Social media platforms have evolved from being predominantly thought of as online communities for the younger generations to being regularly used by people of all ages for daily communication, socializing, and commerce.
The scope and use of social media is expanding along with the global digital population. Social networks, which allow users to access a variety of information, are a part of our daily life and are continuously changing how people engage with one another globally.
In order to make your social media marketing strategy a success, we’ve gathered the most recent and useful social media statistics: get in-depth knowledge of key demographics, an understanding of how social media channels function, and practical insights about user behavior on each platform.
Hold onto your hats and fasten your seatbelts as we’re about to give you exclusive access to the top 10 social media statistics every small business owner should know for 2023.
1. Social Media is Growing
Let’s start by looking at some recent usage figures and trends for social media.
Social media is used by over 4 billion people.
In order to put that statistic into perspective, consider that there are around 7.99 billion people on the planet. This means that more than half of the world’s population uses social media.
Considering that only 5.07 billion people use the internet, approximately 90% of internet users are on social media. (Source: datareportal.com)
Northern and Western Europe are the regions of the world where social media use is most prevalent
Both of these regions have saturation rates of 83%. In contrast, social media saturation on the African continent ranges from 9% (Middle Africa) to 45%. (Southern Africa). (Source: smartinsights.com)
98% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 used social media in the previous month.
A staggering 98% of people in the 16–64 age group use social media, and 90% of them participate actively or contribute to social platforms. (Source: ranktracker.com)
40% of all internet users make use of social media for work purposes.
40% of all internet users worldwide use social media for work purposes. Only 27% of Americans actively use social media for work, whereas Indonesia has the highest usage (65%) and Israel has the lowest usage (13%). (Source: backlinko.com)
The top three reasons for using social media at work are to take a mental break (34%), stay in touch with family (27%), and support professional connections (24%).
Other close runners-up for reasons why employees use social media at work include finding information that helps them with their jobs (20%), improving relationships with coworkers (17%), learning more about someone they work with (17%), and asking questions about their tasks to people inside or outside the company (12%). (Source: enterpriseappstoday.com)
18.7% of employees spend 0 to 15 minutes of work time per day on social media
While 9.4% of employees spend more than 120 minutes per day on social media while at work.
Only 22.3% of these employees said they waited until the end of the day to check their social media, while 41% said they did so during their lunch break and 40% said they did so occasionally throughout their workday. (Source: zippia.com)
The average person has 8 social media accounts.
This varies greatly from country to country. Japanese people, for instance, only have 3.8 social accounts on average. In contrast, social media users in the USA have 7.1 accounts on average.
But keep in mind that this doesn’t always imply active social accounts. Many people’s social media accounts are inactive.
It’s worth noting that this would mean many users would quickly outgrow the free-trial versions of the majority of social media management software. (Source: influencermarketinghub.com)
The average user spends nearly 2.5 hours on social media
According to recent statistics, people spend two hours and 27 minutes a day on social media on average around the world in 2022. This isn’t simply a two-minute increase in the figures from 2021; it’s also the highest ever recorded.
For the past ten years, it has been progressively increasing year after year. The average amount of time spent on social media in 2012 was about 1.5 hours. (Source: statista.com)
2. The Impact of Social Media Marketing
Below are some of the most significant social media marketing statistics for this year that brands and marketers should be aware of.
In the Post-COVID world, 49% of Consumers Say They Shop Online More Now Than They Did Pre-COVID
Over 5,000 consumers from different countries participated in a Bazaarvoice survey to learn more about their holiday shopping preferences in the post-COVID era.
Consumers in all of the following nations—the United States (62%), Canada (59%), Mexico (70%), the United Kingdom (58%), France (41%), Germany (32%), and Australia (47%)—acknowledged that they now shop more online than they did in the past.
In general, 49% of consumers report doing more online shopping now than they did before COVID. (Source: influencermarketinghub.com)
50% of 16 to 24 year olds use social media to research products
This information from the GlobalWebIndex social media trends 2020 report demonstrates how younger consumers are using social media platforms to inform their purchasing decisions more frequently. (Source: gwi.com)
96% of small business owners use social media as a marketing strategy
Similarly, 90% of small businesses view social media platforms as effective marketing tools (Source: fundera.com)
69% of marketers use social media to increase brand awareness
In contrast, 52% use social marketing to drive visitors and 40% use social selling to drive sales.
Social media marketing involves distributing content to accomplish branding and marketing objectives, whereas sales teams use social selling to take advantage of social platforms to engage with prospects directly.
This reflects that brand awareness goals rather than direct-response goals appear to be more suitable for marketers. (Source: sproutsocial.com)
Over 50% of marketers report increased sales after 2 years of implementing social media marketing strategies, such as ad spending
Compared to the 47.1% in 2021 and 11.5% this year, it’s predicted that social media ad spending will decline to just 5.2% in 2023. This would be the sector’s weakest growth rate to date.
