Social media marketers need to stay on top of trending channels and emerging networks. By tracking social media statistics, you can gain insight into industry trends and get context to shape your social media strategy.
So, which channels are generating the biggest buzz? What formats and tools producing the best results? In this article, we cover all the social media statistics you need to guide your organic and paid social media marketing budget and strategy in 2024.
Social Media Statistics: Consumer Usage
Thinking about investing in a new social media network? Want to make sure your brand or clients are focusing resources in the right places? By keeping an eye on which networks your target audience is using, you can feel more confident in the direction of your social media strategy.
1. Around the world, social media adoption rates continue to increase.
In 2024, the total number of social media users is projected to be 5.17 billion people, according to Statista. Every year, this number grows by about 300 million users per year.
2. In the United States, the total number of social media users is projected to be over 313 million in 2024.
Similar to the global adoption rate, social media usage in the U.S. continues to increase by about 3 to 5 million people per year.
3. Facebook maintains its top spot globally, with over 3 billion monthly active users.
YouTube takes second place with nearly 2.5 billion monthly active users. Instagram takes third place with 2 billion monthly active users.
Usage drops off quickly.
TikTok has 1.2 billion monthly active users. Snapchat has 750 million. X (formerly known as Twitter) has about 660 million monthly active users, and Pinterest has 465 million.
4. The most popular social media platforms in the United States are similar—but with a few key differences.
Facebook claims nearly 50% of the share of U.S.-based social media visits.
Instagram, X (Twitter), and Pinterest each claim about 15% of the share.
LinkedIn claims about 0.60% of the share, driving dramatically less traffic than other networks.
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Social Media Statistics for Business
Curious whether social media is necessary for your company or clients? Wondering which networks other businesses and marketers are using for social media marketing? Social media statistics for business can give you an overview of the landscape.
5. In the U.S., nearly 92% of businesses with 100+ employees are using social media for marketing.
That percentage has increased every year since 2013.
6. Marketers’ social media platform usage echoes global trends.
About 89% of marketers report using Facebook for business, according to Statista. About 80% report using Instagram to promote their businesses.
7. However, marketers’ social network preferences vary depending on the type of businesses they work with.
About 94% of B2C marketers prefer Facebook, and about 94% of B2B marketers prefer LinkedIn.
8. On average, chief marketing officers (CMOs) in the U.S. report allocating 17% of their marketing budgets to social media.
This percentage increased dramatically in 2020 due to pandemic-related shifts to digital marketing but fell in 2021.
9. Spending on influencer marketing continues to increase year over year.
In 2024, annual influencer marketing spend in the U.S. is projected to be $7 billion. This number has almost doubled since 2021 when it topped out at $4 billion.
Paid Social Statistics
From privacy-related updates to the rollout of AI-powered ad technology, the paid social landscape has changed significantly in recent years. Is your business keeping up with current trends? Compare your usage and allocation to these social media advertising statistics.
10. Worldwide, social media advertising spend is projected to reach about $160 billion in 2024.
Ad spend is likely to continue to increase significantly across social media networks, with a projected ad spend of over $260 million by 2028.
11. The U.S. has long spent the most on social media advertising, and this trend is projected to continue in 2024.
However, China’s paid social spending is increasing at a 13.4% compound annual growth rate. By 2026, China is projected to spend the most on social ads, according to the International Trade Administration.
12. Consumer confidence in social ads varies dramatically around the world.
Overall, Indian social media users take first place, with 48% reporting confidence in social ads. United Arab Emirates (UAE) takes second place, with 45% reporting confidence, according to the International Trade Administration.
13. Revenue from mobile social media advertising far outpaces the revenue that desktop social media ads generate.
Mobile revenue is projected to account for 82% of total social ad revenue in 2024. By 2026, it’s projected to increase to 84%.
14. Across most social media ad platforms, spend continues to increase from year to year.
However, ad spend is projected to decrease on X (Twitter). By 2027, annual ad spend on X (Twitter) is projected to drop to $2.7 billion, from $4.7 billion in 2022.
Facebook Statistics
15. As of September 2023, Facebook has over 3 billion monthly active users.
While user acquisition temporarily stalled in 2021, the network has continued to grow steadily since then.
