100+ Social Media Demographics that Matter to Marketers in 2021
Understanding social media demographics will help you fine-tune your marketing strategy and reach the right people with your message.
Understanding social media demographics will help you fine-tune your marketing strategy and reach the right people with your message.
There are lots of benefits when social media marketers understand social media demographics.
When you have a clear idea of the different audiences using each platform — and the potential audience each platform can reach — you can:
Simply, the best social media marketers know where their audience is active online. And that helps brands choose the right social platforms.
After all, how many men prowl Pinterest boards for power drill DIYs? What are the chances Snapchatters are thinking about retirement? Could LinkedIn members be lured by video game ads?
(Okay, maybe some.)
But really, the only way to choose the right platform for your brand is by taking a look deeper at social media demographics. That’s why we’re breaking down key demographics for all of the major social media sites out there.
Keep reading to learn more.
Download the complete Digital 2021 report—which includes online behavior data from 220 countries—to learn where to focus your social marketing efforts and how to better target your audience.
Here are a few general social media demographic points you should know to help your brand find success:
#1: In October 2020, the number of social media users worldwide passed the 4 billion mark.
#2: A user spends an average of 2 hours and 29 hours on social media each day.
Globally, internet users are spending more than 33% of their internet time on social media.
Source: Digital 2020
#3: Put another way, social media users are spending about 15% of their waking life on a social platform.
#4: Users in the Philippines are spending the most time on social media: 3 hours and 53 minutes.
Source: Digital 2020
#5: 99% of all social media users are accessing platforms via their mobile devices, at least at some point.
Source: We Are Social
#6: 55% of all global social media users are male.
There is a digital gender gap. Social media demographics show the greatest gender divide is in southern Asia, where only 24% of social media users are female.
Source: Digital 2020
#7: Facebook continues to be the most popular social media platform among global users.
And the majority of its users are ages 18 to 34.
Source: Digital 2020
#8: >180 million more people used social media between July and September, 2020 compared to April, May and June, 2020.
That’s an increase of about 2 million new users per day.
Facebook has huge potential for social media marketers, so Facebook stats and Facebook social demographics matter.
Along with being one of the oldest social media platforms out there — in internet years, of course — Facebook also continues to be the most popular. Its daily active user base far exceeds the second-most used social media platform, YouTube.
Source: Statista
Read more: Here are even more interesting Facebook demographics to help your brand with its social media strategy.
Instagram has also established itself as a must-have social media tool for marketers. Knowing social media demographics for this popular photo-sharing app will help focus your Instagram marketing strategy.
Source: Digital 2020
Source: Statista
Source: Statista
Read more: If your business relies heavily on Instagram, check out this post for 44 essential Instagram stats.
Twitter is currently the 13th most-popular social media platform in the world. While its reach might not be the same as Facebook or Instagram, there are plenty of opportunities for brands to engage with users on Twitter.
Here are key Twitter demographics that social media marketers should consider when building out their Twitter marketing strategy.
Source: Hootsuite
Source: Statista
Source: Digital 2020
Read more: Find more informative Twitter statistics to help drive your brand’s social media marketing strategy.
Snapchat launched in 2011, and since then, it’s become an incredibly popular social media platform for American teenagers. Brands trying to reach Gen Z should consider Snapchat as part of their marketing strategy — and take these Snapchat demographics into consideration when crafting their social strategy.
Source: Digital 2020
Source: Statista
As the second most-used social media platform in the world, YouTube should be on social media managers’ radars. And to create an effective YouTube marketing strategy, you need to know a few essential YouTube demographic stats.
Source: Statista
Source: Alexa
Read more: Find even more YouTube statistics to help guide your YouTube marketing strategy here.
Download the complete Digital 2021 report—which includes online behavior data from 220 countries—to learn where to focus your social marketing efforts and how to better target your audience.
Get the full report now!LinkedIn is the number-one site for employers to connect with prospective employees and vice versa.
It’s also a unique platform for marketers to reach one of the most affluent and educated user bases on social media. If you’re using LinkedIn for business, make sure you’re familiar with these LinkedIn demographics.
Source: LinkedIn
Source: Statista
Read more: To get an even better idea of social media demographics for this platform, check out the top LinkedIn demographics that matter to social media marketers.
This image-sharing social platform launched in 2010, well before platforms like Snapchat and TikTok. Eleven years later, it is still the 15th most-popular social platform in the world, ahead of platforms including Twitter.
If your brand is using Pinterest for business, keep on top of these Pinterest demographics to leverage your brand’s social strategy.
Source: Statista
Source: Statista
TikTok got really big, really fast. And any brand trying to reach teenagers should consider adding TikTok into their social media marketing strategy.
While the platform isn’t for every brand, understanding basic TikTok demographics can help your business understand whether this platform is for you.
Sources: Statista
Source: Statista
Remember: knowing social media demographics for each platform is just one part of designing an effective social marketing strategy.
Creating an effective strategy can be done in just eight easy steps. And, of course, knowing social media demographics is one of them!
Now that you’ve got the demographic stats you need to plan your social media strategy, use Hootsuite to build and target an audience of loyal followers. Try it free today.