Today, social media is everywhere. Social media is now becoming the go-to digital platform for people looking for a source of information. From global news to arts and lifestyle tips and product research to shopping, there are many popular social media platforms where people gather all the information they need in one click. They do not have to leave their platform of choice since social media offers all.
In fact, according to the Digital 2022 April Global Statshot Report, there are 4.65 billion social media users on the planet. If we based that on the global population, that would be a whopping 58.7%. That is more than half of the world’s population.
In the U.S. alone, social media users were estimated for over 302 million in 2022, which is calculated to increase steadily and reach 327.22 million by 2027.
Whether you are a business owner looking to leverage social media, a seasoned social media marketer, or a newbie wanting to try social media marketing, you should consider these numbers as potential customers. With the growing penetration and usage of social media these days, perfecting even one social media platform should be your goal this year. And with the proper social media strategy, they can become your loyal customers.
Check out the trending social media platforms right now.
Research the top social media apps that are good for your business. Social media can further help you to maximize your brand reach, engage with the right people, and fulfill your social media goals.
Also, you should not just consider the size of the social media sites. It would be best if you also consider that not all platforms work for every business. Check out whether the specific social media site you are considering is the right fit for you and your business. Check out if it fits your brand image or if your target audience is using that social media site or is active on those platforms.
For example, if you have a home renovation business, TikTok probably isn’t the place for you. This is because almost half of their users are under 30.
Similarly, if you want to target native Korean speakers, you should consider venturing into YouTube since it has an 85.9% penetration rate.
Furthermore, you should also level up your time management skills and check how many social media sites you can manage simultaneously.
To help you, we have covered the most popular social media platforms worldwide that are fit for businesses. Some sites might be familiar to you, while others might sound new.
Please read through this list to learn more about the social media sites that might be great for your business. And remember, be selective with your social media presence. You do not have to be on every social media site to have a successful brand. Choosing two to three sites is better, especially those where your brand’s target audience is active. Perfect them well rather than having to produce mediocre content for five or more different platforms.
So, what are the most popular social media platforms in 2022?
The Most Popular Social Media Platforms for Business in 2022
The key to a successful business using social media is in the right place. But how do you choose what social media is best for your brand? First and foremost, you need to first get an overview of the distribution of social media usage before launching your social media marketing strategy. You should check all the ins and outs of social media before planning on how to increase brand awareness, reach potential customers, and engage with your audience.
What you should do is know which platforms most of your target audience are active on. Start your marketing efforts by finding out which social media platform has the largest user base.
An approach where you try to target everyone, everywhere, at the same time isn’t effective anymore. Test several social media sites to see what channels are right for your audience. See if these sites are helping you get the results you want.
According to Statista’s data as of January 2022, the top six most popular social media platforms for business are:
Let us explore what is popular on each of these platforms and see how you can take advantage of them for your social media marketing strategy.
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Facebook
Launched: 2004
Monthly Active Users: 2.9 billion
Revenue: $86 billion (Statista, 2022)Facebook is the largest social media site worldwide, reigning as the king of social media, with 2.94 billion active users in 2022, according to Statista. That’s more than half of the 4.65 billion social media users worldwide. It is the social media platform with the most active users and ranks among the most-used social media apps. Furthermore, 27 percent of Android users worldwide use the Facebook app daily. More than 200 million businesses use Facebook tools. And more than seven million advertisers also actively promote their business on Facebook. It is also the preferred platform for demographics 65+ years of age.
Facebook’s statistics and its social media ranking say it all. So, if you want to establish a presence on social media, Facebook is a safe bet.
All content formats, such as text, images, video content, and stories, work great on Facebook. But Facebook is best for content that sparks conversations and meaningful interactions between people. So, promote your page and utilize it to create meaningful relationships with your community.
Facebook Marketing Strategy
Local Marketing
When people look for local businesses, Facebook is on top of the results, together with Google My Business. This makes it suitable for a local marketing strategy. Also, 60% of Facebook users visit a local business page at least once a week.Advertising
Facebook is even with Google as the top digital advertising platform, reaching up to 36.7% of the adult population. That is the highest percentage of all social media platforms.Community and Relationship Building
Facebook is a better platform for connecting and building relationships with your community. Users usually visit Facebook to check for announcements, store closings, sales, and other recent information. This means that even if you do not frequently show up in their feed, they will likely still visit your page for updates.So, make sure to spark discussions and engage with your followers.
