One component of a successful digital marketing strategy is your social media presence.
If you need numbers to prove the value of social media marketing, you’ve come to the right place. There are now 4.55 billion active social media users globally, but that number is 9.9% higher than last year.
That means 400 million new people have signed up for at least one social media account within the last year.
Worldwide, the top social networks are Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
Continue reading to discover more reasons your business needs social media marketing.
How Many People Use Social Media Each Month?
As of 2021, 84% of the US population use at least one social media network.
Worldwide, the active number of social media users is 57.6% of the total population. That means over half of the world regularly uses at least one social media network once a month.
The top seven social networks have over 1 billion monthly active users.
Facebook leads the list of most used social networks, followed by YouTube, and then the rest of the metaverse – WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger.
Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.
Average Amount of Monthly Users in 2021
The following are the statistics for monthly users of the top 15 social media apps globally in 2021:
- Facebook – 2.89 billion
- YouTube – 2.29 billion
- WhatsApp – 2.00 billion
- Instagram – 1.39 billion
- Facebook Messenger – 1.30 billion
- WeChat (Weixin) – 1.25 billion
- TikTok (Douyin) – 1 billion
- LinkedIn – 800 million*
- QQ – 591 million
- Sina Weibo – 566million
- Telegram – 550 million
- Snapchat – 538 million
- Kuaishou – 506 million
- Twitter – 463 million
- Pinterest – 454 million
* Total members – number of monthly active users listed.
In the U.S., the top social media platforms used by a percentage of adults include the following:
- YouTube – 81%
- Facebook – 69%
- Instagram – 40%
- Pinterest – 31%
- LinkedIn – 28%
- Snapchat – 25%
- Twitter – 23%
- WhatsApp – 23%
- TikTok – 21%
- Reddit – 18%
- Nextdoor – 13%
Platform-Specific Statistics
Check out this list of 2021’s social media industry leaders and some of their best performance statistics.
1. Facebook
Facebook is at the top of this list for a reason. Not only did they knock the competition out of the park with 2.89+ billion users each month, but 69% of U.S. adults have used Facebook at least once in the past year.
The Facebook statistics for 2021 tell a story where many chapters focus on the younger generations.
Over 53% of Facebook users across the globe are in the 18-34 age group, with 25-34 year-olds leading at 31.5% and 18-24 year-olds at 22.7%.
Businesses also benefit greatly from Facebook. Over 200 million businesses use Facebook to reach their customers.
It’s not a surprise when you see that the average Facebook user clicks approximately 12 ads per month.
If you’re looking for more engagement for your brand, definitely try Facebook.
2. YouTube
Google may be the leading search engine, but YouTube is the second most popular search engine and website globally.
People can’t stop watching YouTube. In the United States, 62% of YouTube users visit YouTube daily. On a monthly basis, over 2 billion logged-in users watch an astounding 1 billion hours of video daily.
Each minute, YouTube creators upload over 500 hours of content. That’s not only a lot of content but a lot of commercials and business promotions.
What advertisers will be happy to hear is that YouTube ads work, reaching 2.29 billion YouTube users.
3. Instagram
Instagram now connects over 1 billion users who want to share and create.
People also like interacting with businesses on Instagram. Over 200 million businesses receive visits from Instagram users daily. You can see why many companies are now turning to Instagram to promote their brand.
According to Instagram, 90% of its users follow a brand and 87% take action when they see a product.
What’s also interesting are the Instagram statistics on how people act when they shop. For example, 70% of shoppers look to Instagram for their next purchase, and over 130 million Instagram users tap on shopping posts monthly.
Furthermore, 86% of Instagram users would be likely to check out a product because it was shareworthy, and 50% of shoppers have visited a website after seeing a product in Instagram Stories.
4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is worldwide. The professional network has over 800 million users from over 200 countries. Known for being a great way to market yourself professionally and make business connections, the site has a long reach.
In a survey about digital trust, U.S. consumers rated LinkedIn as the platform most likely to protect their privacy and data.
According to Statista, 59.2% of LinkedIn users fall into the 25-34 year-old age group, with 56.6% of users are male.
LinkedIn is also good for B2B businesses. According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, they were the number 1 lead generation platform.
5. Pinterest
Pinterest isn’t just for planning your wedding or saving 10 million recipes you’ll never cook. It’s for just about everything you can think of, which is part of why people use the site.
Over 459 million people use Pinterest for inspiration, and 80% of weekly Pinterest users have discovered a new brand or product while perusing the network’s feed.
And Pinterest has been doing quite well. Incredibly, the company’s 2021 Q3 revenue grew 43% year to year.
Pinterest users generally have a purpose, however. Compared to everyone else, Pinterest blows the competition away when it comes to intent. That’s because 55% of its users get on the app specifically to search for products.
6. TikTok
With 1 billion monthly active users, where 60% of them are 18-34 years old, you cannot deny TikTok has a place in the marketing mix for many businesses.
The top categories, based on hashtag views, include entertainment, dance, fitness/sport, home renovation/DIY, beauty, and fashion. Brands that can create content that fits in one of these categories will likely increase their visibility with TikTok audiences.
How important is TikTok to ecommerce? According to an Adweek & Morning Consult survey, 15% of adults and 36% of Gen Z TikTok users have made a purchase based off of content seen on TikTok.
Get started with TikTok content with data-driven advice from their platform.
- Videos that take up the full screen (9:16 ratio) see a 60% lift in impressions.
- Videos with closed captioning or text on screen see a 55.7% lift in impressions.
- Videos with summary/end card information see a 47.3% lift in impressions.
7. Snapchat
Snapchat’s potential ad audience and user base of 538 million make it a great platform for brands – especially brands marketing to 13-24 year-olds who make up over 58% of Snapchat’s user base.
According to Snapchat, 306 million people use the platform daily, spending an average of 30 minutes on the network. Over 210 million snaps were being created each day as of 2019.
Snapchat advertising is growing. In 2021 Q3, Snapchat revenue surpassed 1 billion U.S. dollars.
Conclusion
As we move into 2022, we will see emergence of new trends, features, and much more from social media.
Defined by an ability to change with the times, connect people, and engage, these social media titans will likely continue to drive the market.
The statistics don’t lie: Social media is here, and it’s here to stay.
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Featured image: Anna Frajtova/Shutterstock