The Top 10 Social Media Sites & Platforms 2022
Social media is a pillar of many individuals’s every day lives.
The Digital 2022 April International Statshot Report discovered that there are 4.65 billion social media customers on the planet. That’s 58.7% of the worldwide inhabitants, a lot of whom are utilizing social media as a major supply of knowledge.
From information (and disinformation) to life-style ideas, decision-making to product analysis, social media customers can collect all the data they want, with out ever leaving their platform of alternative.
And it’s not simply within the U.S. (although 84% of People use at the very least one social media community). China now has greater than 1 billion social media customers, regardless of nonetheless having roughly 415 million residents with out web entry.
For entrepreneurs, these are extra than simply eye-catching numbers – they’re potential clients. And if in case you have a correct social media technique, they’ll change into realized clients.
Sadly, it’s not simply as straightforward as hanging out your shingle on Fb and ready for the enterprise to return rolling in.
It’s a must to have a method to lift model consciousness, join with potential clients, and have interaction along with your viewers. And a key a part of that’s being in the appropriate place.
For instance, in case you’re promoting retirement properties, TikTok in all probability isn’t the place for you, as 47.4% of customers are below 30.
Equally, if you wish to goal native Chinese language audio system, Fb in all probability isn’t the appropriate platform for you, because it solely has 3.3 million customers in China.
So, how do you select the place to spend your time (and potential advert spend)?
Until your organization has deep pockets and doesn’t care about outcomes, a shotgun method, the place you attempt to goal everybody, in all places, on the identical time isn’t efficient.
You want to contemplate which channels are proper in your viewers.
Earlier than you go all-in on one social media website, check a number of out. See in case you’re getting the outcomes you need, after which strategically select which of them you wish to double down on.
On this piece, we’ll take a look at a number of the hottest social media platforms, provide you with a fast overview of them, and make ideas about what kind of enterprise they may work for.
High 10 Social Media Platforms In contrast
MAU | Income | Launched | Headquarters | ||
1 | Fb | 2.9 billion | $85.96 billion | 2004 | Menlo Park, CA |
2 | YouTube | 2.2 billion | $28.8 billion | 2005 | San Bruno, California |
3 | 2 billion | $5.5 billion | 2009 | Menlo Park, California | |
4 | 2 billion | $24 billion | 2010 | Menlo Park, CA | |
5 | TikTok | 1 billion | $11 billion | 2016 | Culver Metropolis, CA |
6 | Snapchat | 538 million | $1.06 billion | 2011 | Los Angeles, CA |
7 | 444 million | $575 million | 2005 | San Francisco, CA | |
8 | 430 million | $289.9 million | 2010 | San Francisco, CA | |
9 | 250 million | $12. 4 billion | 2006 | San Francisco, CA | |
10 | 217 million | $5.42 billion | 2003 | Mountain View, CA |
The High 10 Social Media Apps By Month-to-month Energetic Customers
MAU | ||
1 | Fb | 2.9 billion |
2 | YouTube | 2.2 billion |
3 | 2 billion | |
4 | 2 billion | |
5 | TikTok | 1 billion |
6 | Snapchat | 538 million |
7 | 444 million | |
8 | 430 million | |
9 | 250 million | |
10 | 217 million |
The High 10 Social Media Websites And Platforms
1. Fb
Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
Launched: 2004
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 2.9 billion
Founders: Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes
Income: $86 billion (2022)
Fb isn’t primary anymore. Positive, the platform that you simply join along with your mother, third-grade trainer, and neighbor remains to be there, and nonetheless as common as ever (much more so, truly).
However now it’s Meta. Or at the very least the corporate that owns it, Instagram, and WhatsApp at the moment are Meta, Inc.
The platform has seen a demographic shift, but it surely’s nonetheless the large canine on the social media block.
A number of the main industries on Fb embody monetary companies, ecommerce, retail, gaming, leisure, media, telecom, expertise, client items, and automotive companies.
The Information Feed more and more suppresses enterprise posts, however there are nonetheless methods to bolster engagement with out investing in adverts.
Nonetheless, in case you actually wish to drive motion out of your viewers, Fb adverts are a good way to do it.
Contemplate becoming a member of (or creating) teams, utilizing a Fb Messenger chatbot, or utilizing dwell video to up your engagement.
2. YouTube

