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85+ Important Social Media Advertising Statistics to Know

If you’re not sure why you should put money behind your social media campaigns, these social media advertising statistics should help.

Stacey McLachlan April 6, 2023 8 min read
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While marketing can definitely be an art (we see you, Wendy’s Twitter), in this business, cold hard numbers matter, too. To optimize social media ad campaigns

and maximize success, social media marketers need to know their stats and understand the social media landscape on a quantitative level.

Social media statistics can inform your ads strategy, let you know if you should be using an ad platform, and teach you about communicating well with your target market. If you’re building your social media ad game plan for 2023, here are the key numbers that will guide you to victory.

Bonus: Use our free Facebook Ads budget calculator to figure out exactly how much you need to spend to get the results you want. Let us do the math for you!

General social advertising statistics

Social media advertising is a whole different beast from organic social media. Elsewhere on the blog, we’ve taken the time to compile a ton of social media stats, but if you’re looking for specific statistics about social media advertising, you’re in the right place. social media users over time

US social network video ad spending, 2019-2023

Dig deeper into social media advertising here, or delve into even more social media statistics here.

Instagram ad statistics

As the eighth most-visited website in the world, the fourth most popular social media platform in the world, and the number-one most-downloaded app in the world, Instagram has some obvious appeal. But before you kick off your Instagram ad campaign, get familiar with the demographics and market potential.

  • Instagram’s ad revenue is predicted to be $50.58 billion in 2023. (For comparison, Facebook’s $71.32 billion.)
US social network ad revenue growth by company 2019-2024

  • Instagram ads’ CPM increased by 17% in Q3 2022. In the last two years, they increased by 55%.
  • eMarketer predicts Instagram’s ad revenue will grow 12.1% this year while Facebook’s falls by 1.2%.
  • 61% of Instagram’s advertising audience is aged 18 to 34, making it the perfect avenue for advertisers looking to reach a Gen Z or Millennial audience.
Instagram advertising audience profile

  • Less than 7% of Instagram’s advertising audience is over 55, so if you’re looking to reach Boomers, this may not be the best platform for you.
  • Instagram’s advertising audience is slightly more skewed towards male users than female users, with 52.4% of the advertising audience identifying as male.
  • Instagram ads can reach 76% of the population aged 13+ in Turkey. The next biggest markets are Argentina (66.5%)and 65.9% in Brazil (65.9%).
  • In the U.S., Instagram’s ad penetration is 51.4%. The UK and Canada come in at 51.9% and 49.4%, respectively.
Instagram advertising eligible reach rate

Explore more Instagram statistics here. Ready to start your Instagram ad campaign? Check out our guide to Instagram advertising here.

Facebook ad statistics

With 2.93 billion monthly active users, Facebook remains a central part of most people’s internet experience. In fact, 36.7% of the world’s population uses the app each month. So despite a fairly tumultuous year, the fact is Facebook remains one of the world’s most valuable brands. If you’re interested in advertising on Facebook in 2023, here’s what you need to know.

Meta net ad revenues worldwide by segment 2020-2024

Facebook advertising audience profile

This, of course, is just scratching the surface. Click here for more Facebook statistics, and then learn everything you need to know about advertising on Facebook here.

Twitter ad statistics

After the public takeover of Twitter by billionaire Elon Musk in late 2022, the social networking platform is currently in a bit of a state of flux. But one thing we can assume is that it’s going to continue to be an important part of the social media landscape. After all, it was the sixth-most visited website in the world as of October 2022, with more than 63.7 billion monthly visits from 1.6 billion unique users. That kind of love (or passionate habit?) isn’t going anywhere. Read on for the key Twitter advertising stats marketers should know in 2023.

most-visited websites Semrush ranking

Find more fascinating Twitter statistics here. Or, check out our guide to advertising on Twitter to get started with your own Twitter ad campaign.

Twitter advertising audience overview

  • The regions with the largest eligible reach rate on Twitter are Singapore (65.1%), Japan (60%), and Saudi Arabia (55.5%).
Twitter advertising audience eligible reach rate

number of monetizable daily active Twitter users worldwide from 1st quarter 2017 to 2nd quarter 2022

Snapchat ad statistics

The messaging app’s temporary stories have been copied by almost every other platform at this point, but Snapchat’s appeal among teenagers and Gen Z is still going strong. As of October 2022, Snapchat has 576 million users total and an impressive 347 million daily active users. This is obviously still a place to see and be seen, so if you’re interested in exploring Snapchat advertising options, get familiar with these Snapchat ad stats.

