Social media by the numbers.
- As of March 2021, the total worldwide population is over 7.9 billion.
- There are more than 4.66 billion internet users worldwide (more than half the global population).
- The total number of internet users around the world grew by 319 million in the past 12 months – almost 875,000 new users each day.
- More than 3.6 billion people are currently on social media, a number that’s projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion in 2025.
- Over 9 out of 10 users access social media via a mobile device.
- Statistically, there is a new social media user approximately every 10 seconds.
- People spend 1/7 of their waking lives on social media.
- 5.22 billion people now have mobile phones.
- The average social media user spends 2 hours and 29 minutes each day on social platforms.
- The average internet user now has an account on almost 9 social media platforms.
- WhatsApp handles roughly 100 billion messages a day.
Social media should not be overlooked.
Global users of the top eight social platform users.
2.7+b Facebook (monthly active users)
1.07+b Instagram (monthly active users)
760+m LinkedIn (users)
459+m Pinterest (monthly active users)
238+m Snapchat (daily active users)
340+m Twitter (users)
1.5+b WhatsApp (users)
2.3+b YouTube (users)
Percentage of U.S. adults who use the top eight social platforms.
73% YouTube
35% Instagram
27% Snapchat
24% Twitter
68% Facebook
29% Pinterest
25% LinkedIn
22% WhatsApp
Social Media Business Statistics
- 91.9% of U.S. marketers in companies larger than 100 employees expect to use social media for marketing purposes in 2021.
- 77% of brands expect their social media use to increase.
- Most businesses maintain between four and 10 social media profiles.
- 90% of brands use social media to increase brand awareness.
- More than 54% of digital consumers use social networks to research new brands or products.
- Social media ad spending in 2021 is expected to exceed $110 billion, growing at a CAGR of 5.76% through 2025.
- 10 million businesses used paid advertising on Facebook in 2020.
- 4 million businesses use paid advertising on Instagram monthly.
- YouTube advertising revenue is expected to total $5.56 billion in 2021, increasing by roughly $1.5 billion over 2020’s total.
- 28% of marketers worldwide use Pinterest for advertising.
- Global social media advertising spending skyrocketed during the last quarter of 2020, rising by 50.3% compared to the holiday peak in Q4 2019.
- People are increasingly using social media for work activities.
- Millennials are 247% more likely to be influenced by blogs or social networking sites than traditional advertising channels.
Social Video Statistics
- In 2020, nearly 1 million minutes of video crossed the internet every second.
- 5 billion videos are watched every day on YouTube.
- By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic – 15 times higher than it was in 2017.
- 85% of businesses utilize video as a marketing tool.
- Six out of 10 people prefer watching online videos to television.
- Video is on track to account for nearly 80% of mobile data traffic by 2022.
- 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service via video.
- 65% of people use YouTube as a problem-solving resource.
- Social media posts with video get 48% more views.
- Social video generates 1,200% more shares than text and image content combined.
- Facebook has over 4 billion daily video views.
- Facebook now logs 100 million hours of video watch time each day.
- There are 2 billion total video views on Twitter every day.
- Tweets with video get 10 times more engagement than those without and are also 6 times more likely to be retweeted.
- Video campaigns on LinkedIn have 50% view rates.
- A website is 53 times more likely to achieve page one Google ranking if it includes video.
- Almost 50% of internet users will look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store.
- 85% of consumers want to see more video content from brands.
- Adding video to your emails can increase click rates by 300%.
- 50% of viewers ages 18-34 will stop what they are doing to watch a video from their favorite creator.
- 64% of consumers will make a purchase after watching branded videos on social platforms.
Facebook Statistics
- Facebook remains the top social media platform in 2021.
- Facebook’s number of monthly active users (MAU) grew steadily throughout 2020.
- More than 2.8 billion users log on to Facebook every month.
- In Europe, more than 419 million people use Facebook each month.
- Approximately 74% of Facebook users access the platform daily, with 51% visiting multiple times per day.
- 300 million people use Facebook Stories daily.
- Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are the world’s top mobile apps in terms of downloads.
- Among Americans 65 and older, 46% use Facebook.
- 69% of U.S. adults use Facebook, most of them daily.
- 95% of businesses use Facebook throughout the world.
- Facebook users and businesses exchange more than 10 billion messages per month.
- 1.6 billion people are connected to small businesses via Facebook.
- Facebook’s advertising revenue was more than $84 billion in 2020, with 94% of that revenue coming from mobile.
- The average American Facebook user clicks on eight Facebook ads monthly.
Twitter Statistics
- Twitter has 353 million monthly active users.
- 38% of 18- to 29-year-old Americans use Twitter.
- Approximately 42% of Twitter users visit the platform every day.
- Twitter users post about 500 million tweets each day, or 6,000 tweets per second.
- 75 percent of B2B businesses market their products and/or services on Twitter.
- 85% of small and medium businesses with Twitter accounts believe Twitter is an important customer service tool.
- 80% of Twitter users access the platform on mobile devices.
- 71% of Twitter users use the platform to get their news.
- It took 3 years, 2 months and 1 day to go from the first tweet to the billionth.
LinkedIn Statistics
- LinkedIn has more than 760 million members.
- Two new users join LinkedIn every second.
- The majority of Fortune 500 executives and decisionmakers use LinkedIn.
- 57% of LinkedIn traffic comes from mobile users.
- 62% of businesses have a LinkedIn account.
- There are more than 30 million companies on LinkedIn.
- 63% of businesses on LinkedIn say their top priority for LinkedIn use in 2019 is driving more leads.
- LinkedIn’s ad reach grew by 25 million people in Q4 2020, marking a 3.5% quarter-over-quarter increase.
Social Media FAQs
Is social media relevant for my business?
Absolutely. A recent study showed that roughly 81% of small businesses use social media. Social media provide the opportunity to cross international borders; market your brand to the world; and engage in dialogue with customers, employees and shareholders, as well as journalists, other businesses, and audiences you haven’t even thought of.
What do I say?
It depends. The general rule is to “give” to your followers. Give them information about your company’s latest achievements or services, as well as industry information that may resonate with their interests. Entertain, ask questions, and generate buzz about new products, current events or legislation relevant to your brand. If your audience engages with a comment, make sure you respond within 24-48 hours max. Two-way communication is how relationships are built and your brand gets shared.
How often do I use it?
Any time. You want to avoid overkill, but you also don’t want to let opportunities to engage pass through your fingers. This is where strategy, forethought and planning come into play. When it comes to messaging about your own brand, an easy strategy (“easy” is relative; social media takes WORK) is to create an editorial calendar, write down a backlog of topics and ideas, and then refine the actual message when it is time to post. In the meantime, keep your eye out for opportunities to share other news that your readers might find interesting.
Which platforms/networks do I need?
That depends. You can join any social media network and cause a stir, but it is better if you focus on the ones that are going to make waves. If you spread yourself too thin, you lose punch. An oil and gas company, for example, might not reach its target audience using Instagram. A company with cool new products, however, stands to gain from a visual following.
Should social media replace other marketing campaigns?
No. The great thing about social media is that it complements existing marketing strategies. Traditional marketing such as email, direct mail, promotions and word-of-mouth still have a powerful place. By enhancing those efforts with social media you have a well-rounded strategy.
I have more questions and need help. Where do I go from here?
You’re already there. Start with us! We have a whole team of professionals dedicated to helping clients with their social media campaigns.