Social media is an ever-evolving set of skills, best practices, and platforms. The social networking platform companies are continually rolling out new features as they compete for an ever-dwindling commodity—our time.
But if you take a look at social media statistics, you can get an idea of how to best use social media for your business.
Global Social Media Statistics
We’ve highlighted some of the most valuable stats for business below:Social Media Users and Frequency
Who’s where and how often?• Facebook is still the site with the most active users (1.860 billion) per month and 1.74 billion active users on mobile. That’s roughly 22% of the world’s population. (Statista)
• Out of online Americans, 79% use Facebook (75% of men and 83% of women), 32% use Instagram, 31% use Pinterest, 29% use LinkedIn and 24% use Twitter. (Pew Research Center)
• WhatsApp has over a billion users now.
• There are 3.773 billion internet users (50% penetration) and 2.789 billion active mobile social users (37% penetration) around the world. (We Are Social)
• Annual growth of internet and social media active users around the globe was 10% from 2015-2016. Growth of active social media mobile users was 21 percent. (We Are Social)
• 97% of online adults ages 16-64 have visited or used a social network over the past month.
• Nearly 80% of girls in Japan ages 10-19 have a Twitter Account (eMarketer)
• The average internet user has 7 accounts, up from 3 in 2012. (Global Web Index)
• 45% of online women use Pinterest. (Pew Research Center)
• 32% of teenagers say Instagram is the most important social network and most of the site’s users are between 18-29. (Pew Research Center)
• SnapChat reaches 41% of all 18-34-year-olds in the U.S. and 150 million people use the platform every day. (SnapChat)
• Since 2005, the number of people who use social media has risen from 5% to 69%. (Pew Research Center)
• 34% of Americans over 65 use social media, while 64% from ages 50-64 use it. (Pew Research Center)
Digital in 2017 Global Overview
Infographic courtesy of: Wearesocial and HootSuite.
Social Media Activity
What are people doing on social media?• 43% of social media users between 19-29 are researching and searching for jobs on social media while nearly a quarter (24%) of social media users over 50 are doing the same. (iCIMS)
• At work, 34% of social media users admit to using social media to “take a mental break”, 27% use it to stay in touch with family, 24% make or support professional connections. (Pew Research Center)
• In Asia, social media commerce makes up about 30% of online sales. (eMarketer)
• In South Korea, more than half of internet users use messaging apps, By 2019, it’s expected that rate will be over 25% for the rest of the world. (eMarketer)
• 41% of people use social media to get their news (Global Web Index)
• 81% of Millennials check Twitter at least once a day.
• Sponsored lenses on SnapChat average about 20 seconds worth of play time by users. (SnapChat)
• More than half of YouTube views are on mobile devices. (YouTube)
• YouTube reaches more people age 18-49 than any cable network in the U.S. (YouTube)
Social media engagement – Statistics and Trends
Infographic source: Invespcro.
Statistics can be overwhelming so it’s important you put them in context for your business. What markets do you sell in? Who is your ideal customer and what demographics do they fit? Knowing the answers to these questions can help you apply what is most valuable to your marketing.
