Social Media Platform Stats 2017 [Infographic]

Social networking seems to have an entirely new meaning today than it did 10 years ago. It used to be that if you were on Facebook, you were simply connecting with family and staying in touch with old friends. Now, Facebook users are interacting with brands, sharing their opinions on every product on the market, and are more tech savvy than ever. Because of this, Facebook has become a huge opportunity for advertisers. Now, marketers must get creative in order to reach their target market—but in order to do that, they must first understand who exactly the audiences for each platform are.

Social media users in 2017

The spread of social media is hard not to notice, and it has forever changed how people spend their time online. As seen below, there are now 2.8 billion social media users worldwide—52% of whom are on one or two platforms consistently. In the last year alone, the number of social media users has jumped 22%, signifying a considerable and promising growth for all platforms. In short: social media is not going away anytime soon.

Detailed breakdown by social network

The breakdown of social media trends among platforms is shown more specifically below. Above all, Facebook’s broad audience and incredibly high number of users give the site a clear advantage over its competition. As far as the live-streaming and entertainment channels go, YouTube has established its place as an industry leader, now reaching more 18-49 year olds than any other cable company in the country. Perhaps most telling from these stats are that 53% of Instagram users follow brands, making the app an excellent portal through which companies can directly reach and interact with consumers.

Each social media platform has its own demographic of users, giving advertisers a meaningful glimpse into which platforms will be best suited for their advertising needs. Being aware of which social medias are most likely to nurture a consumer-brand relationship is an extremely valuable insight for marketers—which is why it’s important to keep up with the ever-changing trends of social media and its users.

For help with social media management, contact Social Fire Media today!