Launched: 2005
Headquarters: San Bruno, California
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 2.2 billion
Income: $28.8 billion (2022)
Founders: Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, Chad Hurley
The unique video social media platform, YouTube maintains dominance in that market. It’s at present the second most used platform with 2.2 billion month-to-month lively customers.
The potential for attain on YouTube is unmatched, with 81% of U.S. adults utilizing the platform. The numbers can’t be ignored.
YouTube has a robust consumer base throughout all age teams. This contains the difficult-to-reach 65+ demographic, 49% of whom use the platform, second solely to Fb.
YouTube covers all genres from magnificence, gaming, and training to DIY dwelling enhancements. That is the platform for many manufacturers to put money into, with video being the rising medium for content material advertising.
3. WhatsApp

Launched: 2009
Headquarters: Menlo Park, California
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 2 billion
Income: $5.5 billion (2022) estimated
Founders: Brian Acton, Jan Koum
WhatsApp stays the most well-liked social messaging app, means out in entrance of Fb Messenger.
The closed messaging app may not appear the plain alternative for manufacturers. However contemplate that SMS has a 98% open fee in comparison with 20% for e-mail. It’s a captive viewers. And, not like SMS, WhatsApp messages are free to ship.
In case you use WhatsApp for customer support and retention, you in all probability already understand its potential for manufacturers is big and distinctly under-leveraged.
In case you can crack WhatsApp, you’ll have a direct advertising channel to your viewers.
4. Instagram

Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
Launched: 2010
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 2 billion
Founders: Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger
Income: $24 billion (2022)
Instagram is a social community the place product-based companies, influencers, and coaches can thrive.
Since introducing shoppable posts in 2018, the potential ROI for product-based companies is larger than ever – not solely can B2B’s join with a large viewers, they’ll hyperlink the product data and gross sales straight from the Gram.
In case your goal demographic is below 35, Instagram is a gold mine: 67% of 18-24-year-olds use Instagram, with 67% of Era Z and 58% of Millennials utilizing the app every day.
Learn extra Instagram Statistics and Information for 2021.
5. TikTok

Launched: 2016
Headquarters: Culver Metropolis, California
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 1 billion
Founders: ByteDance Ltd, Zhang Yiming, Toutiao
Income: $11 billion (2022)
TikTok payments itself as “the main vacation spot for short-form cell video” with an organization mission to encourage creativity and produce pleasure.
TikTok has definitely struck a chord because it’s the youngest app to market however has already seen unimaginable progress.
In 2017, after just one yr, the app grew to become the quickest rising app worldwide.
Regardless of makes an attempt to ban TikTok within the U.S. and being banned in India, as of 2021, the app had been downloaded greater than 3 billion occasions globally.
If you wish to join with Era Z, TikTok is the platform to take a look at.
Within the U.S., 25% of the viewers is an adolescent or youthful. These customers are extremely engaged, too; with an common consumer session of practically 11 minutes, which is twice so long as Pinterest, the following closest app.
6. Snapchat

Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
Launched: 2011
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 538 million
Founders: Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, Daniel Smith, David Kravitz, Leo Noah Katz
Income: $1.06 billion (2022)
In case your goal demographic is younger, you undoubtedly wish to get in on Snapchat.
Probably the most lively customers on Snapchat are 13-year-olds, they usually’re spending upwards of half-hour a day on the app.
Snapchat is a haven for user-generated content material, behind-the-scenes movies, unique gives, and influencer takeovers.
7. Reddit