16. In the U.S., 70% of adults report using Facebook on a daily basis.
Just over 15% use the network on a weekly basis, while 12% are less frequent Facebook users, according to the Pew Research Center.
17. Facebook’s user base is distributed across age groups in the U.S.
About 70% of people age 18 to 29 use Facebook, and 77% of those 30 to 49 report using the network. A total of 73% of people 50 to 64 use Facebook, and 50% of those 65+ use the network.
18. In terms of gender distribution, Facebook falls somewhere in the middle compared to other social networks.
Just over 56% of Facebook users identify as men, and just under 43% identify as women.
19. Facebook is the most popular social media network for shopping.
In the U.S., over 20% of consumers shop on Facebook.
20. This social media network is also a top choice for news in the U.S.
About 30% of American adults report relying on Facebook for news, according to the Pew Research Center.
Instagram Statistics
21. Instagram has more than 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, but it’s much more popular in some countries than in others.
India has the largest user base, with 230 million, according to Statista. The U.S. takes second place, with 143 million. Brazil takes third place with over 113 million users.
22. In the U.S., just under 60% of people report using Instagram daily.
About 21% use the social media network weekly, according to the Pew Research Center.
23. Instagram’s user base skews much younger than many other social media networks.
In the U.S., over 70% of people age 18 to 29 report using Instagram, while less than 50% of people 30 to 49 use the network. Adoption drops dramatically for older age groups.
24. Instagram is one of the top social shopping destinations, second only to Facebook. Nearly 12% of consumers in the U.S. shop on Instagram.
25. The most popular Instagram account is @Instagram, with over 650 million followers.
@cristiano (soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo) is the second most popular with 595 million followers. Arguaby, the best soccer player ever, Lionel Messi’s handle is @leomessi and takes third place with over 477 million.
26. Instagram users have clear preferences for specific types of content.
About 50% of users prefer funny content, while 46% prefer creative posts. Only 28% of users prefer how-to posts.
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LinkedIn Statistics
27. LinkedIn has a total user base of over 950 million people.
About 20%—or 180 million—are senior-level influencers. About 63 million are decision makers, while 10 million are C-level executives, according to LinkedIn.
28. More than any other social media platform, LinkedIn is known as a destination for B2B networking.
It’s home to more than 67 million company pages, according to LinkedIn.
29. Compared to other major social media networks, LinkedIn’s user base is the most educated.
Of all American users who rely on LinkedIn for news, more than 60% have at least a college degree, according to the Pew Research Center.
30. LinkedIn’s user base also skews older than competing social media networks.
Of all American users who depend on LinkedIn for news, 38% are aged 30 to 49. A quarter are aged 50-64, according to the Pew Research Center.
31. LinkedIn’s user base skews wealthier than other social media networks.
Over 50% of users have a high monthly household income, according to Statista.
32. Social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube are much more popular than LinkedIn as news sources.
However, about 5% of Americans report relying on LinkedIn for news, according to the Pew Research Center.
33. LinkedIn is also a popular site for job seekers.
Over 60 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs every week. According to LinkedIn, members submit 140 job applications every second.
Pinterest Statistics
34. Pinterest is by far the most popular in the U.S., with nearly 85 million users.
Brazil has about 28 million users, while Mexico has about 19 million users, according to Statista.
35. Pinterest has the highest penetration in the U.S. and the Netherlands.
Each has about 29% penetration, according to Statista. Belgium and Canada take second and third place, with about 27% and 25% penetration, respectively.
36. In terms of gender distribution, Pinterest attracts more female users.
About 60% of Pinterest users identify as female, according to Pinterest. The network also reports that male users are up 40% year over year.
37. Pinterest often serves as an educational destination for users.
About 85% of users report relying on the network when seeking information about starting a new project, according to Pinterest.
38. This network is also a popular destination for shopping and researching purchases.
According to Pinterest, 80% of weekly users have discovered a new brand or product on the platform.
Snapchat Statistics
39. Worldwide, just over 10% of internet users are Snapchat users, according to Statista.
That makes it one of the social media networks with the lowest penetration.
40. India has by far the most Snapchat users, with over 182 million.
The U.S. takes second place with a user base of nearly 110 million. User base sizes fall rapidly from there. Pakistan and France each have about 26 million users.
41. The number of daily active Snapchat users has steadily increased since 2019.
As of September 2023, Snapchat has over 400 million daily active users, according to Statista.
