During a 2024 survey among marketers worldwide, approximately 83 percent selected increased exposure as a benefit of social media marketing. Increased traffic followed, mentioned by 73 percent of the respondents, while 65 percent cited generated leads.

              The multibillion-dollar social media ad industry

              Between 2019 – the last year before the pandemic – and 2024, global social media advertising spending skyrocketed by 140 percent, surpassing an estimated 230 billion U.S. dollars in the latter year. That figure was forecast to increase by nearly 50 percent by the end of the decade, exceeding 345 billion dollars in 2029. As of 2024, the social media networks with the most monthly active users were Facebook, with over three billion, and YouTube, with more than 2.5 billion.

              Pros and cons of GenAI for social media marketing

              According to another 2024 survey, generative artificial intelligence's (GenAI) leading benefits for social media marketing according to professionals worldwide included increased efficiency and easier idea generation. The third place was a tie between increased content production and enhanced creativity. All those advantages were cited by between 33 and 38 percent of the interviewees. As for GenAI's top challenges for global social media marketing,
              maintaining authenticity and the value of human creativity ranked first, mentioned by 43 and 40 percent of the respondents, respectively. Another 35 percent deemed ensuring the content resonates as an obstacle.

During a 2025 survey among marketers worldwide, around 83 percent reported using Facebook for marketing purposes. Instagram and LinkedIn followed, respectively mentioned by 78 and 69 percent of the respondents. The global social media marketing segment According to the same study, 60 percent of responding marketers intended to increase their organic use of YouTube for marketing purposes throughout that year. LinkedIn and Instagram followed with similar shares, rounding up the top three social media platforms attracting a planned growth in organic use among global marketers in 2025. Their main driver is increasing brand exposure and traffic, which led the ranking of benefits of social media marketing worldwide. Social media for B2B marketing Social media platform adoption rates among business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketers vary according to each subsegment's focus. While B2C professionals prioritize Facebook and Instagram, both run by Meta, Inc., due to their popularity among online audiences, B2B marketers concentrate their endeavors on Microsoft-owned LinkedIn due to its goal to connect people and companies in a corporate context.

During a 2025 survey among marketers worldwide, approximately 81 percent selected increased exposure as a benefit of social media marketing. Increased traffic followed, mentioned by 71 percent of the respondents, while 62 percent cited generated leads. The multibillion-dollar social media ad industry Between 2019, the last year before the pandemic, and 2024, global social media advertising spending skyrocketed by 140 percent, surpassing an estimated 230 billion U.S. dollars in the latter year. That figure was forecast to increase by nearly 50 percent by the end of the decade, exceeding 345 billion dollars in 2029. As of 2024, the social media networks with the most monthly active users were Facebook, with over three billion, and YouTube, with more than 2.5 billion. Pros and cons of GenAI for social media marketing According to another 2025 survey, generative artificial intelligence's (GenAI) leading benefits for social media marketing according to professionals worldwide included increased efficiency and easier idea generation. The third place was a tie between increased content production and enhanced creativity. All those advantages were cited by between 33 and 38 percent of the interviewees. As for GenAI's top challenges for global social media marketing, maintaining authenticity and the value of human creativity ranked first, mentioned by 43 and 40 percent of the respondents, respectively. Another 35 percent deemed ensuring the content resonates as an obstacle.

According to a survey conducted in 2022, 46 percent of teenagers in the United States said that social media had a positive effect on them personally due to being able to connect and socialize on such services. Overall, six percent of respondents reported feeling that social media provided benefits to their well-being and mental health.

As of May 2024, around ** percent of marketers surveyed worldwide included increased efficiency among the benefits of using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for social media marketing. Easier idea generation followed, mentioned by ** percent.

During a 2025 survey among marketers worldwide, approximately ** percent said Facebook was the most important social media platform. LinkedIn and Instagram followed, respectively mentioned by ** and ** percent of respondents. Why marketers use social media as a branding channel According to the same study, the leading benefits of social media marketing were increased exposure and traffic. In other words, mastering a brand's presence on such platforms can make a company's products and services known across multiple demographics as well as generate traffic for its online sales. Marketers' favorite social media platforms The survey also revealed that business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketers' top social media can vary. While B2C professionals bet on Facebook and its still massive usage rate, B2B strategists focus on LinkedIn, where companies can see and be seen. However, the social media video platforms in which marketers wanted to invest more were YouTube and Instagram.

According to a survey conducted in 2024 in Canada, **** percent of internet users said that their main reason for using social media was so they could keep in touch with friends and family. In addition, over ** percent of users said they used online social networks as a way to fill their spare time. Other reasons included reading the news, finding like-minded people, and avoiding missing out, or FOMO.

A survey from 2019 found that ** percent of schools worldwide considered that using social media for marketing purposes helped increase the exposure of their school. Other benefits included increased traffic, with ** percent of participating schools stating this as an advantage, as well as developing loyal fan base, as per ** percent of respondents.

According to a global survey conducted in May 2024, 38 percent of respondents who worked in marketing, PR, sales, or customer service roles reported that increased efficiency was the leading benefit of using generative AI for social media marketing. Overall, 34 percent reported that easier idea generation was a leading benefit. Respondents also stated that increased content production, enhanced creativity, and reduced costs were some of the top resons for using generative AI for social media marketing.