Launched: 2005
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 430 million
Founders: Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian, Aaron Swartz
Income: $289.9 million (2022)
Reddit heralds itself as “the entrance web page of the web,” and based on Alexa rankings, Reddit is without doubt one of the prime 20 most-visited websites.
Reddit has a singular mix of content material and neighborhood, with greater than 2.8 million communities or subreddits, devoted to each subject possible.
With so many niches, there’s a spot for each model and enterprise – it’s a matter of discovering the niches the place your potential clients are lively and diving in.
Nonetheless, be warned: Reddit is a fickle place and gained’t tolerate blatant self-promotion.
Tread evenly as you start to navigate as a result of in case you get the tone flawed, commentators are fast to leap in and may trash a model.
8. Pinterest

Launched: 2010
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 444 million
Founders: Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, Evan Sharp
Income: $574 million (2022)
A number of the hottest content material on Pinterest contains vogue, meals, decor, marriage ceremony, exercise, and DIY-related pins.
As well as, something with wealthy visuals can thrive on Pinterest.
Notably, 60% of Pinterest customers are feminine. If in case you have a predominantly feminine viewers, that’s a compelling purpose to take a position time in social media advertising on Pinterest.
That’s to not say that males aren’t on Pinterest – it has a male viewers share of 40%.
9. Twitter

Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Launched: 2006
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 217 million (2021)
Founders: Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, Noah Glass
Income: $1.2 billion (2022)
In contrast to different social media platforms, Twitter noticed a lower within the variety of customers previously yr. This can be attributed to the banning of former president Donald Trump and fears of conservative censorship.
As of this writing, the location is within the means of finishing a $44 billion sale to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. This announcement led to massive fluctuations in follower numbers because the political make-up of the customers modified, a course of Twitter known as “natural” in nature.
Despite a transparent understanding of what the longer term holds for the platform, if your enterprise is said to leisure, sports activities, politics, tech, or advertising, you stand to earn super engagement on this app.
On Twitter, manufacturers have a chance to craft and hone their voice. There’s room to be intelligent and personable, whereas nonetheless being informative and useful.
Soar into threads, present worth, share your personal content material in addition to others, and be a part of the continuous dialog.
10. LinkedIn

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, CA
Launched: 2003
Month-to-month Energetic Customers: 830 million (2022)
Founders: Reid Hoffman, Konstantin Guericke, Allen Blue, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Eric Ly
Income: $8.05 billion (2020)
Inside its large community of execs, you’ll discover greater than 61 million customers in senior positions on LinkedIn.
In case you’re searching for decision-makers who’ve the facility to rent your organization, inventory your product, or accomplice with you, LinkedIn is the place to be.
Do you know that the common LinkedIn consumer has an earnings greater than $2,000 above the nationwide median? Or that 50 million individuals use it to seek for jobs each week?
LinkedIn is a really centered social media platform, and due to that, it has limitless potential for connecting with an elite group of execs who could make a distinction for your enterprise.
Which Platform(s) Ought to You Use?
Social media is in all places. And everyone seems to be utilizing it, out of your teenage neighbor who’s making an attempt to go viral on TikTok with the most recent dance, to your 86-year-old grandmother who’s utilizing Fb to trace down long-lost buddies.
However, not all platforms work for each enterprise. So, in case you have been hoping you’d attain the tip of this piece and there could be a simple reply as to which of them your organization needs to be on, nicely, you’re out of luck.
That’s to not say there isn’t a solution, it’s simply that each social media combine can be distinctive.
Totally different platforms have completely different performance which regularly makes them extra appropriate for particular manufacturers and industries.
Are you trying to enhance buyer engagement? Enhance your attain? Create unforgettable model experiences?
You want to determine what you wish to get out of your social media presence after which decide which technique will provide help to obtain these targets.
Be selective, discover the platform or platforms your viewers is utilizing, after which customise your marketing campaign to succeed in them.
Featured Picture: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
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