Consumers are also feeling the pinch from skyrocketing price inflation, in addition to businesses. (Source: smallbiztrends.com)
Consumers follow companies 57% of the time to learn about new products and services
This is wonderful news for businesses looking to use social media to help spread the word about the release of a new product since your followers are already anticipating it! (Source: sproutsocial.com)
3. Facebook is the Market Leader
Okay, let’s move on to Facebook, which continues to be the dominant social media platform. Here are some eye-opening Facebook statistics.
- Facebook is the third most frequented website on the planet and is the most frequented social media app in the world with 11.2 billion visits overall, 1.5 billion unique visitors, and an average visit duration of 21 minutes and 52 seconds. (Source: datareportal.com)
- Facebook has an average of 1.62 billion daily visits which is nearly ⅕ of the world’s population. (Source: sproutsocial.com
- Facebook has an ad reach of 2.14 billion users. Ad reach is the total number of users that Facebook can target with advertisements. 2.14 billion is a significant number. (Source: hootsuite.com)
- 98.3% of users will only use their phones to access the Facebook mobile app. Facebook usage on desktop is far behind that of mobile. In contrast to the 98.3% of users who will use any type of mobile device, only 1.7% will access Facebook via laptop or desktop. (Source: statista.com)
4. Instagram is the Powerhouse
Find out what’s new with Instagram, the most widely used photo and video sharing platform, by looking at the following data.
Instagram has over 1 billion active users
Source: Statista
If you exclude YouTube and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat, Instagram is the second most popular social network in the world with over 1 billion active members. (Source: statista.com)
The daily average time spent on Instagram is 30 minutes
Instagram users would spend about 30 minutes a day on the platform in 2022, according to eMarketer. That is 4 minutes longer than the previous year. The updated estimate was made in light of the pandemic’s impact, which drove people to spend more time on social media as a result of being confined to their homes. (Source: insiderintelligence.com )
The average Instagram user spends 11.2 hours per month on the app
Turkey has the highest monthly average usage of Instagram at 20.2 hours. While South Korea has the least amount, at 5.8 hours each month. (Source: hootsuite.com)
Instagram is used by 83% of users to find new products and services
In fact, 87% of users completed an action after seeing information about a product or service, such as making a purchase. (Source: facebook.com)
5. Twitter is the Platform Where Trends Begin
Here are a few interesting statistics about Twitter usage that will help you understand how people use this well-known social media platform.
An estimated 340 million people use Twitter
We don’t have any official user data to work with because Twitter chooses not to make that information public, but based on their advertising reach, the industry experts believe that there are about 340 million users. (Source: hootsuite.com)
Every day, people send more than 500 million tweets
6,000 times every second, roughly. Now that’s a lot of tweeting. (Source: internetlivestats.com)
52% of tweets in 2020 were made by Gen Z users
Gen-Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) were active tweeters in 2020. According to Twitter, Gen-Z users posted 52% of all tweets that year. It’s encouraging for Twitter’s future that younger generations are becoming interested in it. (Source: thesocialshepherd.com)
Twitter users typically earn more money
34% of Twitter users who earn $75,000 or more make up 85% of Twitter’s audience. This suggests that about a third of the platform’s user base has higher disposable income, so keep that in mind when you develop your content and ad campaigns. (Source: hootsuite.com)
6. TikTok Has Taken the World by Storm
TikTok is the newest player in the social media scene. Here are some TikTok statistics that provide all the information you need about this social media platform that is rising quickly.
- TikTok had more than 1 billion monthly active users in the third quarter of 2022, and 1.8 billion users are predicted by the end of the year. (Source: demandsage.com)
- Over 2 billion downloads of TikTok have been made to date. With more than 315 million downloads across Google Play and the App Store, TikTok also held the record for the most downloads of any app in a single quarter in 2020. This is a result of TikTok’s rapid expansion in recent years, as well as the influx of consumers eager for new content during the pandemic, which was undoubtedly a contributing factor. (Source: businessofapps.com)
- As of January 2022, TikTok boasts approximately 29.7 million daily active users across all iOS devices worldwide. (Source: statista.com)
- TikTok is the social media platform of preference for 67% of US teenagers (ages 13 to 17 years old). As a result, it’s rated as the second most popular teen social media platform. With 95% of the vote, YouTube won the first spot, while Snapchat came in at number three with 59%. What continues to be evident is that younger consumers have clearly moved away from conventional platforms such as Facebook. (Source: pewresearch.org)
7. YouTube is an Essential Part of Our Daily Lives
Now let’s dive into the most relevant YouTube stats.
Each month, close to two billion users access YouTube
There are plenty of users who are active on YouTube. Only Facebook surpasses it. In fact, around 43% of all global internet users access YouTube each month. (Source: backlinko.com)
Every day, YouTube viewers watch more than one billion hours worth of content
Due to the nature of the content, users tend to spend more time on YouTube than on many other sites.
Videos on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram are often significantly shorter than those on YouTube, which frequently has videos longer than 10 minutes. (Source: globalmediainsight.com)
The most popular website in the world is YouTube
According to data from Broadband Search, YouTube had more than 8.5 billion monthly viewers worldwide in 2020.
