130+ Social Media Marketing Statistics for 2025

Report highlights. As of 2025, there are an estimated 5.24 billion social media users worldwide.

83% of B2B marketers advertise their brands on social media.
That means about 64% of the global population is active on social platforms.
The average person uses about 6.83 different social media platforms every month.
People spend 2 hours and 21 minutes per day on social media in 2025, down two minutes from the previous year.

Related reports include Biggest Social Media Platforms and Apps in 2025 | How Many People Use Instagram in 2025 | How Many People Use TikTok in 2025

Social media marketing facts

5.56 billion people have access to the internet. This means that 94% of people who technically CAN have a social media account, have one.
Social media is becoming more accessible. The percentage of the world’s people who use social media has grown from 50% in 2020 to 64% in 2025.
Barring some digital calamity, there’ll be another billion people using social media by 2027. This’ll bring the total number of social media users to 5.85 billion.
Users across the world are estimated to spend a total of about 4 trillion hours on social media.
Social media users spend, on average, 2 hours and 21 minutes per day on social media. That’s around 14% of the average person’s waking day.
The proliferation of mobile devices has played a significant role in the popularity of social platforms. Currently, an astronomical 80% of all social media activity happens on mobile.

Here’s some platform-specific data showing the percentage of users that access the network with their various devices.
- Facebook: 81.8%
- Twitter: 80%
- Pinterest: 85%
- LinkedIn: 57%
According to a 2021 survey, 77% of marketers consider their social media efforts somewhat to very effective.
77% of B2B and B2C marketers use retargeting on Facebook and Instagram, about 8% more than on Google.
According to data from 2020, 13% of consumers say a visible buy button makes them more likely to complete a purchase.
86% of marketing agencies in the US are expected to partner with influencers in 2025.
As of 2024, 79% of consumers expect a brand to respond on social media within 24 hours. Only half (50%) of businesses were meeting these expectations.
71% who had a positive customer service experience on social media recommended the brand to others.
Users’ overall trust in social media platforms is declining. Recent data on this topic revealed drops in user trust sentiment in terms of privacy, safety, and advertisement relevance.

Social media growth over time

Social media has grown at an extraordinary pace over the last 20 years, rising from fewer than a billion users in 2010 to more than 5.2 billion by early 2025. That is now over 60% of the world’s population.

In 2010, there were about 970 million social media users globally.
By 2015, that number had more than doubled to 2.07 billion, climbing further to 3.2 billion in 2018, reflecting annual growth rates of nearly 19% at that point.
As of Feb 2025, social media usage has reached 5.24 billion people, marking a 4.1% increase compared to the previous year.
Annual growth has varied widely, from 21% in 2017 to closer to 4% in recent years. This means the market is maturing, with growth now rising only as fast as internet and smartphone use.

Social media users as a percentage of global population from 2000 to 2025

Facebook

Facebook is the biggest social media site, with more than 3 billion monthly active users in 2025. Its early years after launching in 2004 were marked by rapid growth.

The platform reached 100 million users in 2008, 500 million in 2010, and 1 billion monthly active users by 2012.
In recent years, growth has slowed but continues steadily at about 3.4% per year.

Leading social media platforms by number of active users

YouTube

YouTube, created in 2005, quickly rose to prominence as the leading global video-sharing platform.

By 2013, YouTube had already reached 1 billion monthly active users.
From 2013 to 2025, its user base grew to 2.53 billion, an increase of about 1.5 billion in just over a decade.
Growth has also come from new formats such as YouTube Shorts, launched in 2020. Shorts now have over 2 billion monthly users and generate 70 to 90 billion views every day.

Number of YouTube users from 2010 to 2024

Instagram

Instagram launched in October 2010 and saw immediate adoption, with 1 million users after two months and 10 million by September 2011.

The addition of Stories in 2016 and Reels later on boosted engagement, particularly among younger audiences.

By June 2018, Instagram had 1 billion monthly active users and reached 2 billion by October 2022.
Between 2020 and 2025, its user base grew by about 400 million, adding more than 30% users during this period.
Instagram had about 2 billion monthly active users in Feb 2025.

Although the pace of growth has slowed recently, expansion continues at a steady rate.

Instagram's monthly active users from 2013 to 2024

TikTok

TikTok, a comparatively new player on the social stage, has grown at an extraordinary pace since its global launch in 2017.

