Social media can be an extremely useful tool if you know how to use it properly. A key to using it to your advantage is understanding demographics. According to The Oxford Dictionary, demographics are described as “statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it.” If you can correctly identify the target demographic or, the audience for your social media platform you can use it to advance your business even further. There are three major social media platforms that we will look into as we review their target demographic, popularity, and growth potential. Let’s dive in.
1. Facebook
Average Monthly Users: 2.989 billion
What is it:
Facebook is a social networking site where a user is able to share photos, messages, and other information. You can create groups with friends, read the news, and connect with new people. Other websites use a Facebook account as a login method. Facebook is a useful tool for connecting with friends and family who live far away, ones that you might not see often, and even with companies and celebrities.
Main Demographic:
Facebook’s main demographic is male 25-34 year olds. 17.6% of their users fit into this category, followed closely by females ages 18-24 at 12.6%. They don’t have many users under 18 or over 55.
Growth:
Facebook has experienced very steady growth since 2010. In 2010 there were about 130 million users and currently, there are almost 3 billion. Its current growth rate is 7.8% per year.
Average Time Spent:
The average user spends 35 minutes a day on Facebook.
Main Access Point:
98.3% of users access Facebook through their mobile devices.
2. YouTube
Average Monthly Users: 2.70 billion
What is it:
YouTube is a video-sharing platform. It is used by a wide variety of people from content creators to teachers. On YouTube, you can subscribe to certain channels and stay updated on videos you may enjoy watching or learning from. Along with long-form videos, YouTube also has “Shorts” that are 60 seconds or less. You can create and upload your own videos easily, choosing to make them private or available for public access.
Main Demographic:
54.4% of YouTube users are male. The most common ages for users is 25-34 at 20.7%. Following is the 35-44 age group at 16.7%. The smallest age group is 65+ at just 9%.
Growth:
YouTube’s growth has declined from 13% in 2013 to only 4.9% in 2021. It is believed that the numbers will stay steady at this percentage. Although there is a drop in growth, YouTube is still popular and adding users yearly.
Average Time Spent:
The average user spends 41.9 minutes a day on YouTube.
Main Access Point:
70% of users access YouTube from a mobile device with the other 30% coming from computers.
3. WhatsApp
Average Monthly Users: 2 billion
What is it:
WhatsApp is a free messaging app. It is extremely useful for international connections as there are no fees for calls overseas. You can use it on Android or IOS on mobile devices, and computers. It is one of the only cross-platform messaging services. You can send photos, videos, or messages. WhatsApp doesn’t decrease the quality of longer videos that you might not be able to send any other way.
Main Demographic:
34.75% of WhatsApp users are aged 25-34, followed by 18-24 year-olds at 25.96%. 53.46% of users are male.
Growth:
WhatsApp has experienced fairly steady growth from 10 million users in 2010 to 2 billion in 2021. Since 2022, there has been a 10.5% increase in users. The projected growth is 18.4% for the next 2 years.
Average Time Spent:
The average user spends 28 minutes a day on WhatsApp. The average Android WhatsApp user spends 38 minutes a day on the app.
Main Access Point:
WhatsApp messaging is accessed on smartphones and mobile devices as the main use is free international calls. WhatsApp is more common on Android devices than IOS.
Sources:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/facebook101/what-is-facebook/1/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/376128/facebook-global-user-age-distribution/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/247614/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/ https://backlinko.com/facebook-users https://www.statista.com/statistics/805671/youtube-viewer-number-growth-world/ https://www.mixbloom.com/resources/average-time-spent-on-social-media https://www.cooby.co/post/whatsapp-web-statistics https://backlinko.com/whatsapp-users#whatsapp-usage-frequency https://www.globalmediainsight.com/blog/youtube-users-statistics/#demographics