The vast majority of content consumption on facebook from brands occurs

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Last Updated on January 17, 2022 by Karl

I’m not a huge fan of understatement. So I’m going to resist the temptation to kick this article off by calling the social media landscape “dynamic.”

At the same time, I also try to stay away from massive, emotive exaggerations. So I’m not going to refer to the world of social media as an “ungoverned sprawl of functional chaos” either.

In fact, given the scope of this piece, let’s give up on trite, oversimplified descriptions altogether.

Let’s give social media – easily one of the most important evolutions in the history of communication – the respect it deserves.

Let’s use up some serious real estate when introducing a topic as vast as this one.

Social media is unique from other marketing channels because it has the ability to both adapt to and influence user behavior.

As Karl Kangur, founder of SEO agentuur Business Media put it: “Search engine optimization is an amazing foundation for your site and a great way to get evergreen traction. But when it comes to really scaling a business and taking it to the masses, especially in commerce, you really can't beat strategic social media marketing.”

In the form of new apps and updated features, it’s constantly offering people innovative ways to engage with each other. At the same time, humans always seem to find unexpected things to do on social media – things these platforms sometimes fail to predict but are more than happy to reshape their products around.

This exciting dance of influence and adaptation makes social media a space where “generating incredible ROI” and “wasting a ton of super valuable resources” are equally likely.

So yeah… it’s fair to say that success in social media marketing is highly dependent on one’s ability to stay on top of a bunch of things that literally never stand still.

That’s why articles like this one are such valuable resources to marketing professionals looking to launch new social media campaigns or restrategize existing ones.

The facts and figures that comprise the very highest level of this complex landscape are not only helpful, they’re pretty much indispensable.

Yes, at some point you’ll need to zero in on the hyper-granular nuances of a particular platform. But at the start of something as important as a new social media campaign, the most important thing is familiarizing yourself with the big picture.

And here it is. We’ve taken the liberty of painting it for you. And keeping it updated, too.

What follows is a list of ever-changing facts, figures, and stats that every social media marketer needs to keep abreast of.

General Social Media Facts and Stats

Humanity and Social Media

  • The average user spends 2 hours and 29 minutes on social media every day.

Social Media Platforms – Comparative Popularity

  • Based on their total number of active users, the ten most popular social networks in the world* are:
    1. Facebook: 2.740 billion
    2. YouTube: 2.290 billion
    3. Instagram: 1.221 billion
    4. TikTok: 689 million
    5. Snapchat: 498 million
    6. Pinterest: 442 million
    7. Reddit: 430 million
    8. Twitter: 330 million
    9. Quora: 300 million
    10. LinkedIn: 260 million

* Excludes chat platforms as well as those focused solely on the Chinese market. 

** Based on LinkedIn’s reported monthly active users.

Although excluded from our list above, chat platforms and social networks that serve a Chinese audience are exceptionally popular. In our list of the Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites and Apps, three instant messaging apps and five Chinese social networks are included.

Social Media Demographics

  • 84% of US adults aged 18-29 say they use social media on a daily basis. In comparison, 81% of those aged 30 – 49, 73% of the 50 – 64 age group, and 45% of those aged over 65 had the same response (Pew Research).
  • Internet users from the Philippines are the most active national group on social media. The average internet user from the Philippines spends 3 hours and 53 minutes on a social network (Hootsuite). 
    • Columbia comes in second with 3 hours and 45 minutes.
    • Brazil is third with 3 hours and 31 minutes.
  • Americans spend a daily average of 2 hours and 3 minutes on a social network. That’s below the worldwide average figure of 2 hours and 24 minutes for 2020 (Hootsuite).
  • In predominantly “western” continents, women use social media more than men (Backlinko).
    • North America: 55% female vs 45% male.
    • Europe: 52.5% female vs 47.5% male.
    • Australasia: 53% female vs 47% male
    • South America: 53% female vs 47% male.
  • In Africa and Asia, male social media users far outnumber their female counterparts (Backlinko).
    • Africa: 41% female vs 59% male.
    • Asia: 41.2% female vs 58.8% male.
  • A study by the Pew Research Center revealed that social media usage in the United States is more common among people with a politically liberal mindset. In fact, all of the six platforms analyzed showed a larger contingent of Democrat (D) users than Republican (R) (Journalism.org).
    • Facebook: 50% D vs 46% R
    • YouTube: 55% D vs 42% R
    • Twitter: 65% D vs 33% R
    • Instagram: 64% D vs 32% R 
    • Reddit: 79% D vs 21% R
    • LinkedIn: 61% D vs 37% R

