so think about how your content translates onto small screens and create it with a mobile-first approach in mind.
15. India is the country with the most Facebook users (329.65 million)
India, the USA and Indonesia are the top three countries in terms of Facebook users. Meanwhile, the UK has 35.05 million users.
16. There are more male Facebook users than female
In almost every age demographic, there are more male users compared to female, making Facebook a good choice if your target audience is mostly men. In total, men make up 56.8% of Facebook’s total users.
17. Q1-Q2 of 2022 is the first time Facebook’s active users have dipped
Although the rate of growth in the number of active users each month has been slowing down for a while, the number dipped for the first time from 2,936,000,000 to 2,934,000,000 between Q1 and Q2 of 2022. There are obviously still plenty of active users, but this trend looks set to continue and is something you should be aware of as a marketer.
18. Meta’s (Facebook’s parent company) generated 114.93 billion U.S. dollars advertising revenue in 2021
In fact, most of Meta’s profits come from advertising, indicating that, despite its challenges, Facebook is still a platform where digital marketing is thriving.
19. In April 2022, marketers could reach a potential audience of 2.141 billion users with paid Facebook ads
Facebook offers huge potential for marketers to maximise the reach of their paid ads. But despite a potential audience of over 2 billion, it’s important to remember that the more targeted your ads are, the better chance they have of performing well.
20. The average Facebook user over the age of 18 clicks on approximately 12 Facebook ads each 30 days
This is more promising news for marketers. But again, the more you’re able to segment your audience to target them with highly targeted ads, the more likely you are to pull off a successful paid advertising campaign.
Instagram social media stats
21. Instagram has 1.28 billion users worldwide
Although it doesn’t have quite as many users as Facebook, Instagram is still a social media platform with significant reach and isn’t showing signs of slowing down, unlike Facebook, making it a good choice for marketers.
22. Like Facebook, India has the largest share of Instagram users (230.25 million)
The US and Brazil have the second and third largest share of users. In the UK, there are 31.75 million users.
23. It’s predicted that there will be a total of 1.44 billion worldwide Instagram users by 2025
Growth in the number of users is set to slow down but is still positive, so marketers can still expect to reach a larger audience by promoting their brand on Instagram in the future.
24. The most liked image on Instagram is a picture of an egg, with over 56.1 million likes
This comes from the account aptly named @world_record_egg. The account only has one image and was set up to beat the current world record holder at the time of publishing (Kylie Jenner, who had 18 million likes on a post) – showcasing the power of absurdism on social media.
25. Instagram has 1,478 million active users every month
Instagram ranks 4th in the lineup of active monthly users on social media, coming in behind Facebook (first place), YouTube (second place) and WhatsApp (third place).
26. Between 2019 and 2021, Instagram’s monthly active users grew by 16%
The potential for reach and engagement is hugely important for social media marketers, and Instagram is a platform that continues to offer both in spades.
27. In a UK-based survey, 10% of respondents said Instagram was the app they could do least without
Instagram came in third place in this survey of most important apps, behind WhatsApp (24%) and Facebook (15%), proving Instagram’s continual popularity among smartphone users.
28. 25-34 years olds is Instagram’s largest demographic, accounting for 31.7% of users
This is followed by 18-24-year-olds (30.2%) and 35-44 year-olds (15.8%). So, if your target audience falls into these age brackets, Instagram should definitely be a social media platform you’re utilising as a part of your marketing strategy.
29. 50.7% of Instagram users are reportedly male
Like Facebook, most Instagram users are male. However, female users are reported to make up 49.3%. This leaves 0% of users making up non-binary and genderqueer users, despite Instagram launching new gender identity options to be more inclusive back in 2019. This stat obviously fails to account for this, so if marketing to a largely LGBTQ+ audience, you may need to conduct more research into Instagram’s gender demographics.
30. 63% of US-based users are active on Instagram every single day
This stat is important for marketers as it shows that Instagram isn’t just a platform where people idly scroll through their feed – users are active and engaged, making it a good choice for marketing campaigns.
YouTube social media stats
31. Youtube has 2.1 billion users worldwide
That’s means over a quarter of the world’s population is a YouTube user. And no wonder; video is by far the most successful form of digital content and isn’t going anywhere soon.
32. YouTube has 2,562 million monthly active users
This stat is a good reminder that YouTube isn’t just a social media platform but also a search engine. This makes it an important platform for marketers to consider as part of their digital marketing strategy.
33. YouTube’s worldwide advertising revenues amounted to 7.34 billion U.S. dollars in the second quarter of 2022
YouTube is a platform with serious commercial potential for marketers and businesses. And with a 5% year-over-year increase, it’s only going to become more important.
34. In 2021, YouTube’s advertising revenue accounted for approximately 11.2% of Google’s revenue
Accounting for over a tenth of Google’s revenue, YouTube is a social media platform with huge commercial success. If you want to reach a wide audience, YouTube is the place to do it.
35. 54% of YouTube users are male
Like many of the other top social media platforms, YouTube is male dominated. This is slightly less than a few years ago – showing the importance of marketers keeping up with the latest demographic stats.
36. Users spend an average of 19 minutes on YouTube each day
With lots of new video platforms to contend with (think TikTok and the video-based changes happening on Instagram), YouTube still manages to grab users’ attention for 19 minutes each day.
37. YouTube is the world’s second-most visited website
Only beaten by Google, YouTube is an incredibly popular website with a vast amount of users. A must-have for any marketing strategy.
38. Only 22% of YouTube users access the platform through mobile
Given the focus many marketers put into mobile-first approaches, you’d be forgiven for being somewhat surprised that almost four-fifths of YouTube users don’t use smartphones to watch YouTube content.
