As the ongoing pandemic continues to push more people online, social remains integral to both our daily lives and brands alike. The nature of social media engagement and analytics continues to shift as apps grow and platforms evolve. Marketers can use the social media stats below to guide their presence in 2022 and beyond.
- Social media usage statistics
- Facebooks statistics
- Instagram statistics
- LinkedIn statistics
- Twitter statistics
- Pinterest statistics
- TikTok statistics
- Social media advertising statistics
- Social media consumer behavior statistics
Social media usage statistics
It’s no secret that we’re all glued to social media (guilty as charged). Below is a quick snapshot of how usage is changing, which networks are winning and just how hooked consumers are on social.
- As of January 2022, there are 3.96 billion total social media users across all platforms.
- The average person bounces between seven different social networks per month.
- The amount of time adults use social media across all platforms is now higher than ever — 95 minutes per day.
- TikTok is the fastest-growing social network with a staggering 105% user growth rate in the US over the past two years.
- As of 2022, Facebook usage and activity are down to 33 minutes per day on average (versus 39 minutes daily in 2017).
Facebook statistics
From ongoing privacy concerns to scrutiny over the “Meta” rebrand, Facebook has arguably seen better days.
That said, the platform remains an advertising powerhouse and a massive user base. Whether or not brands should focus on Facebook is a tough question that really depends on your individual Facebook metrics. The following social media statistics can clue you in further.
- Despite gloom and doom, Facebook remains the most-used platform by marketers worldwide (93%). Instagram sits in second place (78%).
- Facebook is responsible for a quarter of all digital ad spending (25%) versus Google (28.9%), Amazon (10.3%) and others (35.6%) in 2020 alone.
- Facebook Messenger is on track to reach an impressive 3 billion users over the course of 2022.
- There are approximately 10 million active advertisers on Facebook right now.
- 1 in 3 adults regularly consume news from Facebook, signaling the popularity of timely (and often controversial) content on the platform.
Instagram statistics
The scrutiny that Facebook has seen in recent years has, ironically enough, been to Instagram’s benefit. The platform quietly crossed the 2 billion user mark as of 2022 and brands are still scrambling to get more Instagram followers.
However, the network isn’t without its hurdles. Once the go-to social platform for influencers, Instagram is facing challenges from the likes of TikTok and its younger base appears to be dwindling.
Still, relatively high engagement rates, fresh ecommerce features and big ad spending signal that the future is still bright for Instagram.
- Instagram dominates social streaming services in terms of engagement (hint: 81% engagement versus Facebook’s 8%).
- Engagement rates on Instagram are approximately more than six times higher than those on Facebook (0.83% to 0.13%).
- Instagram Stories (83%) and grid posts (93%) remain the most popular types of content among influencers.
- Uses of the “#ad” tag on Instagram decreased 17% over the past year among influencers — this hints at both a shift in platforms and tactics in the influencer space.
- 44% of users shop for products on Instagram weekly (and 28% of those shopping activities are pre-planned).
LinkedIn statistics
LinkedIn has done a brilliant job of carving out its niche as the go-to professional network. The platform is a potential goldmine for B2B brands and the rapid growth of their ad platform speaks for itself.
Spurred by the pandemic and widespread career changes over the past two years, the platform doesn’t look to slow down any time soon. Hint: now’s the time to level up your LinkedIn marketing if you’re in B2B.
- Linkedin ad revenue recently exceeded $1 billion in 2021, growing by 37% while organic session engagement grew by a record 22%.
- Based on projections, over 50% of marketers got on board with LinkedIn in 2021
- 16.2% of LinkedIn users use the platform daily (versus 48.5% that log in monthly).
- LinkedIn has one of the highest-earning and most educated bases on social media — 51% college-educated with half of users earning more than $75,000 annually.
- According to LinkedIn themselves, Elevated shares on the platform earn 53% more engagement and twice the CTR of employee-shared content.
Twitter statistics
Twitter has cemented itself as the hub of political discussions, memes and a prime place to go back and forth with brands. In short, a mixed bag.
And while new features like Fleets failed, the rise of Twitter Spaces signals a window of opportunity for the platform to really earn its wings again.