The Most Popular Industries on Facebook
The top industries that see the highest conversion rates on Facebook are:- Beauty and fitness
- Jobs and education
- Employment and job training
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Youtube
Launched: 2005
Monthly Active Users: 2.2 billion
Revenue: $28.8 billion (Statista, 2022)The original video social media platform, YouTube, is the second most popular social media platform. It maintains dominance in that market with 2.2 billion monthly active users. YouTube is also dubbed the second largest search engine after Google, its parent company. People frequent YouTube for everything from entertainment to how-to videos.
YouTube has a strong user base across all age groups, especially younger generations. But it also ranks high in the difficult-to-reach 65+ demographic, 49% of whom use the platform, second only to Facebook. Furthermore, users watch 1 billion hours of video on YouTube daily, and 90 percent of users say they discover new brands and products through YouTube.
Since video is the growing medium for content marketing, businesses should invest in it. They cannot ignore the statistics for YouTube anymore.
Youtube Marketing Strategy
Video Marketing
If you want to invest in video marketing, your go-to platform should be YouTube. According to Social Media Examiner’s 2021 industry report, 50% of marketers use this platform for video marketing.Working with Influencers
YouTube is the second most popular platform for influencer marketing, according to Statista. 70% of marketers believe that it’s an important platform in their influencer marketing strategy.Advertising on the Platform
According to Statista, YouTube is a promising advertising platform for brands. It yielded over $8.6 billion in advertising earnings in the fourth quarter of 2021 alone.The Most Popular Industries on Youtube
- Tech
- Gaming
- Food & Drink
- Beauty
- Fashion
- Education
- Toys
- Entertainment
- Home
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Instagram
Launched: 2010
Monthly Active Users: 2 billion
Revenue: $24 billion (businessofapps.com, 2022)Instagram is the top social media app for product-based businesses, influencers, and coaches. It is the best place for showcasing your products or services with photos or videos. With this popular social media platform, you can share a wide range of content such as photos, videos, stories, reels, and live videos to engage your target audience.
Instagram is a gold mine for demographics under 35. In fact, there are 67% of 18-24-year-olds, 67% of Generation Z, and 58% of Millennials use the app daily.
Instagram Marketing Strategy
Ecommerce
Instagram is a good channel for paid social advertising. 36% of users utilize it to follow brands. This trending social media platform also has the highest organic engagement rate between users and brands.This app is also the most influential social media platform on our shopping habits. It has turned planned shopping and folded impulse buying into our organic behaviors. Furthermore, according to Hootsuite, 81% of people say Instagram helps them to research or discover new products or services. There are also 130 million users who tap on shopping posts every month. Additionally, Retail TouchPoints states that 72% of users make purchase decisions based on something they saw on Instagram.
Organic Engagement
According to Social Insider, Instagram has the highest organic reach of all social media platforms, with 9.4 %, and the highest organic engagement rate of 1.16%.Influencer Marketing
According to Insider Intelligence, e-marketers spend about 69% of their influencer budgets on Instagram, which is more than any other network.The Most Popular Industries on Instagram
The industries that thrive on Instagram are:- Electronics
- Technology and software
- Food and beverage
- Travel
- Beauty
- Fashion
- Health & fitness
- Lifestyle
- Parenting
- Business
- Music
- Photography
- Food
- Animals
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LinkedIn
Launched: 2003
Monthly Active Users: 830 million
Revenue: $8.05 billion (Statista, 2020)LinkedIn is the top social media platform for professionals. Within its massive network of professionals, it has become the go-to platform for businesses to establish thought leadership in their industries and find top talents. In fact, there are more than 61 million users in senior positions on LinkedIn. Additionally, 50 million people use it to search for jobs every week.
LinkedIn is a very focused social media platform, and because of that, it has become the place for industry experts to share content, network, and build their personal brands.
LinkedIn can help you connect with an elite group of professionals who can make a difference for your business.
