Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
Over 5.17 billion people worldwide use social media, which accounts for more than 63% of the global population
The average internet user spends approximately 143 minutes (2 hours and 23 minutes) on social media daily
People use an average of 6.7 different social networks per month
Facebook remains the most used social platform globally with over 3 billion monthly active users
LinkedIn generates over 80% of B2B leads generated through social media
Users spend an average of 30.1 minutes per day on Instagram
Short-form video is the #1 media format for ROI according to marketers
Video content is 52 times more likely to show up on the first page of Google than text
85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound
Influencer marketing industry value is estimated to reach $21.1 billion in 2023
61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations compared to 38% for brand-produced content
90% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support
Social media ad spending is projected to reach $207 billion in 2024
The average Click-Through Rate (CTR) for Facebook ads across all industries is 0.90%
Social commerce sales are expected to hit $2.9 trillion by 2026
Ad Spending & Business ROI
- 1Social media ad spending is projected to reach $207 billion in 2024
- 2The average Click-Through Rate (CTR) for Facebook ads across all industries is 0.90%
- 3Social commerce sales are expected to hit $2.9 trillion by 2026
- 477% of marketers say they have acquired customers through Facebook
- 5The Cost Per Click (CPC) on Instagram is typically between $0.20 and $2.00
- 6Retargeting ads are used by 77% of marketers to acquire customers
- 726% of Facebook users who clicked on ads reported making a purchase
- 8Social media advertising is the second biggest market in digital advertising
- 952% of online brand discovery happens in public social feeds
- 10The average CTR for LinkedIn Sponsored Content is between 0.44% and 0.65%
- 1196% of social media marketers use paid ads on Facebook
- 12Revenue from social commerce in the US is expected to reach $100 billion by 2025
- 13Advertisements on Pinterest deliver a 2x higher return on ad spend than other channels
- 1473% of businesses invest in design specifically for social media advertising
- 15The average conversion rate for Facebook ads across all industries is 9.21%
- 1683% of marketers claim that social media campaigns have a high ROI
- 17TikTok ads reach 17.9% of all internet users aged 18+
- 1833% of B2B marketers state social media is their most effective paid channel
- 19Mobile advertising spending on social media accounts for over 80% of total social ad revenue
- 2059% of marketers say that measuring social media ROI is their top challenge
Interpretation
Brands are pouring an estimated $207 billion into social ads as social commerce races toward $2.9 trillion and mobile buys account for over 80 percent of spend; platforms clearly drive discovery and sales, with 52 percent of brand discovery happening in public feeds, 77 percent of marketers reporting customer acquisition on Facebook and average Facebook conversion rates near 9 percent; Pinterest claims twice the return on ad spend and retargeting is used by 77 percent of marketers; yet measuring true ROI remains the top challenge for 59 percent of marketers, so smart creative, feed-focused design and disciplined analytics are the practical ingredients that turn endless scrolling into actual revenue.
Content & Video Marketing
- 1Short-form video is the #1 media format for ROI according to marketers
- 2Video content is 52 times more likely to show up on the first page of Google than text
- 385% of Facebook videos are watched without sound
- 4Interactive content generates 2x more conversions than passive content
- 5Posts with images produce 650% higher engagement than text-only posts
- 691% of businesses use video as a marketing tool
- 7Social media posts with emojis increase engagement by 25.4%
- 8User-generated content (UGC) videos get 10x more views than branded content on YouTube
- 966% of consumers find short-form video to be the most engaging type of in-feed social content
- 1082% of all internet traffic will came from video streaming by 2022
- 11Long-form content generates 9x more leads than short-form blog posts distributed on social
- 12Captions of 2,000 characters or more drive higher engagement rates on Instagram
- 13Live streaming market usage grew by 99% between 2019 and 2020
- 14Infographics are liked and shared on social media 3x more than any other type of content
- 1544% of marketers say producing engaging content is their biggest challenge
- 16Vertical video has a 90% higher completion rate than horizontal video on mobile
- 17Tweets with GIFs get 55% more engagement than those without
- 18Carousel posts on Instagram have the highest engagement rate per impression at 1.92%
- 1980% of people prefer watching a live video from a brand over reading a blog
- 20Educational content is the second most popular type of content businesses post on Instagram
Interpretation
Taken together, these stats are a wake-up call: stop treating social like a blog and start prioritizing short, vertical, captioned, interactive and user-generated videos backed by images and infographics, with occasional long-form and live educational content to win engagement, search visibility, and conversions.