- Twitter’s revenue rose to $1.284 billion as of Q3 2021.
- Twitter boasts about 436 million monthly active users in total worldwide.
- 52% of Twitter users use the platform daily (versus 84% that use it weekly).
- Twitter’s US advertising revenue totaled $647 million in Q3 2021, an increase of 51% YoY (and up 98% from the previous quarter).
- “#DigitalMarketing” (47%) is the most popular marketing hashtag among #ContentMarketing Tweets, followed by “#SEO” (40%) and “#marketing” (37%).
Pinterest statistics
Pinterest often doesn’t get its due when it comes to social platforms. The platform’s diverse, big-spending audience is among the most dedicated and engaged of any network. Likewise, the power of Pinterest advertising is well-documented and the platform is the perfect place to uncover new products.
- Pinterest boasts 400+ million monthly active users (and over 240 billion pins saved in total).
- Shoppers on Pinterest have 85% larger shopping carts than buyers on other platforms (and spend twice as much monthly).
- According to the platform themselves, 7 in 10 Pinners say that Pinterest is their go-to place to find products or services they can trust.
- Pinterest users are 40% more likely to say they love shopping (compared to people who don’t use Pinterest).
- Pinterest users are seven times more likely to claim the platform is more influential than any social media platform in the purchasing journey.
TikTok statistics
TikTok has totally transformed itself from “What the heck is this?” to a must-have social network for brands. The platform’s rabid fanbase, rapid growth and sky-high usage spell great news for early adopters.
Younger consumers and smaller influencers dominate the platform right now, but that may change in the very near future. If you’re already on the platform, make sure to watch your TikTok analytics and how to reach your audience ASAP.
- 62% of TikTok users say that platform-specific branded content is the best way to connect to customers. This signals the need for unique posts on TikTok, not just repurposed content.
- 39% of Gen Z consumers say that their purchasing decisions are influenced directly by what they see on TikTok.
- TikTok saw the largest increase in planned new platform investment for brands in 2022 (84%) versus YouTube (66%) and Instagram (64%).
- Piggybacking on that point above, TikTok is now more popular among Gen Z consumers than Instagram.
- Influencers with less than 5k followers see the highest engagement rates on TikTok (17.9%) vs macro-influencers with up to 1 million followers (13.48%).
Social media advertising statistics
Sure, social ads might have a bad reputation among the average consumer.
That said, they’re still incredibly effective and you can’t escape ’em. Winning with social media advertising means that you can’t just “spray and pray” when it comes to your ads. Higher campaign price tags and consumers ignoring ads is obviously a problem for brands, but positive results keep rolling in.
- In Q1 2021, marketers spent 60% more on Facebook and Instagram ads versus Q1 2020.
- Social media recently overtook paid search as an advertising channel, growing 25% YoY and exceeding $137 billion (just edging out search’s $135 billion).
- Retargeting ads are the most-used among marketers, with 77% of B2B and B2C marketers alike saying they use retargeting as part of their Facebook and Instagram advertising strategies.
Social media consumer behavior statistics
The concept of buying something you saw on social media is nothing new. From product recommendations to first impressions from brands, the impact of social media on consumers is well-documented.
However, the recent growth of direct social sales is notable. Consumers likewise crave authenticity and ads that don’t feel like ads according to recent social media statistics (see below).
- Consumers are six times more likely to make a purchase from a product page that includes pictures from social media (hint: don’t neglect UGC).
- Social media users overwhelmingly trust other users as their “preferred” form of influencer, most likely to buy from them based on a product recommendation (37%) versus celebrities (7%).
- Privacy and data protection are “extremely impactful” and important to 52% of social media users.
Which of these social media statistics stand out to you?
Learning the latest social media marketing statistics is key to fine-tuning your strategy and setting smarter goals.
Are there opportunities on new networks? Do you need to shift from organic content to ads (or vice-versa)? Should you double down on what you’re doing now?
We hope our social media statistics help you find the answers! Combing through them is totally worth it — you should totally bookmark ’em if you haven’t already.
After reviewing these stats, make sure you check out our latest guide on how to build a better social media marketing strategy. Whether you’re starting from scratch or want to optimize what you already have, we can help!
