The State of Social Media Usage

While social media has already picked up a lot over the last decade, the pandemic ensured that an increasingly high number of businesses started using different social media platforms to reach out to their existing and potential customers. With millions of people using different social media platforms to interact with their favorite brands on a daily basis, it’s important for companies to form a sound understanding of their online behaviors.

To that end, Hootsuite has come up with a digital report with We Are Social. The report offers a comprehensive overview of everything digital. It includes data from 230 countries and territories and presents a global look at online activities and foresight into our digital future to help businesses gain an edge.

Here are the major highlights of the report.

1. 10.1% Growth in Social Media Users in 2021

2021 saw almost half a billion new users joining different social media platforms, which brought the global total to 4.62 billion. As social media platforms continue to flourish, this gives companies an opportunity to reach out to these users and drive their brand awareness.

However, brands need to be available on multiple platforms as people are splitting their time between an average of 7.5 different social platforms. Also, they need to tailor their content to match the experience provided by each platform.

2. Facebook is Still the Most Popular Social Media Platform

Facebook has 2.91 billion active users, which is 350 million more than the second-most used social platform. This means that most brands have a majority of their audience on Facebook. In fact, 79% of users on ten of the world’s top social platforms also use Facebook.

Companies need to integrate Facebook into their social strategies and ensure that they cater their content to the experiences offered by Facebook. With a potential advertising reach of 2.11 billion on Facebook and 562.1 million within Facebook Marketplace, running ads on Facebook will surely be worthwhile.

3. But WhatsApp is the Hot Favorite

Although WhatsApp doesn’t hold the top spot in terms of maximum usage, it is still the most loved platform and outperforms Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. WhatsApp is extremely versatile and has cemented its position as more than just an app for texting friends, family, and colleagues.

WhatsApp has become a great business tool and its customer service features could a prime reason why people love it. With more than 2 billion active monthly users, brands can consider reaching out to their customers via this platform. As a WhatsApp Business account offers a more efficient and personal customer service experience, it can also enhance sales outcomes for brands.

4. Users Use Multiple Social Media Platforms Simultaneously

Most users have a presence on multiple platforms. More than 84% of TikTok users also use Facebook, while 88% of Twitter users also use Instagram. This means that people get something valuable out of each platform. Thus, as mentioned above, brands need to focus on multiple platforms instead of concentrating solely on the largest ones.

5. Social Media Accounted for A Third of the Total Global Digital Ad Spend

Social media ads made up for 33.1% of the world’s total digital advertising expenditure at $154 billion. Marketers also spent an additional $23 billion on social ads in 2021, which was 17.4% higher than their spending in 2020.

Although the pandemic has tightened the screws on the marketing budgets of most companies, businesses continue to put more money into social media ads. Almost 51.4% of the 18,100 marketers surveyed by Hootsuite said that they were planning to boost their paid social spending this year.

6. TikTok Ads Can Reach 884.9 Million People

TikTok ads can reach almost 88.5% of its total user base. Although Gen Z users make up for a large portion of TikTok’S advertising audience, it still accounts for only 43%. This means 57% of the users belong to other age groups. This means that brands can reach other demographics on TikTok, which will cover more than half of America, almost half of the Philippines, around 40% of the U.K., and 61% of Malaysia.

Wrapping Up

As social media platforms continue growing, brands need to think of new ways to reach out to their target audience. With a plethora of social networks available today, businesses can’t afford to restrict themselves to just one platform; instead they need to devise strategies that can help them focus on every major platform simultaneously. By incorporating strategies that align with the findings of this report into their social media campaigns, brands can connect with their brands and offer them unique buying experiences.

To delve deeper into the findings of this report, click here.