In January 2018, it had about 55 million monthly active users, a number that more than quadrupled to 271 million by the end of the same year.
Between December 2018 and December 2019, usage nearly doubled again, reaching 508 million monthly active users.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok’s growth accelerated, with downloads of its app increasing by 100 million in the first quarter of 2020.
By September 2021, TikTok had crossed the milestone of 1 billion monthly active users, faster than many earlier social networks.
From 2023 to early 2025, its user base grew by almost 500 million, reaching around 1.59 billion monthly active users in February 2025.

Number of daily active TikTok users in the US and worldwide

Social media engagement statistics

Social media platforms continue to shape online behavior, and usage patterns and engagement levels offer key insights for brands and marketers.

Globally, people spend more than 14 billion hours on social media each day, averaging 141 minutes (2 hours and 21 minutes) per person, down slightly from 143 minutes in 2024.
The typical user engages with around 6.8 different social media platforms each month, which explains why brands benefit from maintaining a presence across multiple channels.
Nearly half of consumers (48%) report interacting with brands on social media more frequently than they did six months ago.
90% of people use social platforms to follow cultural trends and stay updated on key moments. For brands, this means engagement opportunities also involve aligning with conversations, trends, and events that audiences care about.
Short-form video is especially influential, and 78% of consumers actually prefer it for product discovery.

Percentage of active users for social media platforms

Social media and consumer purchasing behavior

Beyond everyday engagement, social media also plays a critical role in shaping consumer decisions and driving revenue for businesses.

Influencer marketing generates an average return of $5.20 for every dollar invested.
Social media also drives spontaneous buying, and 81% of people make impulse purchases influenced by what they see online, 28% of whom do this monthly.
About 58% of consumers find new businesses through social media platforms.
Over 50% of Gen Z purchased products on social platforms in 2024.
Partnerships are a strong driver of trust, and 64% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand when it collaborates with an influencer they follow.

Platform-specific engagement

Different platforms deliver very different levels of engagement, but LinkedIn outperformed all others by a wide margin in 2025.

LinkedIn leads with an average engagement rate of 6.50% in 2025, holding the top spot for user interactions.
Facebook follows with 5.07%, showing steady performance and remaining a key space for brands and communities.
TikTok comes in third at 4.86%, surpassing YouTube’s 4.41% and reinforcing its strength in short-form video engagement.
Threads records a solid 4.51%, outpacing X (Twitter), which has fallen to 2.31%.
Instagram shows the lowest visible rate at 1.16%, reflecting a sharp drop.

Engagement rates for various social media platforms

Changes in engagement rates

Instagram’s sharp decline contrasts with LinkedIn’s steady growth.

Instagram’s median engagement rate declined steeply from 2.94% in January 2024 to 0.61% in January 2025.
LinkedIn’s median engagement increased slightly, moving from 6.00% to 6.50% over the same period.
Facebook’s engagement held relatively stable, with only minor changes but continuing strength.
TikTok saw a moderate dip, reflecting shifts toward watch time as the primary measure of interaction rather than likes or comments.
Threads, after an initial surge as a newcomer, is settling into more consistent engagement levels while still outperforming X, which continues to decline.

Consistency remains one of the most powerful factors that affect engagement.

Creators who post at least once per week for 20 weeks or more achieve engagement rates that are 4.5 times higher per post compared to those who post less consistently.

Social media ad spend data

Global spending on social media advertising is expected to reach about $276.7 billion in 2025, accounting for roughly 30% of all digital ad spending.

In 2025, mobile platforms are already dominating the market. By 2030, they are projected to generate 83% of total social media ad spend.
Social media ad spending has grown at a rate of nearly 10.9% year over year till 2025, making this the fastest-expanding major advertising channel.
By 2028, the average social media ad spend per internet user is forecast to reach about $265.17.
93% of marketers are prioritizing social as a top focus in 2025.
The platforms with the broadest ad reach worldwide in 2025 are YouTube (2.53 billion), Facebook (2.28 billion), and Instagram (1.74 billion), with TikTok (1.59 billion) quickly catching up.

The Asia-Pacific region is emerging as the most dynamic market for social media ads, while the US and Europe continue to hold strong positions.

Number of dollars spent on ads for each user as per country

In line with social media usage trends, video and carousel ad formats tend to deliver better results than static display ads, generating higher engagement and stronger conversion rates across platforms.

Consumer expectations and well-being

Beyond numbers, shifts in consumer behavior are shaping how businesses approach social strategy.

Audiences increasingly value authenticity, favoring genuine, unpolished interactions over curated campaigns.

Social platforms are viewed more positively than before, and 60% of users say social media positively affected their mental well-being in the past six months.
Younger audiences remain especially responsive: Even in a tougher economic climate, 43% of Gen Z and 36% of Millennials say they are still willing to make purchases through social platforms.