Mobile Social Media Usage

  • 80% of all social media interactions happen on mobile devices.
  • The top social media platforms’ mobile usage is as follows:
    • 98.3% of the world’s Facebook users access the platform via a mobile device (Oberlo).
    • 80% of all Twitter engagement happens on a mobile device (BusinessOfApps).
    • 70% of Youtube’s usage comes from mobile devices (Oberlo).
    • 82% of Pinterest users are on mobile devices (Hootsuite).
    • 57% of LinkedIn usage occurs on a mobile device (LinkedIn).
    • 72% of US-based Reddit users access the platform via a mobile device (Backlinko).
    • 75% of Quora’s usage happens on mobile devices (FoundationInc).

Social Media Marketing Facts and Stats

General Social Media Marketing Statistics

  • When asked how important social media is to their overall marketing strategy, brands gave the following responses (Buffer): 
    1. 58% said “very important.”
    2. 30.5 said “somewhat important.”
    3. 7.8% said they were “uncertain.”
    4. 2.4 said “unimportant.”
    5. 0.5% said that it was “very unimportant.”
  • The eight most popular platforms for social media marketing are as follows. The percentage reported is the number of respondents who include the platform in their marketing campaigns (Statista).
    1. Facebook: 94%
    2. Instagram: 76%
    3. LinkedIn: 59%
    4. Twitter: 53%
    5. YouTube: 53%
    6. Pinterest: 25%
    7. Snapchat: 5%
    8. TikTok: 5%
  • Brands are reporting very positive outcomes with social media “stories.” In a survey conducted by Buffer, companies reported the following levels of effectiveness for this marketing technique  (Buffer):
    1. 35% found story marketing “somewhat effective.”
    2. 34.6% of respondents were “uncertain” about the effectiveness of story marketing.
    3. 22.6% felt that story marketing was “very effective.”
    4. 5.8% said that story marketing was “somewhat ineffective.”
    5. 1.9% reported that their story marketing efforts were very ineffective.
  • 71% of brands don’t market themselves on social networks that have been built around instant messaging. These include apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram (Buffer).
  • Facebook is the most popular social network for branded video content. When asked which platforms they post video content to, brands gave the following responses (Buffer):
    1. 81.2% said Facebook.
    2. 62.9 said YouTube.
    3. 57.8 said Instagram.
    4. 45.6 said Twitter.
    5. 32.6 said LinkedIn.
  • The average CPC rate for advertising on six of the most popular social networks are as follows (WebFX):
    1. Twitter: $0.38 per click
    2. Facebook: $0.97 per click
    3. Pinterest: $1.50 per click
    4. YouTube: $3.21 per click
    5. Instagram: $3.56 per click
    6. LinkedIn: $5.26 per click
  • When asked how effective social media has been for their digital business, brands responded with the following answers  (Buffer):
    1. 43.4% said that it’s been “somewhat effective.”
    2. 29.6% said that it’s been “very effective.”
    3. 19.1% were still “uncertain” about its effectiveness.
    4. 5.6% said that it’s been “somewhat ineffective.”
    5. 2.3% said that it’s been “very ineffective.”