Influencer & Brand Engagement
- 1Influencer marketing industry value is estimated to reach $21.1 billion in 2023
- 261% of consumers trust influencer recommendations compared to 38% for brand-produced content
- 390% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support
- 4Brands that respond to customers on social media see a 20% increase in spending from those customers
- 5Micro-influencers (10k-100k followers) have 60% higher engagement rates than macro-influencers
- 680% of consumers expect companies to interact with them on social media
- 740% of consumers have used social media to contact customer service
- 879% of consumers expect a response to their social media posts within 24 hours
- 9User-Generated Content (UGC) results in 29% higher web conversions than campaigns without it
- 1082% of marketers believe the quality of customers from influencer marketing is better than other channels
- 1169% of marketers plan to increase their budget for influencer marketing
- 1272% of Gen Z follow influencers
- 1349% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations on social media
- 14Brands replying to tweets get 20% more engagement on future posts
- 1550% of consumers say they would boyott a brand that shows poor social content or behavior
- 1651% of customers call out brands on social media to get a response to a problem
- 17Nano-influencers (less than 10k followers) average an engagement rate of 4%
- 1893% of marketers use influencer marketing on Instagram
- 1963% of customers expect companies to offer customer service via social media
- 2032% of users will unfollow a brand if they post too much content
Interpretation
With the influencer market exploding to an estimated 21.1 billion dollars in 2023 and consumers rewarding authenticity and quick interaction far more than polished brand messaging, the smart move is to back micro and nano influencers and user generated content to boost engagement, conversions and customer quality while remembering that ignoring social customer service or behaving poorly will quickly cost you followers, sales and reputation.
Platform-Specific Stats
- 1Facebook remains the most used social platform globally with over 3 billion monthly active users
- 2LinkedIn generates over 80% of B2B leads generated through social media
- 3Users spend an average of 30.1 minutes per day on Instagram
- 4TikTok has the highest engagement rate per post of any social network
- 5YouTube Shorts receive 50 billion daily views
- 689% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for lead generation
- 7Pinterest shoppers have 85% larger basket sizes than shoppers from other platforms
- 870% of YouTube viewers bought a brand as a result of seeing it on YouTube
- 9Tweets with hashtags get 100% more engagement than those without
- 10Instagram Stories are used by 500 million users every day
- 1161% of Pinterest users say they use the platform to plan for new projects
- 12Facebook Messenger has a 70-80% opening rate for marketing messages
- 1363% of Instagram users check the app at least once per day
- 14Threads reached 100 million users within five days of launch
- 1555% of Twitter users utilize the platform to get news
- 16Snapchat reaches 75% of millennials and Gen Z
- 1718.2% of US adults made a purchase via Facebook in the last year
- 18LinkedIn has over 65 million decision-makers on its platform
- 1925% of TikTok users in the US are aged 10-19
- 20Reddit has over 70 million daily active users
Interpretation
Taken together, these numbers show social media is less a single channel and more a set of specialized marketplaces: Facebook is the sprawling global square with over three billion monthly users and 18.2 percent of US adults buying there, LinkedIn is the B2B boardroom that generates over 80 percent of B2B leads, is used by 89 percent of B2B marketers and hosts more than 65 million decision makers, Instagram commands habitual attention with 500 million daily Stories users, 30.1 minutes spent per day and 63 percent checking in daily, TikTok combines a youth-heavy audience with the highest per-post engagement and 25 percent of US users aged 10 to 19, YouTube converts views into purchases via 50 billion daily Shorts views and persuades 70 percent of viewers to buy, Pinterest users plan projects and spend 85 percent more per basket, Messenger enjoys 70 to 80 percent open rates, tweets with hashtags get double the engagement while Twitter still serves news for over half its users, Snapchat reaches 75 percent of millennials and Gen Z, Threads proved rapid adoption with 100 million users in five days, Reddit offers deeply engaged communities with over 70 million daily active users, and the lesson for marketers is clear: match platform strengths to campaign goals rather than shouting the same message everywhere.
User Behavior & Demographics
- 1Over 5.17 billion people worldwide use social media, which accounts for more than 63% of the global population
- 2The average internet user spends approximately 143 minutes (2 hours and 23 minutes) on social media daily
- 3People use an average of 6.7 different social networks per month
- 493% of internet users are on social media
- 576% of North American internet users access social media via a mobile device
- 6Gen Z users access social media apps to research brands more often than they use search engines
- 7Women aged 16 to 24 spend the most time on social media daily, averaging over 3 hours
- 854% of social browsers use social media to research products from their mobile devices
- 945% of internet users globally turn to social networks when looking for brand information
- 10Internet users in Nigeria spend the most time on social media, averaging over 4 hours per day
- 1184% of US adults aged 18 to 29 use at least one social media site
- 1240% of internet users worldwide say their primary reason for using social media is filling spare time
- 13Approximately 59% of the world’s social media users reside in the Asia-Pacific region
- 14Social media users grew by 320 million people between 2023 and 2024
- 1522% of US adults use Twitter (X)
- 1698% of users access social media via a mobile device at least once a month
- 1726% of users say finding content (articles, videos) is their main reason for using social media
- 18The fastest-growing demographic on social media is the 65+ age group
- 1928% of internet users follow influencers or other experts on social media
- 2033% of internet users follow brands or companies on social media
Interpretation
With more than 5.17 billion people on social media, averaging nearly two and a half hours a day across about 6.7 platforms mainly on mobile, and with Gen Z and young women using apps to research brands, older adults growing fastest, and billions more joining annually, social media is now the central, data-rich marketplace for attention, discovery and purchase intent, so any brand that treats it as optional risks irrelevance.