39. 80% of U.S. parents with children under 11 years old say their children watch YouTube
In fact, the second and third most popular YouTube channels are dedicated to child-friendly content – making it a great option for content producers who target younger demographics. Just remember to turn on those parental controls!
40. 92% of internet users watch video content online every week
Much of this is on YouTube, but whether or not you use YouTube for your marketing, don’t underestimate the power of video in promoting your brand. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
TikTok social media stats
41. Between 2019 and 2021, TikTok’s monthly active users grew by 38%
As one of the youngest successful social media platforms, it only makes sense that TikTok is seeing huge amounts of growth in its active users, and with 38% growth, it’s a platform that marketers shouldn’t ignore.
42. TikTok had 656 million downloads in 2021
This makes TikTok the most downloaded app of 2021, giving it a huge potential reach for marketers and content creators – it’s no wonder so many TikTok videos go viral. With over half a billion downloads, it’s a platform with serious global reach.
43. Overall, TikTok has been downloaded more than 3 billion times
This makes TikTok the first non-Facebook app to reach 3 billion downloads – a pretty impressive achievement if you ask us.
44. TikTok has 1000 million users
Owned by Chinese multinational internet technology company, ByteDance, TikTok is a video platform that’s taken off by storm, with more users joining every day. A must-have for any marketer targeting younger demographics
45. Saudi Arabia is the country with the highest TikTok reach
TikTok is popular on a global scale, but market penetration is particularly high in the middle east, with Saudia Arabia leading the way, followed by the UAE and Kuwait.
46. TikTok has over one billion active users every month
With eight new users joining the platform every second, now is the time for your marketing strategy to incorporate TikTok if it doesn’t already.
47. In the US, TikTok is a more popular platform than Instagram for Gen Z
TikTok is certainly the platform of choice for Gen Z. Born between 1997 and 2012; Gen Z will be increasingly targeted by marketers in the years to come. If your target market falls within this bracket, TikTok is a must.
48. TikTok users are mostly female
Unlike other popular social media platforms, TikTok’s users are primarily female – they account for 57% of the platform’s users. In the US, this figure is even higher, constituting 61%, making it a great opportunity for brands that cater to a young female market.
49. TikTok is the social media app with the highest rates of engagement
With an average user session of 10.85 minutes, TikTok is far ahead of other social media platforms in terms of engagement. This is little surprise, considering the biggest demographic on there is digitally native, video is the most effective form of content, and short content keeps those with shorter attention spans engaged – making the platform a triple threat.
50. Finance-based content grew by 255% on TikTok in 2021
All things investment and crypto are hugely popular on TikTok. In fact, videos tagged #NFT (as in non-fungible token) grew by a huge 93,000%. If you thought finance marketing was only for older demographics, think again.
Twitter social media stats
51. Between 2019 and 2021, Twitter’s monthly active users grew by 8%
With so much noise on the platform, it sometimes feels like the whole world is already on Twitter. While this is obviously untrue, the smaller amount of growth compared to other platforms indicates that it’s beginning to reach saturation point in terms of users.
52. The US leads the way as the country with the most Twitter users
The US has 76.9 million users while Japan (58.95 million) and India (23.6 million) come in second and third. The UK has a total of 18.4 million users on the platform.
53. Twitter made more than 4.5 billion dollars in advertising revenues in 2021
This is up from 3.2 billion dollars in the previous year, proving Twitter is still a highly viable social platform for digital marketers.
54. 53.9% of Twitter employees are male
Most Twitter employees are male, reflecting the fact that most Twitter users are also male. 44.7% of Twitter employees are female, while overall, less than 1% of workers at Twitter identify as non-binary or non-conforming.
55. 71.2% of Twitter users are male
Only 28.8% of Twitter users are female. For marketers, this means Twitter marketing campaigns may be more successful when targeting male demographics. However, it’s not always so clear-cut because stats also show that women interact with brands more than their male counterparts.
56. @BarackObama is the most followed Twitter account
With well over 130 million, Barack Obama is the most popular account amongst Twitter users. In fact, Twitter generates the biggest amount of followers for politicians and journalists alike. After all, it’s the perfect platform for sharing newsworthy content.
57. 42% of Twitter users are university-educated
This stat indicates that Twitter is generally more popular amongst a more affluent, educated demographic. Marketers should consider this when targeting social media campaigns at Twitter users – however, remember that LinkedIn is the platform with the highest number of university-educated users (56%).
58. A third of Twitter users have a higher than average income
This is a factor that’s well worth considering if you’re promoting luxury or high-ticket items on social media.
59. Twitter’s largest age demographic is 25-34-year-olds
Like most other social media platforms, users aged between 25 and 34 years old account for the largest demographic. In total, they make up 38.5% of Twitter users – an important consideration for any marketer targeting that segment.
60. Over 500 million Tweets are sent every day
There’s a lot of noise on Twitter, and it can be difficult to get your organic content noticed. However, a few B2C brands have done particularly well on Twitter by interacting with competitors and adopting a humorous brand voice. Need some inspo? Start by checking out some of @AldiUk’s tweets. But be warned- this approach also has the potential to drop you in hot water.
Conclusion
Whether you’re just getting started marketing on social media or you’ve been at it for a while, it’s always helpful to keep up to date with the latest social media statistics. And as a marketer, knowing the social media stats is essential to understanding which platforms are worth investing your time (and money) in.
We hope these social media stats have given you some valuable insights into the social media landscape. Remember, social media is always changing, so make sure you stay up to date with the latest stats and trends to ensure your campaigns are as successful as possible.
For more cool marketing stats, check out our 50 email marketing stats here.
If you’re looking to grow your business, read our ultimate marketing questions that you should be asking.
Or, if you need help getting your next social media campaign off the ground, get in touch.