Social Media and Online Commerce

  • Facebook has more influence on consumer behavior than seven other platforms combined. When asked which social network is most likely to influence their online shopping decisions, 52% of surveyed consumers said they would buy something from a brand they follow on Facebook. The remaining 48% of respondents said they were most likely to be influenced by a combination of Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Reddit (LovelyMobile).
  • 54% of people browsing social media are doing so because they want information on potential products to buy.
  • The average order value made by a customer originating from a social media source is $74.47 (Statista). This comes in far behind other sources of sales, which include:
    • Email marketing: $103.00
    • Direct navigation: $101.72
    • Search engine: $96.01

Social Media and Influencer Marketing

  • 49% of social media users say that they “depend on” influencer opinions to help them make purchasing decisions.
  • When asked what the most important channels for influencer marketing are, digital marketing professionals responded as follows (MediaKix):
    1. 89% said Instagram.
    2. 70% said YouTube.
    3. 45% said Facebook.
    4. 44% said blogs (non-social media channels).
    5. 33% said Twitter.
    6. 17% said LinkedIn.
    7. 15% said Pinterest.
  • 37.2% of brands surveyed by Buffer said that they are investing in social media influencer marketing.
  • When asked how effective they found their social media influencer marketing campaigns, respondents to a Buffer survey said the following (Buffer):
    1. 45.2% described it as “somewhat effective.”
    2. 23% said they were still “uncertain” about their influencer marketing campaigns’ effectiveness.
    3. 23% described their influencer marketing as “very effective.”
    4. 7.3% said their influencer marketing efforts were “somewhat ineffective.”
    5. 1.6% described their influencer marketing campaigns as “very ineffective.”

Social Media and Brand Engagement

  • 96% of people that talk about a brand on social media do not follow that brand’s social media profile. This is a relatively clear indicator that conversations involving them are often not actively monitored by brands.
  • 75% of Twitter users have used the platform to get in touch with a company. 59% of Facebook users have done the same, while Instagram brand engagement comes in at 34% (Khoros).
  • At 1.22%, Instagram boasts by far the highest average engagement rate of all the social networks that are popular amongst digital marketers. Facebook pages have an average engagement rate of 0.08% and Twitter sits with a figure of 0.045% (SocialMediaCollege).
  • These are the most common ways that people on social media engage with brands in one month (GWI):
    • 37% of people visited a brand’s social media profile page.
    • 36% of people started following a brand on a social media platform.
    • 26% of people shared content from a website using the web page’s “share on social media” button.
    • 24% of people engaged with a sponsored or promoted post.
    • 19% of people asked a question to a brand via their social media presence.
    • 16% of people shared a brand’s social media post.
    • 15% of people uploaded a video or an image to a brand’s social media page.

Social Media and Customer Support

  • Social support is a form of social proof and can be seen as a marketing activity. 71% of people who have had a good customer support experience via a brand’s social media presence are likely to recommend the company to their family and friends.
  • 63% of customers expect companies to offer support via their respective social media presences.
  • Twitter users are more likely to use the platform to reach out for support than their Facebook or Instagram counterparts. 53% of all customer-to-brand interactions on Twitter have a support intent, while Facebook and Instagram come in at 46% (Khoros).
  • There’s a big disparity between how well companies think they’re providing social support and how well consumers think social support is being handled. 80% of brands feel their providing adequate support via social media, while only 8% of customers are satisfied with how their social support queries are handled (SmartInsights).

The Ideal Times for Businesses to Post on Social Networks

The following data was sourced from a research project done by the geniuses at CoSchedule.

Facebook Ideal Post Times

  • The best days to post on Facebook are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
  • For a B2C business, the best times to post on Facebook are: from 9 am – 10 am, from 12 pm – 1 pm, and from 4 pm – 5 pm.
  • For a B2B business, the best times to post on Facebook are: 9 am and from 3 pm – 4 pm.
  • For a software service, the best times to post on Facebook are: 9 am, and from 3 pm – 5 pm.
  • For a media company, the best times to post on Facebook are: 7 am, 11 am, and 6 pm.

