If you’re trying to improve your social media marketing strategy, understanding key industry statistics is the perfect starting point.
Social media statistics give you valuable insight into who your audience is, their interests and habits, as well as the state of the industry as a whole. This data helps you tailor your marketing strategies to boost engagement and ROI.
Stats can also help you benchmark your own performance within your industry and even uncover new opportunities.
Use the social media marketing statistics below to guide your presence in 2024 and beyond.
Social media advertising statistics
As organic reach decreases on nearly every platform, paid social media advertising becomes a must-use strategy for reaching your target audience. Learn more about social advertising stats to inform your strategy.
- Total spend on social media advertising is projected to reach $219.8 billion in 2024.
- It’s now projected that $255.8 billion of total social media ad spending will be generated through mobile by 2028.
- Total ad spend growth is anticipated at 6.1% in 2024.
- Social media ads account for 28.8% of all digital advertising spend.
- Businesses put around 8.7% of their total revenue towards their ads budget.
Social media ad spend is growing at a steady rate. With more marketers investing in ads, brands should get ready to allocate bigger budgets to paid marketing strategies to compete.
Facebook statistics
Facebook remains an advertising powerhouse. Whether or not brands should focus on Facebook is a tough question that really depends on your individual Facebook metrics. The following Facebook statistics can clue you in further.
- Facebook is the most-used platform by marketers worldwide (89%). Instagram sits in second place (80%).
- As of Q3 2023, Facebook is the largest online social network in the world with roughly 3.05 billion monthly active users.
- The average American spends about 31 minutes per day on Facebook.
- 56.3% of Facebook users are male and 43.7% are female (based on available gender data).
- Almost a quarter of Facebook users in the US are between the ages 25-34.
Facebook remains a favorite among marketers. That’s not surprising, considering the massive reach offered by the platform. Plus, the increasing average age means more users are in high-level, decision-making positions in their careers.
Instagram statistics
Instagram boasts 2 billion actively monthly users and yet brands are still scrambling to get more Instagram followers. Below are the top social media statistics for Instagram.
- Instagram ties with Facebook for the social media platform with the highest ROI.
- 27.4% of US Instagram users are between 25 and 34 years old.
- 61.1% of total Instagram users worldwide are between the ages 18-34, and mostly identify as male.
- Instagram Reels generate more likes and saves, but fewer comments than regular posts.
- Instagram’s engagement rates are four times higher than Facebook (0.60% to 0.15%), but engagement has become more competitive each year.
- In 2023, 43% of marketers plan to increase their investment in Instagram.
Once the go-to social platform for influencers, Instagram is facing competition from TikTok.
Still, relatively high engagement rates, fresh ecommerce features and big ad spending signal that the future is still bright for Instagram.
LinkedIn statistics
LinkedIn has done a brilliant job of carving out its niche as the go-to professional network. The platform is a potential goldmine for B2B brands and the rapid growth of their ad platform speaks for itself. Here are some LinkedIn statistics you should know.
- There are more than more than 1 billion members across 200 countries on LinkedIn.
- The United States has the highest user rate in the world on LinkedIn with an audience reach of over 214 million users.
- There are over 67 million company profiles on LinkedIn.
- 60% of worldwide users are between ages 25 and 34 years old, far exceeding any other age group.
Spurred by the widespread career changes over the past two years, the platform doesn’t look to slow down any time soon. Hint: now’s the time to level up your LinkedIn marketing if you’re in B2B.
Pinterest statistics
Pinterest often doesn’t get its due when it comes to social platforms. The platform’s diverse, big-spending audience is among the most dedicated and engaged of any network. Here are some top Pinterest statistics to look out for.
- 482 million people use Pinterest every month.
- 76.2% of Pinterest users are women, 17.2% are men and 6.6% are unspecified.
- In December 2023 alone, nearly 1.2 billion visits were measured to Pinterest.com, from desktop and mobile.
- 76.2% of worldwide Pinterest users identify as female.
- Pinterest is the third-most visited social media website in the US.
- 80% of weekly users have found a new brand or product on the platform.
The power of Pinterest advertising is well-documented and the platform is the perfect place to uncover new products. Also, marketers targeting a US audience would do well to include Pinterest in their marketing efforts.
TikTok statistics
TikTok has totally transformed itself to a must-have digital platform for brands. The platform’s rabid fanbase, rapid growth and sky-high usage spell great news for early adopters. Below are some interesting TikTok statistics to know about.
- TikTok is expected to reach over 2 billion users in 2024.
- TikTok is the most frequently used app worldwide, with Android phone users spending an average of 34 hours per month on the platform.
- TikTok’s user base skews female, with 48% of users identifying as women (based on available gender data.)
- 36.7% of TikTok users are 18-24 years old and account for the largest share of TikTok’s advertising audience.
- TikTok is the second-most used video entertainment app by monthly active users.
Younger consumers and smaller influencers dominate the platform right now, but that may change in the very near future. If you’re already on the platform, make sure to watch your TikTok analytics and how to reach your audience ASAP.
X (formerly Twitter) statistics
X, formerly Twitter, has cemented itself as the hub of political discussions, memes and a prime place to go back and forth with brands. Take a look at the Twitter statistics below to understand more about marketing on the platform.