Snapchat daily active users

  • Snapchat has a potential reach of 575.7 million people (11.4% of all internet users), with a year-over-year increase of ad reach of 7% in 2022.
  • After watching an ad on Snapchat, users are 34% more likely to purchase the products advertised themselves and 45% more likely to recommend a brand to their friends.
  • The 35-plus market is growing for Snapchat advertisers: year over year, the app has seen a 40% increase in daily average time spent engaging with shows and publisher content.
  • While Snapchat advertising makes up less than 2% of the U.S. digital ad market, the app’s ads reach nearly half of U.S. smartphone users.
snapchat stats digital ad reach

  • The country with the largest eligible ad reach on Snapchat is Saudi Arabia.
  • Some other impressive international numbers: India has the biggest Snapchat advertising audience of all, at 145 million, while the U.S. boasts 107 million.
snapchat ad reach ranking

  • Ads that are 5 to 6 seconds long have the best performance, according to Snapchat, and surprisingly, 64% of Snapchat ads are viewed with sound on.
  • Ad recall for Gen Z on Snapchat is higher than other generational cohorts… despite the fact these users spend less time watching each ad: 55% of Gen Z can recall an ad they watched for less than 2 seconds.

Explore more interesting Snapchat statistics here. Then, check out our guide to advertising on Snapchat.

LinkedIn ad statistics

LinkedIn turns 20 years old this year (note to self: send flowers!) and has collected more than 900 million members in 200 countries in the process. Sure, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to Facebook or Instagram, but the career-oriented social network has its own unique strengths. If you’re looking to reach LinkedIn’s distinct audience with your social media advertising strategy, read on for the numbers you need to know.

LinkedIn advertising audience overview

  • LinkedIn’s advertising audience is overwhelmingly in the 25- to 34-year-old range.
  • Just 2.9% of LinkedIn’s advertising audience is older than 55.
LinkedIn advertising audience profile

  • The regions with the largest eligible ad reach are the U.A.E (80.6% of the population aged 18+) followed by the U.S. (71.8%) and Singapore (70.2%).
  • Despite that, the U.S. has the largest LinkedIn advertising audience by pure numbers, with 190 million users.
  • 19% of marketers agree that LinkedIn is the most important social media platform for their business.
most important social media platforms for marketers worldwide as of January 2022

Read more about LinkedIn statistics here, and then get ready to tackle our Linkedin advertising guide.

YouTube ad statistics

Youtube is still the king of video-sharing sites (sorry, TikTok), so it’s no surprise that the platform is a powerful option for advertisers, too.

  • Youtube has a potential reach of 2.51 billion (that’s 31.5% of the total population and 49.6% of total internet users).
  • YouTube has experienced 9.8% growth, year over year, in ad reach.
  • 2.06 billion YouTube viewers are over 18 years old.
  • 54.3% of YouTube’s advertising audience identifies as male.
YouTube advertising audience overview

YouTube advertising audience profile

  • YouTube’s reach rate for audiences 18+ is highest in U.A.E., where it has a potential reach of 98.3%. The runner-up is the Netherlands, with 92.5% reach.
  • India has the largest YouTube reach, with an advertising audience 467 million.

Check out more statistics about Youtube here. And we’ve got everything you need to know about advertising on Youtube, too.

TikTok ad statistics

Since its launch in 2016, TikTok has been downloaded 3.3 billion times (and counting), with 672 million downloads in 2022 alone. The app is clearly no flash in the pan, and marketers who still see it as a depository for frivolous dance memes are missing some serious business opportunities. If you’re curious about advertising on TikTok and reaching 50 million active daily users, it’s time to dive into some numbers.

  • In the U.S., TikTok ads have a potential reach of 109,538,000. Brazil is the next biggest ad reach market (76 mill+), followed by Indonesia (69+).
TikTok ad reach ranking

graph of average daily minutes spent in-app on TikTok in Q2 2022

TikTok advertising audience profile

  • TikTok’s advertising audience skews female, with 53.1% of its users identifying this way.
  • The hashtag #tiktokmademebuyit has 31.8 billion lifetime views.
  • 2 in 3 shoppers say they get inspired to buy something on TikTok even when they’re not actively shopping.
  • TikTok Live is particularly effective: 50% of TikTok users have bought something after watching a Live.

Learn more about TikTok advertising here, or nerd out on even more TikTok statistics here.

We’re really just scratching the surface with these social media advertising statistics — there’s a whole world of social media stats to geek out over. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, just take a deep breath and binge-watch Fridgeworthy until you’re cool, calm, collected, and ready to get back into the thrilling world of social media ads.

Save time managing your social media presence with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can publish and schedule posts, find relevant conversions, engage the audience, measure results, and more. Try it free today.

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By Stacey McLachlan

Stacey McLachlan is an award-winning writer and editor from Vancouver with more than a decade of experience working for print and digital publications.

She is editor-at-large for Western Living and Vancouver Magazine, author of the National Magazine Award-nominated 'City Informer' column, and a regular contributor to Dwell. Her previous work covers a wide range of topics, from SEO-focused thought-leadership to profiles of mushroom foragers, but her specialties include design, people, social media strategy, and humor.

You can usually find her at the beach, or cleaning sand out of her bag.

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