Instagram Ideal Post Times

  • The best day to post on Instagram is Friday.
  • For a B2C business, the best times to post on Instagram are: 8 am, 1 pm, and 9 pm.
  • For a B2B business, the best times to post on Instagram are: from 12 pm – 1 pm, from 5 pm – 6 pm, and from 8 pm – 9 pm. 
  • For a software service, the best times to post on Instagram are: 11 am, 1 pm, and 5 pm.
  • For a media company, the best times to post on Instagram are: 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm.

Twitter Ideal Post Times

  • If you are a B2B company on Twitter, it’s best to post on weekdays.
  • For B2C companies on Twitter, the best days to post are Saturday and Sunday.
  • For a B2C business, the best times to post on Twitter are: from 8 am to 10 am, 12 pm, and from 7 pm – 9 pm.
  • For a B2B business, the best times to post on Twitter are: from 7 am – 8 am, 11 am, 6 pm, and 9 pm.
  • For a software service, the best times to post on Twitter are: 10 am, 2 pm, and 6 pm.
  • For a media company, the best times to post on Twitter are: from 6 am – 7 am, 11 am, 7 pm – 8 pm, and 10 pm.

LinkedIn Ideal Post Times

  • The best day for a brand to post on LinkedIn is Wednesday.
  • For a B2C business, the best time to post on LinkedIn is 12 pm.
  • For a B2B business, the best times to post on LinkedIn are: 8 am, from 10 am – 12 pm, and 6 pm. 
  • For a software service, the best times to post on LinkedIn are: 9 am, from 11 am – 12 pm, from 5 pm – 6 pm.
  • For a media company, the best time to post on LinkedIn is 8 am.

Pinterest Ideal Post Times

  • The best days to post on Pinterest are: Friday and Saturday
  • For all businesses, the best times to post on Pinterest are: 8 pm – 11 pm, and 2 am – 4 am.

Individual Social Network Marketing Facts and Stats

Facebook Facts and Statistics

  • Over 200 million brands use Facebook’s various free tools for various marketing purposes. According to Mark Zuckerberg, the majority of these brands are classified as “small businesses.”
  • Video marketing is exceptionally popular on Facebook. In fact, only YouTube is a more popular network for video marketing. 70% of video marketers use Facebook as one of their broadcasting platforms.
  • Video is the most clicked-on advertisement type on Facebook.
  • There are 9 million advertisers using Facebook advertising.
  • Facebook is the most popular platform for social media marketing. 94% of surveyed respondents included it in their social media marketing strategies.
  • Facebook advertising continues to be an immensely popular paid advertising channel. In the 12 months between Q4 2019 and Q4 2020, Facebook showed a massive 31% increase in ad revenue.
  • North American territories constitute the bulk of Facebook’s advertising revenue. Of the company’s $27.1 billion earnings in 2020, $13.7 billion came from advertisers in the US and Canada.
  • Facebook’s average advertising cost is amongst the lowest of all the social media platforms assessed in a recent study. With an average CPC rate of only $0.97, Facebook is second only to Twitter in terms of per-click affordability.
  • Facebook video ads have an average CPC rate of $1.86.
  • According to a 2018 study, a massive 78% of US shoppers had bought a product they discovered on Facebook at least once.
  • Viewing photos is Facebook users’ most common activity on the platform. It is the most popular platform for this activity amongst the five platforms analyzed. Facebook is also the most popular platform for networking, according to the study. The percentage of survey respondents who said “yes” when asked whether they perform specific actions on Facebook were as follows (Emarketer):
    • Viewing photos: 65%
    • Watching videos: 46%
    • Sharing content with the platform’s greater community: 57%*
    • Sharing content with a specific user: 31%
    • Networking: 33%*
    • Catching up on news: 38%
    • Finding/shopping for products: 15%
    • Promoting their business: 7% * The highest percentage of the five networks analyzed (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest)

