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61+ social media facts and statistics you should know in 2019

61+ social media facts and statistics you should know in 2019
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social media facts and statistics you should know

Social media continues to increasingly embed itself in our lives. Are you interested in using social media to grow your audience and generate a positive ROI on social media marketing?

If so, only by understanding the scope and breadth of social media use can we be in a position to harness its potential. And in doing so be better prepared as businesses and marketers to meet our audiences where they are at.

So let’s look at some social media facts and emerging trends.

Social media facts and emerging trends

There is no doubt that social media is changing our world and has turned traditional business models on its head. Consider the following trends:

  • Live video continues to make headway with research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, indicating approximately 52% of live streaming video viewers worldwide are watching content on social platforms compared to a streaming service, TV network site/app, or TV service.
  • 80% would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog.
  • Chatbots are becoming more commonplace and Facebook messenger chatbots are having a phenomenal growth spurt.
  • Micro-influencers are increasingly becoming the focus of companies wanting to increase their credibility.
  • Businesses that want to take their presence on social media platforms to the next level are investing in paid ads. Research shows that social media advertisements will surpass newspaper ad spending by the year 2020.
  • Social listening is helping brands and social media platforms listen to your conversations and provide more targeted messages and ads.
  • User-generated content is favored by brands and businesses to improve their credibility, engagement, and standing.
  • Augmented reality is becoming more mainstream in its adoption on social media platforms. Snapchat’s face filters and Facebook’s camera effects platform are just a couple of examples.
  • Referral traffic and organic reach are decreasing according to research and so businesses need to employ other strategies to market on social media platforms.
  • Social is so much a part of our lives that businesses cannot ignore it and more businesses are posting on social media on a daily basis.


Additional trends worth taking note of include: 

  • Big Social Data continues to take on prominence as brands mine conversations on social to provide an opportunity to create reactive products and services that serve their audience needs.
  • The data game is also changing with consumers taking power back over their data. 
  • A greater understanding of the “anti-social” – the negative consumer backlash to the pressure of being always on.
  • Privacy is important to us even though we are social beings. Private platforms like Snapchat and WhatsApp continue to grow. Even Mark Zuckerburg announced that the future is private. In other words, businesses need to adapt to reach consumers where they are and in ways that respect their expectations.
  • Minority groups can pack the biggest social clout ignoring them and the ability to hyper localize your advertising could be detrimental to your business. 
  • Social currency or the ability to send and receive payments via social is another trend that is making waves for businesses.

What does the social web look like in 2019?

According to Wearesocial and the Global Digital Survey, the continuing growth in mobile social users seems to stand out. With a worldwide population of about 7.7 billion people, it worth noting some of the numbers below.

  • There are over 4.3 billion active internet users worldwide
  • 3.5 billion people have social media accounts
  • Over 5.1 billion people have access to the internet via mobile devices
  • More than 3.4 billion people are active mobile social media users
global social media facts and statistics 19

What is interesting to note is that little has changed with the popularity of major social media platforms. Facebook continues to dominate the playing field globally. It is also worth noting the increase in the use of social media messenger and chat apps.

social media statistics on popular platforms

Also according to Statista, accessing social media platforms via mobile devices continues to be strongest across Asia.

social media statistics for access via mobile devices

Mobile social media facts and implications

The image below shows the penetration of mobile social media by regions across the world. The highest concentrations are in Asia followed by the Americas.

mobile social media penetration by region

It is also worth noting the evolution of mobile data consumption in the image below which in turn is reflective of the amount of time and use of mobile devices.

The number of unique mobile connections in the image below is another indicator of the increasing trend of using mobile devices to stay connected on social media platforms.

Consider these mobile social media facts and trends:

  • There is a focus for businesses to extend their reach on social media platforms. Facebook continues to dominate with a total advertising audience (monthly active users) of over 2.1 million people.
  • Increased smartphone adoption and better mobile broadband connectivity have allowed for mobile phones to be most people’s primary day to day device. It is fair to say that a mobile phone is now the main way people access connected services including the internet. What this means is that there is a shift in the way people access and consume information and content.
  • Platforms such as WhatsApp, WeChat, and Facebook Messenger are largely ‘private’ experiences, with little (if any) information visible to strangers.
  • Fewer ‘personal’ stories are being shared on public channels like Facebook and Twitter.
  • When seeing a social media advertisement, more than 30% of people respond by visiting the website or the online store.
  • 70% of users admit that Twitter ads are usually informative enough to buy the most-suited products and services.
  • Global share of the world’s businesses using social media marketing for more than 5 years is 24%.