LinkedIn Marketing Strategy
B2B Marketing
LinkedIn is the best platform for B2B marketing, generating over half of all social traffic to b2b websites and blogs. Furthermore, 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn. It is also a solid platform for international B2B businesses since 70% of LinkedIn users live outside the US. (Sprout Social)Organic Engagement
According to Sprout Social, 95% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn as an organic marketing channel.Long-Form Content
LinkedIn is the best platform for long-form content, providing the greatest number of views, likes, comments, and shares.The Most Popular Industries on Facebook
- Information Technology & Services
- Hospital & Healthcare
- Construction
- Retail
- Education
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Twitter
Launched: 2006
Monthly Active Users: 217 million (2021)
Revenue: $1.2 billion (Statista, 2022)Twitter is popular for things happening and trending right now, whether in entertainment, sports, politics, technology, or business marketing. What differentiates Twitter from most other social media sites is that it emphasizes real-time information.
Twitter Marketing Strategy
Customer service
Due to its real-time information features, many brands use Twitter as an alternate customer service channel. According to advertisers on Twitter, more than 80 percent of social customer service requests happen on Twitter. Its fast-paced nature has made it a go-to channel for customers to reach out to brands.Images
According to Quicksprout, images get 128% more retweets than videos.Advertising to Males
According to Statista, Twitter’s global user base is 70% male and 30% female. The microblogging site is clearly favored more by men.News
Statista says 56% of users get their news from Twitter. Another study from Hootsuite shows that 59% of users use it regularly to get the news. Furthermore, Oberlo states that journalists make up almost 25% of all verified accounts on Twitter.Young, Educated, Wealthy City Dwellers and Democrats
According to Pew Research, Twitter users consist of younger, more highly educated, and wealthier demographics versus the general public. It also shows that 65% of users are Democrats versus 33% Republicans.The Most Popular Industries on Twitter
- Higher Education
- Sports Team
- Food and Beverage
- Alcohol
- Financial Services
- Nonprofits
- Hotels and Resorts
- Retail
- Influencers
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TikTok
Launched: 2016
Monthly Active Users: 1 billion
Revenue: $11 billion (eMarketer, 2022)Despite only launching in 2016, it has already seen incredible growth, overtaking Google as the most visited internet site. TikTok has been downloaded more than three billion times globally. Furthermore, according to a study by the Search Engine Journal, TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile videos.
TikTok is the platform you need to check out if your target demographic is the young population. In the USA alone, 47.4% of TikTok users are aged 10-29.
You can create and share videos between 15 and 60 seconds to promote your brand. The app hosts the best sound effects, music snippets, and filters. You can film videos related to DIY tricks and make-up tutorials and more.
TikTok Marketing Strategy
Entertainment
According to Global Web Index, 60% of TikTok users say their main reason for using the platform is to search for funny or entertaining videos.
Other reasons include inspiration, self-expression, and trend updates.Emotional Content
50% of the best-performing advertisements on the app have a moving drive to them, according to TikTok. The vibe to go for with TikTok is to be authentic and relatable.Influencer Marketing
According to a study by Influencer Marketing Hub in 2021, TikTok is now becoming the next influencer marketing platform. TikTok is now the second most popular platform in 2022 at 45%, next to Instagram.The Most Popular Industries on TikTok
According to Open Business Council, the most popular industries on Tiktok are:- Beauty
- Fashion
- Food
- Mobile accessories
- Cleaning & maintenance
- Toys
- Dental
- Jewelry
- Art
- Home interior
What’s the Takeaway?
From your teenage neighbor who’s trying to go viral on TikTok to your 86-year-old grandmother who’s using Facebook, social media is everywhere.
So, make sure to take into consideration each of these most popular social media platforms’ unique features before creating your marketing strategy. Every platform is different and might not be suitable for specific brands and industries.
Figure out what you want to get out of your social media presence and customize your strategy to reach your goals.
If you need help with social media marketing strategy, Proweaver is here to guide you. We can help you manage more than one social media account on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, or TikTok.
To learn more, get in touch with us at +1 (877) 216-0852 or at +1 (877) 300-6564.