42. In terms of gender distribution, Snapchat has the most balanced global user base.
About 51% of Snapchat users identify as women, according to Statista.
43. Compared to other social media networks, Snapchat tends to attract a younger audience.
In the U.S., about 65% of people between 18 and 29 years old use Snapchat, according to the Pew Research Center. About 24% between 30 and 49 years old use the network, while only 12% of people between 50 and 64 years old are Snapchat users.
TikTok Statistics
44. TikTok is most popular in the U.S., which claims over 143 million users.
Indonesia takes second place with over 106 million followers. Brazil takes third with about 95 million users.
45. TikTok’s gender distribution is one of the most balanced.
About 49% of TikTok users identify as women, while about 51% identify as men, according to Statista.
46. Across all social media networks, users spend the most time on TikTok.
On average, users spend more than 53 minutes on TikTok per day, according to Statista.
47. TikTok’s user base skews younger, especially in the U.S.
Nearly 70% of Americans aged 18 to 19 use TikTok, and over 55% of those aged 20 to 29 use the social network, according to Statista.
48. With over 160 million subscribers, Khaby Lame is the most followed creator on TikTok.
Influencer Charlie D’Amelio is in second place with over 151 million followers.
49. TikTok may not be known as a B2B social media network, but it drives surprisingly high return on investment (ROI) for this niche.
In fact B2B marketers rank TikTok second for ROI (tied with YouTube and Instagram).
X (Twitter) Statistics
50. Although X (Twitter) has a globally distributed user base, the network is most popular in the U.S.
The U.S. has over 95 million X (Twitter) users. Japan takes second place with over 67 million users. Adoption drops off rapidly after these two frontrunners. India has about 27 million users, and Brazil has about 24 million.
51. In terms of gender distribution, X (Twitter) has the most imbalanced global user base.
About 63% of X (Twitter) users identify as men.
52. X (Twitter) was one of the first social platforms to offer a paid subscription, which initially launched in December 2022.
Formerly Twitter Blue, X Premium counted about 640,000 subscribers as of April 2023, according to Statista.
53. The largest X (Twitter) account is platform owner @elonmusk, with over 140 million followers.
In second place is former U.S. president @barackobama, with 132 million followers. Singer @justinbieber is in third place with 112 million followers.
54. Emojis are commonplace on X (Twitter).
Over 26% of tweets include at least one emoji. Emoji usage has increased significantly over the past decade. In 2013, only 4% of tweets included at least one emoji.
55. While many social media networks continue to grow and gain users, X (Twitter) may begin shrinking.
Only 40% of users confirmed that they would likely continue to use the network in 2024. About 25% of users reported that it was unlikely they would use X (Twitter) in 2024, according to Statista.
YouTube Statistics
56. In some countries, YouTube has achieved almost 100% penetration.
Over 98% of people in the UAE use YouTube, and over 93% of people in Israel use the video app. Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Norway all have over 90% YouTube penetration.
57. Almost 100% of some demographics use YouTube.
About 95% of Americans between 18 and 29 use YouTube, while over 90% of people aged 30 to 49 use the network, according to the Pew Research Center.
58. YouTube launched Shorts, its short-form video format, in September 2020.
This format has experienced rapid growth, tallying 2 billion monthly active users as of July 2023.
59. While YouTube isn’t the top network for social shopping, it ranks third—behind Facebook and Instagram.
In the U.S., 10.7% of consumers use YouTube for shopping.
60. YouTube has offered a paid subscription, known as Premium, since 2014.
As of 2024, YouTube Premium is projected to have nearly 28 million subscribers.
61. The largest YouTube channel is Indian music channel T-Series, with 237 million subscribers.
YouTube Movies is a distant second, with 163 million subscribers.
Wrapping Up What We’ve Learned About Social Media Statistics
From evolving user bases to ad platforms gaining steam, social media continues to change rapidly. By tracking the right social media statistics, you can make sure you’re following the trends that truly matter to your brand or clients—and get the guidance you need to build a successful social media strategy.
For real-time social media performance statistics, use Agorapulse Social Trends. This tool reveals impression, engagement, and hashtag stats for marketers around the world. It’s helpful for cross-checking your brand’s or client’s social media metrics against worldwide trends.