This change in user behavior requires a fundamental change in mindset for marketers as they think about ways to connect with these audiences.

Relevant social and ‘snackable content’ will continue to be a valuable component of brands’ social mix. However, people still trust personal recommendations more than any other source of discovery. So businesses and marketers need to focus their efforts on finding ways to inspire social conversations in these more private channels.

Facebook facts

Facebook continues to be a force to be reckoned with. In its efforts to continue to be relevant to its audience it has added to its portfolio other platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram.

The images below provide a snapshot of the Facebook audience and their profile.

Facebook audience overview
Facebook advertising audience profile

Social media facts relating to Facebook that are worth taking note of from sources like Pew Research include:

Twitter facts

Twitter isn’t a new social network but an important space for brands to make an impression on customers and future customers. The images below provide a snapshot of the audience and their profiles.

Social media facts relating to Twitter that are worth taking note of include:

LinkedIn facts

LinkedIn continues to dominate the professional social networking scene despite being one of the oldest social networks. In fact, it is experiencing something of a resurgence in popularity as you can see from the audience overview below.

LinkedIn audience overview
LinkedIn advertising audience profile

Social media facts and statistics relating to LinkedIn that are worth taking note of include:

YouTube facts

Some would not consider YouTube to be social media network, but there are many reasons to classify it as one. In fact, it could be argued that it is one of the biggest social media networks available.

Consider these statistics:

Pinterest facts

Pinterest is another platform that continues to be a force to reckon with in that it is predominately female-centric (but that is changing with 40% of new users being men) and visual but continues to engage users. In fact, Pinterest users are 2x as likely to say their time was well spent on the platform as compared to other social media platforms.

If there is a social network that has demonstrated the power of visual media to influence people, it would be Pinterest.

Robert Moore of RJ Metrics provides insight into the storytelling that visual media on Pinterest communicates –

Pinning is aspirational, which means that data on pins is data on people’s aspirations.

Consider these statistics:

Instagram facts

This photo-sharing app is no longer the primary domain of staged food and sunsets. Now, part of the Facebook enterprise it is a powerful social network.

Instagram audience overview
Instagram advertising audience

Here’s why:

Snapchat facts

Snapchat has had a fast rise to prominence from what started off as a fairly obscure mobile network a few years ago. It has gone mainstream in a big way and was on the radar of some large digital firms including Facebook that reportedly offered $3 billion in 2013 for it.

The images showing the audience profile below shows why that is the case.

Snapchat audience overview
Snapchat advertising audience profile

Social media facts relating to Snapchat that are worth taking note of include these statistics:

Other social media facts

  • Consumer trust in social media channels has plummeted since the Cambridge Analytica scandal and fake news. On the upside trust in industry experts, journalists and immediate circles did increase. Brands will, therefore, need to invest in employee advocacy programs, personalized messaging at scale and building customer communities.
  • According to Hootsuite, Stories will surpass feeds as the primary way in which people share content.
  • More competition for paid social advertising means that marketers are being forced to up their game by focusing on better targeting, creatives, and budgets.
  • Better and improved social shopping technologies have fuel e-commerce sales allowing brands to enable shopping from within a platform.
  • Better targeting and conversational tact will be required to harness the growth of messaging apps.

What does this mean for you?

While social media facts provide some idea of the extent of social media use and the role of mobile in empowering people and their social media usage, the game is changing.

So how can you use visual media, mobile and social media content to get your message across to your audience?

To help get you thinking about your social media strategy, consider the following:

  • Consider comparing the benefits and return on investment (ROI). In other words, weigh up how important social media will be in achieving your goals and whether it will provide an ROI. A growth marketing framework to drive business growth can help.
  • There are a number of social networks so consider thinking beyond major platforms and use ones that work best for your audience
  • Invest in content that is shareable to increase the engagement on social media

Are there other ways and considerations in your social media strategy and investments, let us know in the comments below.

Vinay Koshy
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Comments

  1. It’s worth reading this post. get to know a lot of new things that I did not know prior.
    Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply

  2. Wow! this is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing and useful information with us, you have got an interesting way of communicating the message in your blogs, really liked it, keep bogging and keep sharing the useful work.

    Reply

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