65+ Social Media Statistics for 2021 [Infographic]

Social media has revolutionized many aspects of our lives. It has changed how we communicate with each other, what we do in our free time, and became a major news source. Finally, it has changed the way we connect and interact with brands.

Today, millions of brands form closer relationships with their customers through daily interaction on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. They give the users a chance to create and share content with the brand, express their ideas, concerns, and suggestions. The result is a strong base of customers who trust the brand.

However, mere presence on social media platforms is not enough. For your social media marketing efforts to be effective, your strategy must be informed with the latest social media statistics and trends.

Did you know that video is the most shareable content type on social media? Or that brands receive 10x higher engagement rates on Instagram than on Facebook? Staying unaware of key data like this can result in channeling resources into the wrong projects and missing out on engagement, growth, and potential customers.

To help you enhance your social media marketing strategy, we have collected in one place the latest social media statistics based on research and our own survey. Take a look at the infographic below and see which aspects of your social media marketing strategy need rebooting in 2021.

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General Statistics

• The internet has almost 4.57 billion users
• There are 3.96 billion active social media users
• Social media users grew by 321 million between January 2019 and January 2020.
• Every 6.4 seconds there is a new user
• An average of 91% of social media users go online via their smartphones
• The average daily time spent on social media is 142 minutes a day
• Nearly a billion people use stories across WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat
• Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp handle 100 billion messages a day

Recommended Reading

• 100+ Facebook Statistics
• 35+ Instagram Statistics
• 40+ YouTube Statistics
• 60+ Twitter Statistics

Social Media Demographics

• The largest age group on social media is the 18 to 29-year-old set
• 90% of  American 18 to 29-year-olds use social media
• 79% of US adults use at least one social media site
• 69% of US adults use Facebook
• 74% of American users are on Facebook daily
• 80% of Twitter users are “affluent millennials”
• 79% of Twitter’s monthly active users are outside the United States
• 63% of Instagram users are active every day
• 51% of 18 to 24-year-olds say social media would be hard to give up
• 81% of teenagers feel that social media has a positive effect on their lives
• 95% of adults are most likely to follow a brand via social networking

Social Video Statistics

• By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017
• 55% of users watch videos every day
• On average, users spend up to 84 minutes watching videos
• People would rather watch a long video than read a lengthy article
• US adults spend an average of 1 hour and 16 minutes each day watching videos on digital devices
• In the US, there are 175.4m people watching digital video content
• YouTube is considered to be the most preferred social media platform for watching videos
• 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound
• 93% of Twitter videos are viewed on mobile
• 6% of the purchase intent is lifted by in-stream video ads on Twitter
• 38% of video posts receive a higher engagement rate than images on Instagram

Social Media Advertising Statistics

• 53% of businesses use social ads
• Social media ad spend in 2020 was expected to be nearly $98B
• The percentage of total marketing budgets dedicated to social media advertising is expected to nearly double by 2023
• 9 million businesses use paid advertising on Facebook
• Facebook controlled 84.9% of this social video ad growth
• A typical American Facebook user clicks on 8 Facebook ads per month
• 2 million businesses use paid advertising on Instagram
• 4 million advertisers use stories across Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram
• 80% of major brands use stories on at least one social network

Social Media Marketing Statistics

• 90% of brands use social media to increase brand awareness
• 91% of retail brands use 2 or more social media channels
• 88% of social marketers said it’s important to provide customer service through a social media
• 28% of marketers have already implemented social commerce or plan to do so next year
• Most businesses maintain between 4 and 10 social profiles
• 81% of all small and medium businesses use some kind of social media platform
• 58% of brands say measuring the effectiveness of social is a challenge, and only 34% measure social ROI
• Engagement with shared content is 49% higher on weekdays than on weekends

Recommended Reading

• Social Media Marketing 101
• The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Marketing
• Instagram Marketing for Beginners

Interesting To Know

• Saudi Arabia has the largest social media presence in the world with 23 million active users, comprising 68% of the population
• Stories are growing 15 times faster than feed-based sharing
• A study found the effect of social media on teenagers was ‘trivial’
• 96% of people that discuss brands online do not follow those brands’ owned profiles.
• 91% of social marketers prioritize social media posts that teach
• 91% of customers said easy payment systems would increase their chances of buying through a social media site

Social Media Consumer Facts

• 37% of consumers find purchase inspiration through social networks
• 40% of digital consumers use social networks to research new brands or products
• 21% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that they can reach on social media
• 71% of consumers who have had a good service experience with a brand when using social media are likely to recommend it to others
• 50% of consumers said that seeing user-generated content would increase their chances of buying products through a brand’s social media
• 49 % of consumers said that they depend on influencer recommendations.
• 18% of consumers preferred graphics and images
• 17% of consumers would like to see produced video
• 73% of consumers want to see posts about discounts and sales.
• 60% of consumers want to see posts that showcase new products and services
• 59% of consumers want to see posts that teach something
• 74% of consumers share video content from brands on social media
• 45% of consumers say social media is one of the first channels they go to in case they have any questions or issues
• 21% of consumers would rather message a brand on social media instead of calling up customer service
• 57% of consumers reported that the most common reason why they reach out to brands on social media is that they have a question
• 45% of consumers affirm that the second most common reason is to have an issue with a product or service resolved.

Sources: Statista, Hootsuite, Brandwatch, Oberlo, Backlinko, DreamGrow, Statista, Renderforest Survey 2019