How Social Media Channels Have Evolved Over the Years – Key Social Media Usage & Marketing Stats

Social media has become a serious content-consuming platform for everyone, for all types of content. Not just for personal and community connection, but it has become a highly relied platform for brand-user engagement, whether it is B2C or B2B. No doubt, this has led the businesses to divulge into the social realm where they are trying their best to tap into the mindset of consumers, in the way they love to absorb information and digital content.

Social Media – Shaping How Users Consume Online Content

From the early days of social media till now, a plethora of channels have come up, each with their unique characteristic of connecting online audiences. And ever since then, the number of social channel consumers has only grown. Now, these aren’t only the platforms for connecting with people but have become a big stage for businesses to tap into their potential audience, build their brand presence there, create a memorable identity in front of them, and generate traffic to their core business platform.

Even if Google and other search engines deny it, social media channels do help in the popularity of brands. But the sheer trend of joining social media won’t help you much if you don’t have the actual and figurative data of how different popular media channels are performing. Our key insight into social media statistics brings you handy information that will help make an informed decision about how to leverage these social mediums with effective social channel optimization & marketing initiatives.

Some Key Latest Trends Regarding Social Media

• Users are continuously spending more time on social media platforms; however, platforms other than X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook have shown a higher user-engagement growth in recent times.
• Influencer marketing and AI-curated or algorithm-generated content is gaining pace, with user-created posts reducing in numbers of late.

What Stats and Trends We Will Cover in This Blog?

• Social Media Users are Catching up with Total Internet Users Worldwide
• Which are the Social Networks Having the Highest Number of Monthly Active Users?
• How Much Time Users Spent on Social Media Channels from 2012 to 2023 (in minutes)?
• Which are the Most Downloaded Social Media Apps?
• What is the Most Popular Reason for Users to Be Active on Social Media Channels?
• Which Country Has the Most Number of Facebook Users?
• Distribution of Facebook Users Based on Age and Gender
• Which Countries Have the Highest Number of Instagram Users?
• Which Countries Have the Largest TikTok Audience?
• Which Social Media Channels Clock Highest Number of Daily User Activity in the U.S. (in minutes)?
• Influencer Marketing Spending has Surpassed Social Ad Spending in the U.S.
• Which Social Media Platforms Are Given More Weight-age by Marketers Compared to Consumers in the U.S.?
• How Does Social Media Impact the Lives of Gen Z Users Globally?
• Which is the Most Used Social Media Channel for Marketing?
• Why Brands are Using Social Media Channels for Marketing Purposes?
• Social Media Ad Spending Per User from 2017 to 2027
• Which Social Media Platforms Delivered Largest Return on Investment (ROI)?

Let’s dive deep into the social media usage trends and statistics covered in recent studies:

Social Media Users are Catching up with Total Internet Users Worldwide

According to a report, there are 5.19 billion Internet users worldwide, which amounts to approximately 64.6% of the total population. And accounting for social media users, the number is 4.88 billion, or 59.9% of the total global population. This underlines the growing power of social channels as key online platforms where users love to spend their digital time and consume data.

Which are the Social Networks Having the Highest Number of Monthly Active Users?

Facebook is undoubtedly the biggest social network in terms of popularity and users, with 2.9 million monthly active users as of January 2023, followed by YouTube at 2.5 million. It was also the first one to garner one billion registered accounts. U.S. is the place where most social networks having over 100 million users have incepted. However, China isn’t far behind with their social network channels like QQ, WeChat, and Douyin also generating a high number of users in their respective regions.

How Much Time Users Spent on Social Media Channels from 2012 to 2023 (in minutes)?

As of 2022, users spent an average of 151 minutes per day on social media channels, which is up from 147 minutes per day per user in 2021. Users from the U.S. consume social media content for approximately 123 minutes per day, whereas the Philippines tops the chart in this list with per user spending about 233 minutes per day on social media.

Which are the Most Downloaded Social Media Apps?

As per a 2022 report, Instagram is rising higher in popularity as compared to other social platforms, with the Instagram app being downloaded 547 million times. This is followed by WhatsApp at 424 million downloads. Surprisingly, Telegram surpassed the downloads of Facebook and Messenger. A newbie in the list of social media apps, Be Real, has really scaled the charts of popularity with 90 million downloads during the year.

What is the Most Popular Reason for Users to Be Active on Social Media Channels?

As per a 2022 report, approximately 47 % of users stated keeping in touch with their friends and family is the biggest reason for using social channels. After that, for 36.2 % of users, filling their spare time is the main reason. In fact, 20.3% stated that missing out on things is a reason for them to stay connected through social channels (a trend known as FOMO).

Which Country Has the Most Number of Facebook Users?

With its vast population and highly penetrative digital demographics, it comes as no surprise that India has the highest number of Facebook users amongst all the countries, at approximately 315 million, as of January 2023. After India, the U.S.A. with 175 million, Indonesia at 119.9 million, and Brazil at 109.5 million are the countries having Facebook users in excess of a hundred million.

