Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

I can’t believe we’re already in the 2nd quarter of 2023. Late last year, our team dug into social media predictions and stats from the experts for 2023, and began spicing things up in the 1st quarter. I wanted to share a bit of what we’ve learned.

We all know that social media has become an indispensable part of any brand’s marketing. And it’s important to stay ahead of the game by analyzing changes in consumer behaviors, current trends, and statistics in the digital world. We’re going to take a comprehensive look at some of the most impactful social media statistics for 2023.

Check out these stats to see how they may affect your business plan and ensure success over the next few years.

Top 10 Social Media Platforms by Number of Users

The number of social media users is constantly increasing. According to recent statistics, the top 10 social media platforms by number of monthly active users (MAU) are:

1. Facebook, 2.9 billion
2. YouTube, 2.2 billion
3. WhatsApp, 2 billion
4. Instagram, 2 billion
5. TikTok, 1 billion
6. Snapchat, 538 million
7. Pinterest, 444 million
8. Reddit, 430 million
9. LinkedIn 250 million
10. Twitter, 217 million

Currently, approximately 4.65 billion individuals are using social media worldwide, which makes up 58.7% of the global population. A significant proportion of these individuals rely on social media as their main information source.

Social media users can access a range of information, from news and lifestyle tips to product research and decision-making, all within their chosen platform.

84% of Americans use at least one social media platform. And, although approximately 415 million people in China still lack internet access, the number of social media users is well over 1 billion.

To marketers, these numbers are potential customers that can be converted into actual customers. Unfortunately, just hanging out on TikTok and waiting for business to come in is not typically a reliable way to attract customers.

You’ll need a strategy to raise brand awareness, connect with potential customers, and engage with your audience. And a key part of that is being in the right place with the right content.

Most Popular Type of Content on Social Media in 2023

As social media platforms continue to evolve, so does the type of content that resonates with their users. While there are countless forms of content available, one trend that is expected to continue to dominate social media in 2023 is video content.

Did you know users will retain 95% of a message watched on video as opposed to only 10% read in text?

1. More than 54% of marketers say that video is the most valuable content type for achieving social media marketing goals.
2. Yet video is also the most underutilized format across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, comprising 14%*, 11%, and 5% of each network’s content respectively.
3. 93% of companies have acquired new customer(s) via social media video.

With the rise of platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels, short-form video content has become easier to create and distribute, making it accessible to users and creators alike.

If businesses are looking to stay ahead of the curve on social media in 2023 and beyond, investing in video content should be a top priority.

Trends Impacting Social Media Usage

Outside of video, another huge trend is more authentic, personalized content. Users are looking for content that reflects their interests and values, and they are more likely to engage with content that feels genuine and relatable.

1. 92% of consumers turn to people they know for referrals above any other source.
2. 90% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support (up from 86% in 2017). (Stackla)
3. 84% of consumers say they trust peer recommendations above all other sources of advertising.
4. 79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions. (Stackla)
5. Consumers find UGC 9.8x more impactful than influencer content when making a purchasing decision. (Stackla)

Also, social media platforms are becoming more integrated with e-commerce, allowing influencers and brands to monetize their presence on these platforms.

According to recent research, the social commerce market size is expected to hit $1.3 trillion in 2023, exceeding the $1 trillion mark for the very first time.

This is a 30.8% increase from the previous year, when social commerce sales worldwide amounted to $958 billion.

The growth of the global social commerce market is remarkable, considering social media sales totaled only $560 billion in 2020.

Average User Engagement Rates Across Platforms

Engagement rates vary greatly. However, on average, studies show that Instagram tends to have the highest engagement rates among social media platforms. This is likely due to the highly visual nature of the platform and the fact that users tend to spend more time scrolling through posts.

Facebook Statistics

1. Facebook is the most-used platform by marketers worldwide (90%). Instagram sits in second place (79%).
2. As of Q4 2022, Facebook is the largest online social network in the world with roughly 2.96 billion monthly active users.
3. 70% of American adults use Facebook
4. An average American spends 33 minutes per day on Facebook.

Instagram Statistics

1. Instagram’s engagement rates are four times higher than Facebook (0.60% to 0.15%), but have been continuously decreasing.
2. Instagram is the king of social selling. For consumers, it offers the best in-app shopping experience of any app. For marketers, it offers the highest ROI for selling products.
3. Reels take up 30% of the time people spend on Instagram.
4. 83 percent of Instagram users say they discover new products on the platform

LinkedIn Statistics

1. There are more than 900 million members across 200 countries on LinkedIn.
2. The United States has the highest user rate in the world on LinkedIn with an audience reach of over 199 million users.
3. There are over 58 million company profiles on LinkedIn.
4. 16.2% of LinkedIn users in the US use the platform daily (versus 48.5% that log in monthly).

Pinterest Statistics

1. 450 million people use Pinterest every month.
2. 76.7% of Pinterest users are women, 15.3% are men and 8% are unspecified.
3. 45% of Pinterest users in the US have a household income over $100K, and 21% earn $30K or less.
4. Pinterest is the second-most visited website in the US.
5. Pinterest users spend twice as much monthly as people on other platforms.

TikTok Statistics

1. TikTok has over 1 billion active users worldwide.
2. TikTok is the most frequently used social media app worldwide, with users spending an average of 23.5 hours per month on the platform.
3. TikTok’s user base skews female, with 54.1% of users identifying as women (based on available gender data.)
4. 38.9% of TikTok users are 18-24 years old and account for the largest share of TikTok’s advertising audience.

Twitter Statistics

On the other hand, Twitter has been found to have lower user engagement rates. This could be because the platform is more focused on real-time updates and quick, bite-sized content.

1. Twitter boasts about 556 million monthly active users in total worldwide.
2. 53% of Twitter users use the platform to get the latest news.
3. More than half (63%) of Twitter users are men (based on available gender data.)
4. 71% of marketers plan to spend less time on Twitter in 2023.

YouTube Statistics

1. As of January 2023, YouTube has over 2.5 billion users worldwide. However, the platform’s active users have decreased by 48 million over the past year.
2. YouTube Shorts get 30 billion views daily from users around the globe.
3. 12% of YouTube users are males aged between 25-34, and 9% are females of the same age (based on available gender data.)
4. People spend an average of 19 minutes per day watching videos on YouTube.
5. Nearly 90% of all visits to YouTube come from a mobile device.

Understanding user engagement rates is a valuable way to tailor your content and strategies to better reach and connect with your audience.

Benefits to Businesses Using Social Media

Social media provides a wealth of valuable analytics and data, allowing businesses to see how their content is performing and tailor their strategies accordingly.

In addition, social media can help strengthen brand awareness and create a loyal following of customers.

In addition to increasing brand awareness, here few more proven and powerful reasons for your business to use social media:

1. Humanize your brand
2. Establish your brand as a thought leader
3. Stay top of mind
4. Increase website traffic
5. Generate leads
6. Boost sales
7. Learn more about your customers
8. Keep an eye on the competition
9. Inexpensive business promotion
10. Prove return on investment with reporting and analytics

Whether through targeted advertising or creative content, social media has become a powerful tool for businesses looking to enhance their online presence and boost their bottom line.