Top Social Media Platforms: Comparison of Popularity
01
YouTube
Launched: 2005
Monthly Active Users: 2.2 billion
Revenue: $28.8 billion (Statista, 2022)
YouTube, is the second most popular social media platform. It maintains dominance in that market with 2.2 billion monthly active users. YouTube is also dubbed the second largest search engine after Google, its parent company. People frequent YouTube for everything from entertainment to how-to videos.
YouTube has a strong user base across all age groups, especially younger generations. But it also ranks high in the difficult-to-reach 65+ demographic, 49% of whom use the platform, second only to Facebook. Furthermore, users watch 1 billion hours of video on YouTube daily, and 90 percent of users say they discover new brands and products through YouTube.
Since video is the growing medium for content marketing, businesses should invest in it. They cannot ignore the statistics for YouTube anymore.
02
Launched: 2004
Monthly Active Users: 2.9 billion
Revenue: $86 billion (Statista, 2022)
Facebook is the largest social media site worldwide, reigning as the king of social media, with 2.94 billion active users in 2022, according to Statista. That’s more than half of the 4.65 billion social media users worldwide. It is the social media platform with the most active users and ranks among the most-used social media apps.
Furthermore, 27 percent of Android users worldwide use the Facebook app daily. More than 200 million businesses use Facebook tools. And more than seven million advertisers also actively promote their business on Facebook. It is also the preferred platform for demographics 65+ years of age.
Facebook’s statistics and its social media ranking say it all. So, if you want to establish a presence on social media, Facebook is a safe bet.
All content formats, such as text, images, video content, and stories, work great on Facebook. But Facebook is best for content that sparks conversations and meaningful interactions between people. So, promote your page and utilize it to create meaningful relationships with your community.
Facebook Marketin Strategy: Local Market & Geo-targeting Option
When people look for local businesses, Facebook is on top of the results, together with Google My Business. This makes it suitable for a local marketing strategy. Also, 60% of Facebook users visit a local business page at least once a week.
Advertising
Facebook is even with Google as the top digital advertising platform, reaching up to 36.7% of the adult population. That is the highest percentage of all social media platforms.
Community and Relationship Building
Facebook is a better platform for connecting and building relationships with your community. Users usually visit Facebook to check for announcements, store closings, sales, and other recent information. This means that even if you do not frequently show up in their feed, they will likely still visit your page for updates.
So, make sure to spark discussions and engage with your followers.
03
Launched: 2010
Monthly Active Users: 2 billion
Revenue: $24 billion (businessofapps.com, 2022)
Instagram leads the way as the top social media app for product-based businesses, influencers, and coaches.
It is the best place for showcasing your products or services with photos or videos. With this popular social media platform, you can share a wide range of content such as photos, videos, stories, reels, and live videos to engage your target audience.
Instagram is a gold mine for demographics under 35. In fact, there are 67% of 18-24-year-olds, 67% of Generation Z, and 58% of Millennials use the app daily.
This app is also the most influential social media platform on our shopping habits. It has turned planned shopping and folded impulse buying into our organic behaviors.
Furthermore, according to Hootsuite, 81% of people say Instagram helps them to research or discover new products or services.
There are also 130 million users who tap on shopping posts every month. Additionally, Retail TouchPoints states that 72% of users make purchase decisions based on something they saw on Instagram.
Organic Engagement
According to Social Insider, Instagram has the highest organic reach of all social media platforms, with 9.4 %, and the highest organic engagement rate of 1.16%.
Influencer Marketing
According to Insider Intelligence, e-marketers spend about 69% of their influencer budgets on Instagram, which is more than any other network.
The Most Popular Industries on Instagram
The industries that thrive on Instagram are:
04
Launched: 2003
Monthly Active Users: 830 million
Revenue: $8.05 billion (Statista, 2020)
LinkedIn is the top social media platform for professionals. Within its massive network of professionals, it has become the go-to platform for businesses to establish thought leadership in their industries and find top talents. In fact, there are more than 61 million users in senior positions on LinkedIn. Additionally, 50 million people use it to search for jobs every week.
LinkedIn is a very focused social media platform, and because of that, it has become the place for industry experts to share content, network, and build their personal brands.
LinkedIn can help you connect with an elite group of professionals who can make a difference for your business.
LinkedIn Marketing Strategy B2B Marketing
LinkedIn is the best platform for B2B marketing, generating over half of all social traffic to b2b websites and blogs. Furthermore, 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn. It is also a solid platform for international B2B businesses since 70% of LinkedIn users live outside the US. (Sprout Social)
Organic Engagement
According to Sprout Social, 95% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn as an organic marketing channel.
Long-Form Content
LinkedIn is the best platform for long-form content, providing the greatest number of views, likes, comments, and shares.
Launched: 2006
Monthly Active Users: 217 million (2021)
Revenue: $1.2 billion (Statista, 2022)
Twitter is popular for things happening and trending right now, whether in entertainment, sports, politics, technology, or business marketing. What differentiates Twitter from most other social media sites is that it emphasizes real-time information.
Twitter Marketing Strategy
Customer service
Due to its real-time information features, many brands use Twitter as an alternate customer service channel. According to advertisers on Twitter, more than 80 percent of social customer service requests happen on Twitter. Its fast-paced nature has made it a go-to channel for customers to reach out to brands.
Images
According to Quicksprout, images get 128% more retweets than videos.
Advertising to Males
According to Statista, Twitter’s global user base is 70% male and 30% female. The microblogging site is clearly favored more by men.
News
Statista says 56% of users get their news from Twitter. Another study from Hootsuite shows that 59% of users use it regularly to get the news. Furthermore, Oberlo states that journalists make up almost 25% of all verified accounts on Twitter.
Young, Educated, Wealthy City Dwellers and Democrats
According to Pew Research, Twitter users consist of younger, more highly educated, and wealthier demographics versus the general public. It also shows that 65% of users are Democrats versus 33% Republicans.
