In times where commerce and entertainment are just a click away, the Internet has become the must-have place for brands. Some measurements made in the second half of 2022 showed that at least 75% of current Internet users, calculated in 5.03 billion, use social media platforms to search for any information related to products and services in the market.
Maybe one of your brand’s new year’s goals is to gain ground on social media platforms to generate community, amplify your presence, and increase sales. If that is your case, we tell you everything you need to know about the most popular social media platforms in 2024.
Facebook is the platform with the most active users worldwide (2.9 Billion)
People use social media to keep in touch with friends and family and as a source of information and commerce. That is why Facebook, which as of June 2022 had 2.93 billion users, remains the platform with the most active accounts today: it satisfies all three types of use in one place.
However, with Generation Z spending more hours on video-driven platforms, Facebook has lost ground in preference. According to information from DataReportal, 14.5% of social media users use the platform created by Mark Zuckerberg daily, placing Facebook behind Instagram (15%) and WhatsApp (16.4%).
Facebook is the preferred platform for users between the ages of 35 and 64
While less than 11% of social media platform users under 24 consider Facebook their favorite application, Meta’s platform is the third most consumed, with around 19.4 hours monthly per user, as it still has many followers.
With 17.9% of responses, GWI recorded that Facebook is the preferred platform of females aged 55 to 64, second only to WhatsApp.
At the same time, these data showed that with 18% of the responses in favor, Facebook is the most used social media app among male users between 35 and 44.
Keep updated on the trends of this platform because in terms of time consumed by its users, Facebook is only behind YouTube (23.2 hours per month) and TikTok (23.6 hours).
YouTube has the second-largest number of active users worldwide (2.47 billion)
When designing your ad strategy for 2024, remember the most used video platform globally. That’s right: YouTube, the website that, by mid-2022, already accumulated 2.47 billion active users.
However, one indicator that can tell you more about YouTube’s current penetration is the average time users spend on the platform.
According to some comparisons published in DataReportal, YouTube consumes approximately 23.2 hours per month, which means a maximum of 74 minutes daily per user for video consumption.
Good for a platform that, according to 73% of the 2,800 marketers surveyed in 2022, is second only to Instagram (75%) in giving their brands the most exposure.
Ads on YouTube reach 31% of the world’s population
While 20% of social media platform users log on to YouTube daily, in contrast to the 39% who access other apps such as Instagram at that frequency, ads on the top video website have considerable reach.
According to Hootsuite, advertising on YouTube reaches 31% of the world’s population and 49% of all internet users. But what type of user gets the most out of this platform?
As of July 2022, 51.8% of YouTube ads reached audiences between 18 and 44 years old. However, a report made by Google shows that the population between 25 and 34 years old is the one that consumes the most ads (20.5%), with the majority being a male audience (11.8%).
Instagram is Internet users’ second favorite social media platform and the second most important for some marketers
Instagram is the fourth app with the largest number of users (1.4 billion by 2022) and the second favorite of at least 15% of those who access the Internet daily for any reason, as shown in the annual report on web consumption by We are social.
Adjusting your business strategy on this platform by 2024 is vital, considering that 62% of Instagram users (who can also spend up to 51 minutes daily) access the application in search of brands, products, and services.
In addition to the above, Meta’s platform is essential when making sales on the Internet. While it is true that Facebook is the number 1 platform for professionals, according to 27% of marketers surveyed by Social Media Examiner, Instagram is the second platform that generates the most sales.
Therefore, the study also showed 61% of marketers plan to increase their organic activities on this application.
200 million users visit at least one business profile on Instagram daily
If you want to capture some of the time users spend online to help your sales, you need to understand your audience on Instagram.
First, it is the platform to which most users log in daily (39%), above other social media applications such as TikTok (29%).
Secondly, when it comes to online shopping, Meta showed 80% use Instagram to decide to buy a product or service.
Evaluate your budget on this platform according to your brand, considering 61% of the Instagram ad market focuses on audiences between 18 and 34 years old.
TikTok: the most downloaded platform in 2022 worldwide
In 2022 TikTok was the most downloaded app globally, according to Apptopia data. It reached 672 million new downloads, of which 99 million were in the United States alone.
TikTok reached a billion users (currently 1.02 B) in a little more than a couple of years. Now it’s the favorite search engine of at least 40% of Generation Z, causing Google and Instagram to modify part of its structure to a more video-oriented design.
As of July 2022, TikTok was the sixth app with the most active users, behind WeChat (1.2 B), Instagram (1.4 B), and WhatsApp (2 B).
TikTok is the perfect app for entertainment, reviews, and news updates
Have you ever wondered why TikTok catches the most time from social media platform users (95 minutes daily per user)? Well, the answer may be that its algorithm recommends content according to the user’s specific search intent. But what are those purposes exactly?
According to Sprout Social, as of 2022, 39% of young people surveyed under 24 said they used TikTok to review opinions about products or services they were looking to buy. At the same time, Pew Research Center research from the same year showed that 26% of adults under 30 also use TikTok to update news information (a percentage that has tripled since 2020).
However, entertainment is still the most consumed content on TikTok, as at least 78.8% access the platform only in search of funny videos.
WhatsApp: the third most used application globally
WhatsApp has at least 2 billion people using its platform to chat with colleagues, family, and friends. Still, beyond that, the app is also the preferred messenger channel for marketing.
The reason? WhatsApp is a more intimate platform, allowing ads, promotions, and customer service to be more direct with each one of its users. That’s why around 50 million brands used WhatsApp Business in 2022.
WhatsApp can increase up to 7 times its conversion rate
According to data published by Ai Sensy, some users claim that a marketing strategy that includes WhatsApp can increase up to 7 times its conversion rate.
Don’t forget about this platform when planning your communications strategy; due to its usefulness in everyday life, WhatsApp takes up to 17.4 hours per month of a user’s time, surpassing the screen time consumed by other apps such as Instagram (11.8 hours per month).
Conclusions
- Social media platforms have become a crucial tool for businesses to connect with potential customers, as 75% of internet users use social media to search for information on products and services. That means companies not present on social media risk missing out on many potential customers.
- Facebook’s continued dominance as the most popular social media platform worldwide emphasizes its importance for businesses looking to reach a large and diverse audience. Brands should consider leveraging Facebook’s advertising and targeting tools to connect with their ideal customers.
- The popularity of YouTube as the second-largest social media platform highlights the growing importance of video content for businesses. Quality video content can help companies to increase engagement and reach on YouTube and other social media platforms.
- The emergence of TikTok as the most downloaded platform in 2022 underscores the importance of businesses staying abreast of emerging social media trends. Brands that leverage TikTok and other popular platforms can reach new and younger audiences and gain a competitive advantage.
Summary
- Facebook is the platform with the most active users worldwide (2.9 Billion).
- Facebook is the preferred platform for users between the ages of 35 and 64.
- YouTube has the second-largest number of active users worldwide (2.47 billion).
- Ads on YouTube reach 31% of the world’s population.
- Instagram is Internet users’ second favorite social media platform and the second most important for some marketers.
- 200 million users visit at least one business profile on Instagram daily
- TikTok: the most downloaded platform in 2022 worldwide.
- TikTok is the perfect app for entertainment, reviews, and news updates.
- WhatsApp: the third most used application globally.
- WhatsApp can increase up to 7 times its conversion rate.