Twitter Facts and Statistics

  • If your brand has a presence on Twitter, expect users to reach out to you for support. 71% of the people who get in contact with you here expect a response within an hour.
  • The clever use of hashtags will improve your audience’s engagement with your tweet. A 2019 study conducted by HubSpot found that tweet that included a trending hashtag were 12 times more likely to be interacted with than a tweet with no hashtag.
  • Twitter is the fourth most popular platform for social media marketing. 53% of surveyed brands included the micro-blogging network in their social media marketing strategies.
  • Amongst all the social networks analyzed in a recent study, Twitter is the least expensive platform for per-click advertising. With an average CPC rate of only $0.38, Twitter is leagues ahead of second-placed Facebook in terms of affordability.
  • In 2021, Twitter started recovering from a slight dip in its usage among US adults. In 2018, 24% of this demographic was active on the micro-blogging platform. This figure dropped to 22% for 2019 and 2020 but recovered to 23% by April 2021 (Statista).
  • Twitter users tend to be socially conscious. Adverts with a “socially responsible” angle perform 12% better than other advertisement types.
  • Twitter users’ most common activity on the platform is catching up on news. It is the most popular platform for this activity amongst the five networks analyzed. The percentage of survey respondents who said “yes” when asked whether they perform specific actions on Twitter were as follows (Emarketer):
    • Viewing photos: 42%
    • Watching videos: 32%
    • Sharing content with the platform’s greater community: 32%
    • Sharing content with a specific user: 20%
    • Catching up on news: 56%*
    • Finding/shopping for products: 7%
    • Promoting their business: 7% * The highest percentage of the five networks analyzed (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest
  • Despite being the most popular social network for finding news content, Twitter is not a platform that evokes a high level of trust amongst its user base. A study conducted by Insider Intelligence ranked Twitter 7th (out of the nine platforms assessed) in terms of overall trustworthiness. TikTok placed 8th in the list with Facebook coming in last (Emarketer).
  • Marketers looking to sell niche products on Twitter should be aware that the majority of the platform’s users are male. In fact, men make up 70% of the social network’s user base.

Instagram Facts and Statistics

  • 90% of all Instagram’s users follow a business account.
  • Video is a popular marketing format on Instagram. 58% of all video marketers plan to use Instagram in their social media campaigns in 2021.
  • 70% of all Instagram users are under the age of 35. While this says a lot about Instagram’s popularity with millennials, it’s worth noting that this figure was 90% in 2015. Clearly, the photo-sharing app is becoming more popular among older users.
  • 81% of people surveyed by Facebook said that they use Instagram to learn about products and business services. This is a clear indication that Instagram users are comfortable with seeing messages from brands that have a promotional angle.
  • Instagram posts tagged with a location have a 79% engagement than posts without a location tag. Tagging a post with location is a high-value play since it takes about 5 seconds to do.
  • Instagram is the second most popular platform for social media marketing. 76% of surveyed brands included the app in their social media marketing strategies.
  • Unsurprisingly, viewing photos is the most common activity on Instagram. Amongst the five networks analyzed, Instagram is the most popular platform for viewing photos, watching videos, and business promotion. The percentage of survey respondents who said “yes” when asked whether they perform specific actions on Instagram were as follows (Emarketer):
    • Viewing photos: 77%*
    • Watching videos: 51%*
    • Sharing content with the platform’s greater community: 45%
    • Sharing content with a specific user: 31%
    • Catching up on news: 18%
    • Finding/shopping for products: 11%
    • Promoting their business: 9%* * The highest percentage of the five networks analyzed (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest)
  • 87% of Instagram users said that they “took action” after seeing product information in their feed. This includes engagement with the post, following the brand, visiting their website, or making a purchase.