Globally, about 98.5% of Facebook users access the platform through their mobile devices, with 81.8% accessing the social channel only through their mobile devices.

Distribution of Facebook Users Based on Age and Gender

Men, in the age group 25-34 are the largest audience of Facebook, accounting for 17.6%. And men in the age group 18-24 come second at 12.6%, as of January 2023. This is closely followed by women in the age group 25-34 at 12.3%.

Which Countries Have the Highest Number of Instagram Users?

As of January 2023, similar to Facebook usage, India has the largest Instagram audience with 229.5 million users. This is followed by the U.S.A. at 143.35 million, and Brazil at 113.5 million. Amongst all the countries, Brunei has shown the biggest penetration or reach, as 92% of its population usesthe Instagram channel. This social media network has a higher usage percentage amongst people in the age group 25-34.

Which Countries Have the Largest TikTok Audience?

TikTok, a Chinese social media has become a truly global force to reckon with against the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Its model of short videos instantly became a hit and set a trend in the world of social media engagement, with Instagram and Facebook following suit with their short video formats called ‘Reels’, and ‘YouTube Shorts’, respectively also garnering huge following.

As of July 2023, U.S.A. sits at the top with the largest TikTok audience at 122 million monthly users, followed by Indonesia at 99.8 million and Brazil at 83.33 million. Interestingly, 51% of TikTok users are female, while 49% are male.

Which Social Media Channels Clock Highest Number of Daily User Activity in the U.S. (in minutes)?

In 2023, the U.S. population is expected to spend around 5,209 million minutes on Facebook cumulatively, more than TikTok at 4,428 million minutes, and Instagram at 3,914. However, TikTok has been growing steadfast and is expected to overtake Facebook in this aspect accumulating 5,190 million minutes per day usage by 2025, whereas Facebook is likely to see a drop and garner 5,023 million minutes per day by 2025.

Influencer Marketing Spending has Surpassed Social Ad Spending in the U.S.

While social ad spending is still considered a big marketing aspect for marketers in the U.S., they are increasingly inclining more towards influencer marketing. This can be attributed to the rise of influencers in the last few years, as well as the popularity of Instagram Reels and TikTok short videos.

Which Social Media Platforms Are Given More Weightage by Marketers Compared to Consumers in the U.S.?

In this context, TikTok is ahead of the competitors in both segments, capturing the attention of 43% of marketers, and 57% of consumers, followed by Instagram and Pinterest.

How Does Social Media Impact the Lives of Gen Z Users Globally?

Self-expression is the most important aspect for Gen Z users to stay connected to the online community via their social media channels, with 57% responding positively, followed by social connectivity at 56% positive responses.

Source: Insider Intelligence

Which is the Most Used Social Media Channel for Marketing?

As of January 2023, marketers across the globe use Facebook most for their social marketing purposes, with 89% of respondents doing so. Instagram stood second with 80% of marketers leveraging this platform.

Why Brands are Using Social Media Channels for Marketing Purposes?

For marketers, leveraging social media for brand outreach is most helpful for increased brand exposure. This is followed by increasing traffic, generating leads, and improving followers. The most used platforms for these purposes are Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Social Media Ad Spending Per User from 2017 to 2027

Per user social media ad spending globally stood at 24.8 U.S. dollars in 2017, which rose to 28.3 U.S. dollars in 2020. This is expected to reach 40 U.S. dollars per user by 2025.

Which Social Media Platforms Delivered Largest Return on Investment (ROI)?

As per a report published in October 2022, Facebook was the social network delivering the highest return on investment, with 22% of B2B and B2C marketers voting in favor of this social giant. The second spot is equally contested between TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube at 16 %, with Linked following these at 7%.

Key Takeaways:

• Facebook’s dominance is increasingly being contested by other social platforms, especially TikTok has shown a sharp rise in usage in recent years. However, Meta will continue to hold sit upper presence in the social realm as it owns four of the top social networks (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger).
• Short-video content is here to stay, as stated by the trends shown by TikTok short videos, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Marketers would do well if they could tap into this creative marketing form that must be imbibed with a fun quotient to seek instant attention.
• The young generation, in the age group 18-34, is increasingly turning to social media as their main source of information on online platforms.
• As compared to ads on TV or streaming services, users are less opposed to advertising on social channels.
• Users, even Gen Z, and millennial, do turn to occasion breaks from social media; however, this break is shorter as compared to other content platforms.
• There are several reasons why users, especially the new generation, are moving away from giants like Facebook, and this is where many new social networks have leaped in creating a new identity with their apps that deliver something exciting that people are ready to become a part of.

Conclusion:

The social media field is extremely dynamic, and staying up-to-date, and understanding the user’s sensitivities, interests and preferences is key to leveraging these channels for brand growth. Marketers, who adopt new ideas and innovative approaches whilst making use of all the social channels respective of that medium’s uniqueness, can hope to reap maximum benefits.