The ad spending is forecast to experience significant growth in all segments in 2028. As part of the positive trend, the indicator achieves the maximum value across all two different segments by the end of the comparison period. Notably, the segment Social Media Advertising Mobile stands out with the highest value of ****** billion U.S. dollars. Find further statistics on other topics such as a comparison of the ad spending in the United States and a comparison of the ad spending in Germany.The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

In 2024, social media advertising spending in the United States amounted to ** billion U.S. dollars, out of nearly *** billion total online media advertising spending forecast for that year.

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.

The global social media penetration rate in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 11.6 (+18.19 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the penetration rate is estimated to reach 75.31 and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the social media penetration rate of was continuously increasing over the past years.

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.

In 2024, social media advertising spending in France stood at around **** billion euros, having increased ** percent on the figures reported a year earlier. In 2023, it stood at roughly **** billion euros. That same year, the digital advertising market in France generated nearly ***** billion euros. Social media advertising is the second-largest part of the market in the country, right after search.

The reach by social network in the 'Total' segment of the digital advertising market in Indonesia was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total 39.7 million users (+17.35 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 268.48 million users and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the reach by social network of the 'Total' segment of the digital advertising market was continuously increasing over the past years.Find further information concerning Malaysia and Thailand. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

According to data from a February 2019 survey of internet users in the United States, ** percent of respondents were skeptical of shopping recommendations and ads delivered on social media platforms. The amount of trust in social media advertising varied by generation, with ** percent of Millennials trusting social media ads and only * percent of Baby Boomers showing trust.

The number of social media advertising users in South Korea stood at around 46.6 million in 2023. This number was forecasted to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by around 2.6 percent. After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the number of social media advertising users was estimated to reach 47.77 million users and therefore a new peak in 2028.

The reach by social network in the 'Total' segment of the digital advertising market in Vietnam was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total 8,431,138.6 users (+11.29 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 83,081,345.75 users and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the reach by social network of the 'Total' segment of the digital advertising market was continuously increasing over the past years.Find further information concerning the Philippines and Indonesia. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

In 2019, social media advertising spending in the United Kingdom stood at **** billion British pounds and accounted for ** percent of the total digital ad spend in the country. That year, search advertising was the digital ad format that attracted the largest investements in the UK.

In 2021, **** 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 **** 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, ** 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 ** billion U.S. dollars in 2019 – almost ** billion increase, compared to 2014.When asked about the leading challenges of social media marketing, ** 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, ** 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, ** percent used Facebook, while among B2B marketers, ** percent indicated using LinkedIn.

The reach by social network in the 'Total' segment of the digital advertising market in Malaysia was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total 2.5 million users (+8.55 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 31.75 million users and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the reach by social network of the 'Total' segment of the digital advertising market was continuously increasing over the past years.Find further information concerning Vietnam and Indonesia. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

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.

How much time do people spend on social media?

              As of 2024, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 143 minutes per day, down from 151 minutes in the previous year. Currently, the country with the most time spent on social media per day is Brazil, with online users spending an average of three hours and 49 minutes on social media each day. In comparison, the daily time spent with social media in
              the U.S. was just two hours and 16 minutes. Global social media usageCurrently, the global social network penetration rate is 62.3 percent. Northern Europe had an 81.7 percent social media penetration rate, topping the ranking of global social media usage by region. Eastern and Middle Africa closed the ranking with 10.1 and 9.6 percent usage reach, respectively.
              People access social media for a variety of reasons. Users like to find funny or entertaining content and enjoy sharing photos and videos with friends, but mainly use social media to stay in touch with current events friends. Global impact of social mediaSocial media has a wide-reaching and significant impact on not only online activities but also offline behavior and life in general.
              During a global online user survey in February 2019, a significant share of respondents stated that social media had increased their access to information, ease of communication, and freedom of expression. On the flip side, respondents also felt that social media had worsened their personal privacy, increased a polarization in politics and heightened everyday distractions.

A survey of global schools conducted in 2019 found that Facebook was the most popular social media platform for school marketing, with ** percent of surveyed educational institutions worldwide using the site for marketing purposes. Instagram, Twitter and YouTube were also popular channels, with over ** percent of schools reporting usage of these platforms over the last 12 months before the survey.

Social media companies are starting to offer users the option to subscribe to their platforms in exchange for monthly fees. Until recently, social media has been predominantly free to use, with tech companies relying on advertising as their main revenue generator. However, advertising revenues have been dropping following the COVID-induced boom. As of July 2023, Meta Verified is the most costly of the subscription services, setting users back almost 15 U.S. dollars per month on iOS or Android. Twitter Blue costs between eight and 11 U.S. dollars per month and ensures users will receive the blue check mark, and have the ability to edit tweets and have NFT profile pictures. Snapchat+, drawing in four million users as of the second quarter of 2023, boasts a Story re-watch function, custom app icons, and a Snapchat+ badge.

During a January 2024 global survey among marketers, nearly 60 percent reported plans to increase their organic use of YouTube for marketing purposes in the following 12 months. LinkedIn and Instagram followed, respectively mentioned by 57 and 56 percent of the respondents intending to use them more. According to the same survey, Facebook was the most important social media platform for marketers worldwide.

A global survey conducted in the third quarter of 2024 found that the main reason for using social media was to keep in touch with friends and family, with over 50.8 percent of social media users saying this was their main reason for using online networks. Overall, 39 percent of social media users said that filling spare time was their main reason for using social media platforms, whilst 34.5 percent of respondents said they used it to read news stories. Less than 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 February 2025, the social network had over three billion global users. YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp 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.

How many people use social media?

              Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities. In 2024, over five billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to over six billion in 2028.

              Who uses social media?
              Social networking is one of the most popular digital activities worldwide and it is no surprise that social networking penetration across all regions is constantly increasing. As of January 2023, the global social media usage rate stood at 59 percent. This figure is anticipated to grow as lesser developed digital markets catch up with other regions
              when it comes to infrastructure development and the availability of cheap mobile devices. In fact, most of social media’s global growth is driven by the increasing usage of mobile devices. Mobile-first market Eastern Asia topped the global ranking of mobile social networking penetration, followed by established digital powerhouses such as the Americas and Northern Europe.

              How much time do people spend on social media?
              Social media is an integral part of daily internet usage. On average, internet users spend 151 minutes per day on social media and messaging apps, an increase of 40 minutes since 2015. On average, internet users in Latin America had the highest average time spent per day on social media.

              What are the most popular social media platforms?
              Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts and currently boasts approximately 2.9 billion monthly active users, making it the most popular social network worldwide. In June 2023, the top social media apps in the Apple App Store included mobile messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram Messenger, as well as the ever-popular app version of Facebook.