YouTube Facts and Statistics

  • Youtube is the undisputed leader in video marketing. According to WyzOwl’s annual video marketing report, 87% of video marketers use the platform for their social media campaigns.
  • 40.9% of YouTube’s video consumption happens on mobile devices. Interestingly, this figure has decreased dramatically over the past 6 years as YouTube’s integration with smart TVs has gained momentum. It’s not because users are losing their appetite for mobile viewing, more a case of there being more devices on which to watch YouTube videos.
  • YouTube is the fifth most popular platform for social media marketing. 53% of surveyed brands included it in their social media marketing strategies.
  • In the United States, YouTube’s audience is evenly split amongst men and women. In Q3, 2020, 72% of US women and 72% of the country’s men were YouTube users (Statista).
  • People between the ages of 18 and 34 spend more time watching YouTube content than cable television on their TV sets.
  • YouTube is one of the few social networks that reach a very young audience. 80% of US parents of children under the age of 11 say that their offspring watches YouTube. 53% of these respondents say their kids watch YouTube on a daily basis (Pew Research).
  • 94.5% of US adults who use their TV sets to watch streaming services also use their televisions to watch YouTube content.
  • YouTube content that teaches viewers new skills is showing immense growth in popularity. Videos with the word “beginner” (or variations of the word) in their titles saw a 50% increase in views between March and July of 2020.
  • In a survey conducted by Google, 70% of participants said that they did business with a brand after seeing one of their YouTube advertisements.

LinkedIn Facts and Statistics

  • LinkedIn is one of the most popular social networks for video content. 63% of the video marketers surveyed by WyzOwl say that they are actively using the platform in their social media campaigns. Only Youtube and Facebook were more popular amongst respondents.
  • LinkedIn is the third most popular platform for social media marketing. 59% of surveyed brands included it in their social media marketing strategies.
  • Of the social media platforms analyzed in a recent study, LinkedIn is the most expensive platform for per-click advertising. With an average CPC rate of $5.26, LinkedIn advertisers pay almost six times what they’d pay on Facebook.
  • LinkedIn is the most popular platform for B2B marketers. 92% of brands that sell primarily to business customers use LinkedIn as a content distribution channel. Twitter comes in second at 89% and Facebook is tied with YouTube with 77% (LinkedIn).
  • No other social media platform is as effective as generating traffic for B2B companies as LinkedIn. The professional social network accounts for more than 50% of all social traffic directed to B2B company blogs. If your company sells to businesses and you rely on content marketing, LinkedIn is the place to share your latest posts.
  • 91% of marketing professionals believe LinkedIn to be amongst the web’s most reliable resource of quality content. The two runners-up in this race were Twitter (29%) and Facebook (27%) (LinkedIn).
  • 92% of B2B marketers include LinkedIn in their social media strategies. Twitter came in second with 87% and Facebook third with 76%. YouTube misses out on the podium with 67% while Instagram languishes in fifth position with 15% (DemandWave).
  • An advertisement on LinkedIn has the potential to reach 13% of the world’s population. While this is a significantly smaller percentage than Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, LinkedIn’s niche focus means that adverts promoting professional services are more likely to resonate with its audience of professionals.
  • LinkedIn offers advertisers remarkable targeting granularity. The platform allows marketers to find an audience for their ads by selecting from over 200 attributes that cover both individuals and organizations.
  • LinkedIn has reported that brands advertising on their platform see an increase in purchase intent of up to 33% amongst prospective customers.
  • 61 million LinkedIn users are classified as senior-level organizational decision-makers. An effective social media campaign on this platform can have massively positive implications for a B2B company.
  • There are 57 million companies registered as LinkedIn users.