During an September 2019 survey, it was found that 25 percent of teens in the United States used Instagram the most out of all social networks. This is hardly surprising, as U.S. teens rated Instagram among their favorite social network for the past few years. In spring 2019, 35 percent of teenagers ranked the photo-sharing app as their most important social network. Teens and social media in the United States As evidenced by exasperated parents and teachers everywhere, social media is one of the most popular online activities among teenagers in the United States. Despite the near-constant social media usage, teens are usually reasonably aware of the time they spent online. During an April 2018 survey, 54 and 41 percent of responding teens stated that they spent too much time on their cellphone and on social media respectively. Due to constant interaction with other people online, teens come across a wide range of personalities. The most common personality types that teens come across social media are oversharers (people who share too many personal details on social media) and ranters (people who rant and complain about things a lot). Social media and emotional well-being One of the key benefits of social media is that it can make teenagers feel less lonely and more confident and popular. However, with teens who have a low social-emotional well-being, social media can exacerbate pre-existing problems such as feeling left out or being excluded, as well as feeling bad about themselves when their posts did not get enough likes or comments. In the end, online socializing can make up for the lack of friends IRL (in real life) but it can also make things worse for teens who are already in emotional turmoil.

This statistic shows the share of internet users in the United States who have ever had positive, tangible benefits from being active on social media, sorted by age group. During the *********** survey period, it was found that ** percent aged between 18 and 29 years had found a new apartment or house via social media activity.

During a global 2025 survey, approximately ** percent of responding business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers reported using Facebook for marketing purposes, making it the most used social media platform within that segment. Among responding business-to-business (B2B) marketers, LinkedIn ranked first, mentioned by ** percent. According to the same study, increased exposure and traffic were the leading benefits of social media marketing worldwide.

A December 2021 online survey of registered voters in the United States found that 35 percent of respondents in the 35 to 44 year age group somewhat supported schools teaching the benefits of social media, whilst 32 percent of those from the ages of 18 to 34 strongly supported this. Additionally, 22 percent of respondents in the 65 years and over category strongly opposed the teaching of the advantages of social media to students.

During a 2025 survey among marketers worldwide, approximately ** percent reported plans to increase their use of YouTube for video marketing purposes in the near future. Similarly, ** percent said they would use Instagram more for that purpose. According to the same study, increased exposure and traffic were the leading benefits of social media marketing worldwide.

This statistic gives information on the most popular social media sites used by teenage and young adult internet users in the United States as of the third quarter of 2020. During the survey period, it was found that ** percent of responding internet users aged 15 to 25 years used social photo sharing app Instagram.

Despite Snapchat's dominance, Facebook continues to be the more widely used social networking site used by teenagers and young adults7. A total of ** percent of respondents currently use Facebook, compared to ** percent of respondents who stated that they used Snapchat. Yet when teens, whose average age was **, rated their most important social network, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter where given more important ratings than Facebook. These social networks are being increasingly visited via mobile devices.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, 20 percent of adults in the United States who used social media to get news stated that convenience was their main reason for doing so. Speed and interaction with people were the two next most popular reasons for using social networking platforms as a source of news, accounting for nine and six percent of respondents, respectively. Smaller shares of adults said they liked that the news was up-to-date, the content or format, and the variety of sources or stories available. Overall, seven percent of U.S. adults who got their news on social media said they did not like anything about the experience.

During a survey carried out in 2024, 62 percent of responding marketers who were looking to decrease spend on cookie-based activations said they were planning to shirt spending towards social media. Nearly half were planning to invest in first-party data.

The number of Instagram users in the United Kingdom was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 2.1 million users (+7.02 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the Instagram user base is estimated to reach 32 million users and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the number of Instagram users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here with regards to the platform instagram, have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period and count multiple accounts by persons only once.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

In 2024, Facebook was the leading social media platform in most of the Southeast Asian countries in terms of traffic generation to other websites, with the highest share in Timor-Leste at around ** percent. YouTube, X (Twitter), Instagram, and Pinterest were other platforms that had significant social media traffic shares in Southeast Asian markets that year. Social media advertising and web traffic referrals Traffic referrals from social media are crucial in social media advertising. Links shared on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter help direct potential customers to a brand’s website or landing page. This increases exposure, website visits, and conversions, such as sales or leads, which are key benefits of social media marketing according to marketers. Traffic referrals also serve as an important tool for advertisers to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. Furthermore, by analyzing which platforms and content generate the most traffic, businesses can refine their strategies to focus on the highest-performing channels. Social media advertising – a multibillion-dollar business Revenue from social media advertising has continued to rise rapidly. This growth was driven by the ability to track user behavior, refine ad targeting, and deliver highly personalized content. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok generate billions of dollars of ad revenue annually. The owner of Facebook and Instagram, Meta Platforms’s annual advertising revenue exceeded *** billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Countries such as China, Japan, and Australia are among the largest social media advertising markets in the Asia-Pacific region, with China’s projected social media ad spend reaching nearly ** billion U.S. dollars in 2025.

In 2022, there are around 23.14 million social media users in Peru, around 1.25 million more than the previous year. This figure is forecast to grow to 28.03 million users by 2027. In the same year, more than 68.68 percent of the population in the South American country accessed social media.