People use different social networks for a wide range of purposes. In a February 2019 survey, Instagram ranked first among social media survey for viewing photos but ranked head-to-head with Snapchat in terms of being the preferred social network for video consumption. Also, 47 percent of respondents stated that they used Pinterest to find or shop for products, a rate that no other social platform was able to match in that regard.

Between the second half of 2019 and the first half of 2020, the loved brand on social media was Instagram. The social media platform had accumulated a total of 108.7 million "love" mentions across 104.7 million posts, generating 722 billion potential impressions and over 2 billion total engagements during the measured time frame. Second-ranked Amazon only generated 27.3 million "love" mentions.

A global survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2023 found that the main reason for using social media was to keep in touch with friends and family, with over 49 percent of social media users saying this was their main reason for using online networks. Overall, 38 percent of social media users said that filling spare time was their main reason for using social media platforms, whilst 34.3 percent of respondents said they used it to read news stories. One in five users were on social platforms for the reason of following celebrities and influencers. The most popular social network Facebook dominates the social media landscape. The world's most popular social media platform turned 20 in February 2024, and it continues to lead the way in terms of user numbers. As of January 2024, the social network had over three billion global users. YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram follow, but none of these well-known brands can surpass Facebook’s audience size. Moreover, as of the final quarter of 2023, there were almost four billion Meta product users. Ever-evolving social media usage The utilization of social media remains largely gratuitous; however, companies have been encouraging users to become paid subscribers to reduce dependence on advertising profits. Meta Verified entices users by offering a blue verification badge and proactive account protection, among other things. X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Reddit also offer users the chance to upgrade their social media accounts for a monthly free.

During a 2024 survey among marketers worldwide, around 86 percent reported using Facebook for marketing purposes. Instagram and LinkedIn followed, respectively mentioned by 79 and 65 percent of the respondents. The global social media marketing segment According to the same study, 59 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 2024. 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.

In 2021, 91.9 percent of U.S. marketers in companies largest than 100 employees were expected to use social media for marketing purposes. In 2013, the share stood at 86.2 percent. Social media marketing – additional informationEveryone knows that social media started as an entertainment tool and evolved to a powerful marketing tool. While it serves its primary purpose of connecting people, at the same time it plays a major role in connecting marketers with current and potential customers. Marketing professionals agreed that social media was very important to their business. In fact, 63 percent agreed with it strongly. These convictions are reflected in growing expenditures towards this medium. In the United States alone, social media marketing spending is expected to exceed 17 billion U.S. dollars in 2019 – almost ten billion increase, compared to 2014.When asked about the leading challenges of social media marketing, 67 percent of surveyed marketers stated that assessing its effectiveness was their main concern, followed by strategy design and analyzing obtained data. In order to evaluate the effectiveness, U.S. social media specialists employed a number of measurements. Counting the number of hits, visits or page views was the leading social media metric used in 2014. In addition, 45 percent of respondents believed that the number of friends or followers on social platforms was a significant indicator of marketing success.Specific platform usage among social media professionals varies depending on the type of commerce transaction. Twitter seems to be a shared platform, ranked second in usage for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer industries. The difference is visible when considering the primary spot. Among B2C marketers, 94 percent used Facebook, while among B2B marketers, 94 percent indicated using LinkedIn.

Of the videos published in 2019 on the social media platform Facebook, the video titled "Illusionist Riana on Asia's Got Talent 2017" was ranked first with over 614 million views. The second most-viewed video released on Facebook in 2019 was "Get clever with your clutter...and these 7 organization hacks!" with 446 million views.

According to a survey conducted in August 2023 in the United States, Facebook and Instagram were the most popular social media platforms among small businesses. Eighty percent of respondents reported using Facebook to promote products and services. Sixty-four percent of respondents mentioned the same for Instagram. Threads and Twitter had the lowest usage levels among SMBs.

During an early 2023 survey carried out among among people who run their own business or side hustle in the United Kingdom, nine percent stated they used TikTok as primary social media platforms used by small businesses for sales generation. Facebook ranked first, named by 30 percent of respondents.

During a survey of small and medium-sized businesses in the United States as of November 2022, over 80 percent of respondents said they used Facebook regularly. Almost half of SMBs adopted Instagram for marketing and advertising, while 30 percent used LinkedIn.

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 2024 survey among marketers worldwide, approximately 44 percent said Facebook was the most important social media platform. Instagram and LinkedIn followed, respectively mentioned by 25 and 21 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 That 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 Instagram and YouTube.

According to a 2023 survey of adults in the United States, most respondents expressed concern regarding social media companies data collection practices. About 35 percent of respondents were very concerned about how social media platforms collect their personal data, while 44 percent were somewhat concerned. In contrast, only 17 percent of respondents were not very concerned, and a mere four percent of respondents were not at all concerned about their personal data being collected by these companies.

According to a survey among internet users worldwide during the third quarter of 2023, 73.9 percent of global respondents said they used social media platforms to conduct research on brands. The top three countries with the highest share of internet users using social media for brand research were all African: Nigeria came first with 97.4 percent of respondents, while Ghana followed with 94.5 percent and Kenya clinched third place with 92.2 percent.

A survey during the third quarter of 2020 found that 36 percent of Instagram users in the United States were using the social network to follow brands or companies on the platform. Twitter ranked close in second place with 35 percent of Twitter audiences in the United States using the service to follow brands.

During a survey conducted among marketing professionals from the United States in January 2021, it was found that communications and media companies invested nearly 24 percent of their marketing budget into social media activities. Companies active in the healthcare sector destined more than 17 percent of their marketing spend to social media marketing.

Every year billions of dollars are spent on advertising on social media in the United States. In 2022, the amount reached 66 billion U.S. dollars, and included paid advertising on social networks as well as games and applications on social media. By 2025, advertisers are expected to spend over 82 billion dollars on promoting their products on social networks. Facebook commands the lion’s share of these expenditures (more than 80 percent), followed by LinkedIn and Pinterest with four and two percent respectively. Social network advertising – a closer look   Studies show that a little over 90 percent of U.S. companies are and will be using social media for marketing purposes. In 2017, social messaging and video were thought to be the trends of the future in relation to social media advertising and believed to have the biggest effect on marketing strategies. Lo and behold, advertising spending on social video has been growing ever since, and is expected to amount to nearly 15 billion U.S dollars in 2021. Even in this respect, Facebook has the lead, especially when it comes to influencer marketing. In fact, all tiers of influencers - from microinfluencers to celebrities - post the majority of their videos on Facebook. The second choice of platform to share their videos is YouTube, which despite being 'the' video sharing platform is not as popular yet among influencers most probably due to smaller user reach.

During a global 2024 survey, approximately 91 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 86 percent. According to the same study, increased exposure and traffic were the leading benefits of social media marketing worldwide.

In December 2023, the global platform of Amazon Business registered more than 30 percent of its social media referral traffic from YouTube. The B2B marketplace registered the second-largest source of referral traffic from LinkedIn, accounting for roughly 25 percent.

This survey shows the share of customers by if companies responded to their questions on social media in 2017. During the survey, 84 percent of respondents from the United States stated that companies responded to their customer service questions on social media.

In 2024, almost 95 percent of B2B companies in Germany used the business network LinkedIn to promote their company. Over 73 percent used Instagram, while around 68 percent promoted their company on facebook.