A new decade is upon us, and with the 20s comes excitement for what the future may hold. The beginning of 2010 saw social media still in its infancy. Fast-forward 10 years, and it’s fully entrenched into our everyday lives – to the point where it’s hard to imagine going a day without logging in to a social network. 

Before we get too carried away about the trends that will define 2020, let’s look at 50 social media marketing statistics that have defined the medium and reveal just how important social media is for brands to find ways to connect with their audiences. 

50 Social media marketing statistics

1) 3.5 billion people use social media, which is around 45% of the world’s population. Source:

2) Of those users, 90% are Millennials, 77% are Generation X, and 48% are Baby Boomers. Source:

3) 71% of consumers who enjoyed a good social media experience from a brand are likely to recommend it to others.  Source:

4) 80% of marketers think that influencer marketing is effective, which goes to show the growing trend of using influencers to promote a brand.  Source: Smart

5) Today, 91% of social media users access social channels via a mobile device, which shows the importance of connecting with people on the go has become. Source:

6) The average person spends 2 hours and 22 minutes consuming social media channels each day. Source:

7) A staggering 96% of people who discuss brands online don’t actually follow them. This is why it’s so important to take part in social listening practices. Source:

8) Twitter ads tend to be 11% more successful than TV ads during live events. Source:

9) 73% of social media marketers believe its’ been effective as a marketing strategy. Source:

10) Facebook is the fourth-most visited website, behind only Google, Reddit and Youtube. Source:

11) 81% of US consumers are likely to make a purchase decision based on a friend’s social media posts that endorses a brand. This further highlights the need to get people talking about your brand.  Source:

12) Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without a relevant image. Source:

13) The best times to post on Twitter are Wednesdays at 3pm. Source:

14) 54% of customers use social media to browse a product, often trusting the opinion of other users before making a purchase. Source:

15) 90 million small businesses use Facebook and take advantage of elements like Messenger and Groups. Source:

16) 48% of consumers follow brands on social media to be entertained. Source:

17) Link clicks on Twitter account for 92% of all user interaction with tweets. Source:

18) Instagram has one billion monthly users, with 500 million of those logging in on a daily basis. Source:

19) 49% of people depend on influencer recommendations on social media. Source:

20) 39% of Facebook users follow business pages to receive special offers. Source:

21) 80% of brands think they perform well when it comes to customer service, yet only 8%  of consumers agree. Source: Smart

22) 78% of people who make a complaint on Twitter expect a response within one hour. Source:

23) Instagram is popular with younger audiences, attracting 72% of teens to its platform. Source:

24) Over the last few years, the daily users of Instagram stories increased from 150 million to 500 million. Source:

25) More than 150 million people use Instagram Direct Messaging each month to communicate with brands. Source:

26) More than one in three users say they go to social networks when they want more information about a brand or product. Source:

27) People don’t like poor customer experiences, and 56% of them will go as far as unfollowing a brand if they feel they didn’t receive good customer service. Source: Smart Insight

28) 2015 saw YouTube post a figure of 40 billion all-time views for branded content. Source:

29) 54% of people want brands to increase their video-marketing outputs. Source:

30) 55% of men and 45% of women use YouTube. Source:

31) 96% of small businesses say they employ some form of a social media strategy. Source:

32) An increasing number of marketing budgets are being used on Instagram, with more than two-thirds of marketers spending most of their budget on the platform in 2019. Source:

32) 71% of people will unfollow influencers who have fake followers.  Source: Smart Insight

33) LinkedIn video is on the rise, with the numbers of marketers set to share video on the business social network expected to rise to 65% by 2021.  Source:

34) 50% of consumers believe that seeing user-generated content would increase their chance of buying  a product through a brand’s social channels. Source:  

35) Seven million businesses used paid advertising on Facebook, while two million did the same on Instagram. Source:

36) 85% of small and medium-sized businesses use Twitter to provide customer service. Source:

37) 45% of marketers don’t properly analyze consumer data, which means they’re missing out on a huge opportunity to monetize their audience. Source:

38) Global social media advertising spend is expected to grow by an additional 73% over the next half a decade. Source:

39) 80% of users have mentioned a brand in a tweet at least once. Source:

40) 66% of marketers who spend at least six hours a week see an increase in leads. Source:

41) Snapchat has made more than $600 million in ad revenue, which states its importance as a social media platform for marketers. Source:

41) Posts on LinkedIn that contain images are 98% more successful than text-only posts Source:

42) 85% of businesses use third-party tools to help manage their social media presence. Source:

43) Half of Generation Z and 42% of Millennials say that social media is the most relevant ad channel for getting the attention of audiences. Sources:

44) 91% of marketing executives say that LinkedIn has proven to be the number one place to find interesting content. Source:

45) Pinterest posts tend to have the most extended shelf life out of all the major social networks, with content still resonating with audiences three months after being posted. Source:

46) Seven out of 10 Pinterest users are female Source:

47) 50% of Millennials use Pinterest each month, with 47% purchasing something they interact with on the platform. Source:

48) 39% of women and 30% of men use Instagram in the United States. Source:

49) 500 million tweets are sent each day. Source:

50) The total amount of marketing budgets is expected to nearly double by 2030, as the importance of successful marketing on social media increased. Source:

Social media and the future

It’s clear to see that social media’s influence will continue to grow in 2020, especially as technology makes using social platforms even more convenient. As more people interact with social platforms, marketers will need to continue finding  new ways to interact with audiences through engaging content that strikes a chord.

If you’re looking to define your social media strategy in 2020, download our free ebook and learn the best social media marketing tactics.