TikTok Facts and Statistics

  • TikTok is the eighth most popular platform for social media marketing. 5% of surveyed brands included it in their social media marketing strategies.
  • With a tally of 850 million downloads, TikTok was 2020’s most downloaded app globally. WhatsApp came in second with 600 million and Facebook narrowly beat Instagram to the podium with 540 million downloads (Apptopia).
  • The age ranges of TikTok’s user base are as follows (Statista):
    • 10 – 19: 25%
    • 20 – 29: 22.4%
    • 30 – 39: 21.7%
    • 40 – 49: 20.3%
    • 50 and over: 11%
  • 58.8% of all Tiktok users based in the United States are female.
  • Average influencer engagement rates on TikTok are higher than on Instagram. The average engagement rate for each follower level are as follows (Influencer Marketing Hub):
    • Less than 1K followers: Instagram – 7.2% | TikTok – 9.3%
    • Between 1K and 5K followers: Instagram – 5.3% | Tiktok – 8.5%
    • Between 5K and 10K followers: Instagram – 3.7% | Tiktok – 8.1%
    • Between 10K and 100K followers: Instagram – 2.1% | Tiktok – 7.2%
    • More than 100K followers: Instagram – 1.1% | TikTok – 5.3%
  • Session lengths on TikTok far outweigh those on other mobile platforms. TikTok users in the United States spend more than double the time on the video-sharing app than its next competitor, Pinterest (Statista). The top four social media platforms by average session length are (figures are for US users only):
    • TikTok: 10.85 minutes
    • Pinterest: 5.06 minutes
    • Reddit: 4.96 minutes
    • Facebook: 4.82 minutes
  • TikTok operates a creator marketplace – a digital space where brands can find content creators that are best suited to represent them on the platform.
  • TikTok users mostly expect to find content they describe as “funny” and “entertaining”. If your brand intends to use this platform for marketing purposes, it may be a good idea not to publish educational or informative content. Or anything that takes itself seriously.
  • Unlike many other platforms that thrive on user-generated content, TikTok actively supports its user base through the TikTok Creator Fund. The company has allocated over $1 billion to be paid out to content creators who have met a list of criteria.

Snapchat Facts and Statistics

  • Snapchat is the seventh most popular platform for social media marketing. 5% of surveyed brands included it in their social media marketing strategies.
  • The percentage of survey respondents who said “yes” when asked whether they perform specific actions on Snapchat were as follows (Emarketer):
    • Viewing photos: 64%
    • Watching videos: 50%
    • Sharing content with the platform’s greater community: 46%
    • Sharing content with a specific user: 45%*
    • Catching up on news: 17%
    • Finding/shopping for products: 5%**
    • Promoting their business: 6% * The highest percentage of the five networks analyzed (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest) ** The lowest percentage of the five networks analyzed
  • 48% of US internet users between the ages of 15 and 25 are Snapchat users (Statista). In comparison, 30% of US internet users aged 26 – 35 use the multimedia messaging app.
  • Only 5% of US internet users over the age of 56 use Snapchat.
  • The bulk of Snapchat users are based in the United States. Here’s a breakdown of the app’s user base by country (Statista):
    1. United States: 108 million
    2. India: 74 million
    3. France: 24.5 million
    4. United Kingdom: 21.1 million
    5. Saudi Arabia: 19.6 million
    6. Mexico: 17.95 million
    7. Germany: 15.35 million
    8. Philippines: 12.75 million
    9. Brazil: 11.95 million
    10. Iraq: 11.25 million
  • Globally, Snapchat is more popular amongst women than men. 57.4% of the app’s userbase are female, while 40.9% are male (Statista).
  • Snapchat users open the app an average of 30 times each day.
  • The average Snapchat user spends just over 30 minutes each day.
  • Between Q4 of 2016 and Q4 of 2020, Snapchat experienced a dramatic increase in popularity as a marketing channel. At the start of this period, 17.3% of social media marketers used the platform to promote their brand. Four years later, this figure stood at 32.7% (Emarketer).