With over 3.48 billion monthly visitors, Facebook finished in second. YouTube’s visitor count was more than twice as high. (Source: broadbandsearch.net)
Less than 1% of YouTube users between the ages of 16 and 64 are unique to the platform.
99% of YouTube users frequently visit other social media platforms. (Source: hootsuite.com)
8. Pinterest is the Best Visual Media Platform
Pinterest is a visual search engine that started social media-based online shopping. Compared to other social media platforms, Pinterest users are 90% more likely to identify as “always shopping.”
- Pinterest has 444 million users – It’s not surprising that Pinterest has 444 million users globally given that it’s the go-to source for food, fashion, and home décor ideas.
- 98% of Pinterest users have tried something they’ve seen on the platform.
- Pinterest refers to 33% more traffic to e-commerce sites than Facebook.
Pinterest for business is growing and is a great platform to reach your audience in a visual manner. Find many more statistics on Renolon.com.
9. The Rise of Snapchat
Snapchat is an excellent platform for marketers to connect with Gen Z as it has grown in popularity among teenagers and young adults under 35.
- Snapchat is the world’s 12th most popular social media platform – Comparing Snapchat to the other leading social media platforms, it has 514 monthly active users, placing it 12th in terms of popularity. In fact, it’s rated higher than websites like Twitter and Pinterest. (Source: Hootsuite.com)
- Snapchat has over 319 million daily active users worldwide as of the first quarter of 2022. The third quarter of 2021 had 306 million daily active users, this is an increase of 26 million users. (Source: Hootsuite.com)
- 75% of millennials and Gen Z use Snapchat and is the best platform for connecting with those generations. It reaches more 13 to 34-year-olds than Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger combined. (Source: snapchat.com)
- Snapchat reaches 90% of all 13 to 24-year-olds and 75% of all 13 to 34-year-olds in the United States. Snapchat users also frequently use the platform; more than 3.5 billion Snaps are made daily. (Source: snapchat.com)
- Snapchat is most popular among both men and women aged 18 to 24. While the platform is least popular among males over 50. (Source: hootsuite.com)
10. Most Important Social Media Trends to Watch for in 2023
The following social media trends could potentially help you stand out and broaden the reach of your brand, market, and user interaction.
YouTube and short-form videos
Speaking of video content, it goes without saying that YouTube continues to be the market leader. Particularly so for 92% of marketers who believe it to be an essential component of their marketing strategy. (Source: hubspot.com)
Younger audiences have started to become somewhat accustomed to short-form videos. This trend is being driven by Generation Z, but other groups are also emulating it.
It’s obvious why short, engaging videos are so popular. They’re inexpensive to produce and simple to make, which creates some excellent user-generated content.
With the emergence of TikTok and Instagram Reels, this content trend will only continue to increase in 2023. Especially with influencers sharing short-form videos with their audiences to promote partner products and services. (Source: theenterpriseworld.com)
Micro-influencer Marketing
2023 will see a greater importance placed on the trend of micro-influencer marketing.
Your brand promotion strategy will be determined by collaborating with micro-influencers (who have a following of 10,000 to 100,000) to reach their audience as more and more consumers shop online.
Although influencer marketing can be quite costly, it’s an effective social marketing strategy, which is why it’s better to reach out to smaller micro-influencers in your particular niche. (Source: shopify.com)
Augmented reality
You’ve probably seen users add digital filters to their real photos. You might refer to those as augmented reality effects.
In essence, augmented reality (AR) enhances and modifies real-world visual content to make it stand out on social media.
Particularly with younger audiences, it’s a very well-liked feature. However, the popularity of augmented reality on social media goes beyond cute eyeglasses and bunny ears.
Facebook and Instagram users now have better social purchasing experiences thanks to AR. Users can try products ahead of time, for example, virtually trying on glasses or seeing how furniture fits in a certain room.
Although only a few different product types are now supported, AR technology offers large potential for the consumer market. (Source: techtarget.com)
Social listening will be used by more businesses
Social media can be used by businesses to gain information and insights. Businesses can listen to the world of consumers by utilizing social listening tools. Here are some tools for social listening:
- HubSpot
- Lately
- Sprout Social
- Hootsuite
- Clarabridge
Social listening aims to monitor online conversations and understand consumer reactions.
As a result, businesses can learn via social listening how advertising, brand perceptions, and other information affect their customer’s needs and wants.
In order to start seeing results, businesses can utilize branded hashtags, relevant keywords, and company mentions in social media campaigns. (Source: mediatoolkit.com)
Final Thoughts
In addition to changing how people connect with one another and express themselves online in their personal lives, social media has had a significant impact on the business world.
So there you have it. The social media data, figures, and trends you need to guide your social media marketing strategy. These social media marketing statistics will help you understand the shifting dynamics of the major social media platforms and how to build a successful social marketing strategy in 2023.