- X boasts about 619 million monthly active users in total worldwide.
- 53% of X users use the platform to get the latest news.
- More than half (63%) of X users are men (based on available gender data).
- 33% of users plan to spend less time on X in 2024.
- US adults spend an average of 34.1 minutes daily on X.
Even with the uncertainty of Z’s future because of its last year, the platform appears to be growing, so marketers may not want to count it out yet.
YouTube statistics
To compete with emerging platforms like TikTok, the second-largest search engine in the world is making some big changes. Here are the top YouTube statistics to know about.
- As of January 2023, YouTube has nearly 2.5 billion users worldwide.
- YouTube Shorts has 2 billion monthly active users.
- YouTube’s biggest gender segments are males aged between 25-34 (12.2%), and males aged between 35-44 (9.6%) (based on available gender data).
- YouTube users spend an average of 28 hours, 5 minutes on the Android app each month.
- Nearly 90% of all visits to YouTube come from a mobile device.
Despite the platforms in the market, YouTube is still users’ go-to video-sharing and video-consumption platform. With more people accessing the app on mobile, marketers would benefit from posting more short-form, vertical content (i.e. Shorts) on the platform.
Social media video statistics
Video continues to be an all-time favorite content type. It’s versatile, engaging and offers excellent ROI to marketers worldwide. Let’s look at some recent social media video statistics.
- 44% of people prefer to learn about a new product or service via short video content.
- 87% of marketers say video marketing has directly increased sales.
- Short-form video offers marketers the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy, with 30-60 videos seeing the most success.
- US video advertising is expected to increase from $76.97 billion in 2023 to $84.61 billion in 2024.
Video is making its way into all types of marketing strategies in virtually every industry. However, it’s evolving in its shape and form. Brands can expect to see better results from short-form video content that’s primarily entertaining and/or funny.
Influencer marketing statistics
Working with influencers is one of the best inbound marketing strategies being used today. Here are some influencer marketing statistics about which platforms marketers are leveraging, what they’re hoping to achieve and how they plan to execute influencer marketing in the future.
- 50.1% of marketers believe TikTok offers the highest ROI to influencer marketers for short-form video content, followed by 29.9% of marketers saying Instagram Reels and 12% saying YouTube Shorts.
- 69% of marketers use TikTok for influencer marketing, making it the most popular influencer marketing channel.
- Generating more engagement, reaching new audiences and strengthening community are the top three marketing goals for working with creators.
- 60% of marketers plan to spend more on influencer marketing campaigns in 2024.
- 63% of marketers plan to use AI in launching their influencer campaigns. And 55% of these brands will use AI for identifying influencers.
More marketers are realizing the potential of influencer marketing. If influencers are not already part of your marketing efforts, it’s time to switch your focus. The key is to pick the best platforms and influencers for your brand, both of which can be automated using the right tools.
Consumer behavior statistics
The concept of buying something you saw on social media is nothing new. From product recommendations to first impressions from brands, the impact of social media on consumers is well-documented. Learn more from these consumer behavior statistics.
- 56.1% of internet users purchase a product online at least once a week.
- 29.9% of internet users purchase a product using their mobile devices at least once a week.
- 51.2% of people research brands online before making a purchase.
- The biggest online purchase drivers across all ages are free shipping, coupons and discounts, or an easy return policy.
The recent growth of direct social sales is notable. Consumers likewise crave authenticity and ads that don’t feel like ads. But the key to selling on social is to know your customer, which platforms they prefer and how their unique buying behavior works.
Use social media statistics to guide your strategy
Learning the latest social media marketing statistics is key to fine-tuning your strategy and setting smarter goals.
Are there any opportunities on new networks? Do you need to shift from organic content to ads (or vice-versa)? Should you double down on what you’re doing now?
We hope our social media statistics help you find the answers. Combing through them is totally worth it—you should bookmark them if you haven’t already.
To keep learning, check out our guide on social media management so you can start your 2024 strategy off on the right foot.
Social Media Statistics FAQ
What is the most used social media platform?
What is the most used social media platform?
The most-used social media platform is Facebook with over 3 billion users. Facebook is followed by YouTube (2.94 billion users), WhatsApp and Instagram (tied at 2 billion users).
Is social media use increasing?
Is social media use increasing?
Social media use is increasing year-over-year, albeit slowly. However, due to the saturation of use, this slow growth isn’t surprising.
Is social media marketing still effective?
Is social media marketing still effective?
Yes! There are over 5 billion social media user identities, meaning 62.3% of the population has created at least one social media account. That’s a massive potential reach. As long as you create the right strategy and target the right people, you should see success with social media marketing.
Social media usage statistics
It’s no secret that we’re all glued to social media (my screen time data supports this). To get a better idea of how glued users are, let’s look at some social media usage statistics.
Below is a quick snapshot of how social media demographics and usage are changing, which networks are winning and how hooked consumers are on social.
Growth may seem slow, but that’s due to the sheer number of people who already use social media. This means social media presents a huge opportunity for marketers and advertisers.
However, with users spread across several platforms, it’s more important than ever for brands to take a multi-channel approach. Don’t forget to leverage emerging platforms like TikTok to reach new audiences and stand out from the competition.