Pinterest Facts and Statistics

  • Pinterest is the sixth most popular platform for social media marketing. 25% of surveyed brands included the image-sharing platform in their social media marketing strategies.
  • Pinterest leads all other social media platforms in terms of customer satisfaction. The image-sharing network boasts an ACSI score of 77 out of 100.
  • 85% of Pinterest’s user base access the platform via its mobile app.
  • Pinterest is a popular network globally, with more than 50% of its user base located outside of the United States.
  • Despite 60% of Pinterest users being women, the platform is seeing an upsurge in popularity amongst men.
  • Pinterest’s male user base is growing by 48% every year. (Pinterest).
  • Pinterest is growing in popularity amongst younger users. The platform reports a 50% year-on-year growth in its Gen Z user base and a 36% year-on-year increase in Millenial users (Pinterest).
  • 80% of US mothers are Pinterest users.
  • Regular users are highly likely to be influenced by marketing on Pinterest. 85% of users who pin on a weekly basis have made purchases based on brand activity on the platform.
  • Pinterest has a very positive influence on its user base’s emotional states. 91% of its user base describe Pinterest as a “place of positivity” while 83% of surveyed users say that the platform builds their self-confidence (Pinterest).
  • 25% of Pinterest users’ time on the platform is spent shopping. This is a higher percentage than any other social media platform.
  • Pinterest users are three times more likely to click through to a retail brand’s website from the platform than any other social network.
  • On average, the cost per conversion for a Pinterest advertisement is 2.3 times lower than on other social networks.
  • The percentage of survey respondents who said “yes” when asked whether they perform specific actions on Pinterest were as follows (Emarketer):
    • Viewing photos: 59%
    • Watching videos: 21%**
    • Sharing content with the platform’s greater community: 21%**
    • Sharing content with a specific user: 12%**
    • Catching up on news: 9%**
    • Finding/shopping for products: 47%*
    • Promoting their business: 5%** * The highest percentage of the five networks analyzed (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest). ** The lowest percentage of the five networks analyzed.

Quora Facts and Statistics

  • 75% of Quora usage happens on mobile devices.
  • According to Alexa, 37.7% of the platform’s visitors are from India. The United States comes in second with 24.4% and Canada gets the bronze with 2.9% (Alexa).
  • Quora users are 37% more likely to occupy decision-making positions within an organization than the general population.
  • Digital marketing experts recommend that Quora advertisers create marketing material that’s mobile-friendly. More than 80% of ad impressions and click-throughs occur on mobile phones and tablets.
  • Quora reports that brands who advertise on the platform see an average conversion rate that’s 4 times higher than adverts placed on other social networks.
  • Quora’s age-group spread is as follows (BloggingX):
    • 18 – 24: 45.5%
    • 25 – 34: 32.5%
    • 34 – 55: 2%
    • Over 65: 1.6%

Reddit Facts and Statistics

  • In Q4, 2020 Reddit boasted a daily active user figure of 52 million. This figure is 44% higher than the one reported a year earlier.
  • More than half of Reddit’s desktop traffic originates from the United States, indicating its immense popularity in this territory.
  • Reddit users’ age ranges are spread as follows (Marketing Charts):
    • 18 – 24: 21%
    • 25 – 29: 23%
    • 30 – 49: 14%
    • 50 – 64: 6%
    • Over 65: 1%
  • Reddit ranks 19th in Alexa’s global internet engagement metric.
  • Posts that don’t ask questions receive more upvotes than those that do, making them more likely to be seen by the greater Reddit community (FoundationInc).

A Final Thought

There you go – as promised, a comprehensive view of statistics, facts, and figures covering the social media landscape.

If you’re a marketer and your goal is to get the most out of your social media activities, it’s super important that your strategic decisions are influenced by the content of this article.

Like I said in the intro, DO NOT let your gut decide which social network is the right place to start promoting your brand. Or what the best engagement strategies are.

Base your decisions on real information and you will see real rewards.

Looking for another interesting read? If you're into eCommerce, you can check out our review on Jungle Scout or this article on the best dropshipping courses.

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