Social Media Demographics for Marketers in 2022

I get it, fellow marketers —sometimes, you just need the numbers.

The new year means a lot of things: new life changes, new opportunities, chances to change lives, and, for marketers, new campaigns to plan.

The juggernaut known as social media only gets bigger with every new year, and because of that, demographics shift with it. And, ultimately, keeping on top of important numbers before your social media campaigns can help you with ROI in the long run.

Here, we’ve compiled the state of social media demographics, optimized with the most important data you need to know about your audience and shaping your personas for 2022.

General Social Media Demographics

• Roughly 82% of Americans between 18 and 49 years old use at least one social media site. (Pew Research Center)
• The top way marketers find their audience on social media is by researching relevant online communities, such as Facebook Groups and subreddits. (HubSpot Blog Research, 2021)
• 84% of marketers are targeting Millennials in their social media strategy, followed by Gen X (52%), then Gen Z at 22%. Only 14% of marketers target Baby boomers. (HubSpot Blog Research, 2021)
• Most marketers say that short-form video content is the most popular content format for Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. (HubSpot Blog Research, 2021)

Facebook Demographics

General

• As of 2021, Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users. (Statista)
• Users spend an average of 19.5 hours a month on Facebook. (Hootsuite)

Age and Gender

• Male consumers between 25 and 34 years of age represent the largest demographic on Facebook. (Statista)
• Globally, 56.4% of Facebook users identify as male while 43.6% identify as female. (Statista)
• Marketers believe Facebook is the most popular social media platform across all age groups. (HubSpot Blog Research, 2021)

Geography

• India has the most Facebook users at 349 million, with the United States in second place with 193.9 million users. (Statista)
• Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa are the countries where Facebook users are growing the fastest. (eMarketer)
• In 2020, Facebook’s user base is declined in Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and South Korea. (eMarketer)

Takeaways

As the most popular social media network, Facebook is definitely a platform worth investing in. Its largest user group is Millennials but it still has a wide range of users across all ages. Furthermore, Facebook is popular worldwide, making it a great social media network for brands of all industries and locations.

Instagram Demographics

General

• eMarketer forecasts that Instagram will reach 1.1 billion users in 2022. (eMarketer)
• 500+ million users are active on the platform every day. (Instagram)
• Users spend an average of 10.3 hours a month on IG. (Hootsuite)

Age and Gender

• Males between the ages of 18 to 24 represent the largest demographic on Instagram, followed closely by males between 25 to 34 years old. (Statista)
• Most women on Instagram are between 18 and 34 years old. (Statista)
• The smallest age group on Instagram is senior males 65+. (Statista)

Geography

• For two consecutive years, the most geo-tagged city in the world on Instagram has been Los Angeles, California. (Mention + Hubspot)
• The country with the most Instagram posts in 2020 was the the U.S., leading with 571K posts, followed by Brazil with over 300K posts. (Mention + HubSpot)
• India and the U.S. lead the board as the countries with the largest Instagram audience sizes, similar to Facebook, (Statista)

Takeaways

Instagram is another leading social media platform with a large user base spanning all age groups. While it’s not as big as Facebook, it does offer advanced ecommerce features, making it incredibly popular among consumers and valuable to brands.

Twitter Demographics

General

• Twitter’s user base reached over 320 million users in 2021. (Statista)
• Roughly a quarter of Americans use Twitter. (Pew Research Center)
• Twitter ranks #12 in the world’s most visited websites. (SEMrush)
• Users spend an average of 5.6 hours a month on Twitter. (Hootsuite)

Age and Gender

• Most American Twitter users (65%) are between 18 and 29 years of age. ((Pew Research Center)
• Twitter’s user base heavily skews male with only 29.6% of users identifying as female. (Statista)

Geography

• The U.S. is the country with the most Twitter users, at 77 million with Japan right behind at 58.2 million. (Statista)
• 27% of U.S. adults living in urban areas use Twitter. (Pew Research Center)

Income and Education

Takeaways

If you’re looking to build a community surrounding your brand, Twitter is a great place to start. It’s particularly popular in the U.S., so that aligns with your target audience, consider setting up your virtual shop there.

TikTok Demographics

General

• Users spend an average of 13.3 hours a month on TikTok. (Hootsuite)
• Because TikTok’s audience is younger, most users earn between $30K to $50K. (Pew Research Center)
• Tiktok has 1 billion monthly active users. (Influencer Marketing Hub)
• TikTok ranks #2 on the platforms social media marketers build communities on, behind YouTube. (HubSpot Blog Research, 2021)
• On average, consumers spend roughly 13 hours a month on TikTok. (Hootsuite)

Age and Gender

• 25% of U.S. TikTok users are between 10 and 19 years of age. (Statista)
• Only 18% of U.S. Tiktok users are 50+ years old. (Pew Research Center)
• Marketers believe TikTok is the second most popular social media platform with Gen Z, behind Facebook. (HubSpot Blog Research, 2021)

Geography

• TikTok is most popular in China with 600 million active daily users, followed by the U.S., Indonesia, and Brazil. (Business of Apps)
• In 2020, Latin America was the fastest-growing region for TikTok usage, excluding China. (Statista)

Takeaways

TikTok’s audience heavily skews young, with a large Gen Z population. As such, it’s a great platform for B2C brands targeting this demographic. With short-form video taking off, it’s an opportunity for brands to not only hop on a growing trend but do it on a platform that caters to their target audiences.

YouTube Demographics

General

• YouTube is the number one platform social media marketers build communities on. (HubSpot Blog Research, 2021)
• YouTube is the second most visited website in the world. (Hootsuite)
• 81% of U.S. consumers say they use YouTube, a 7% increase from 2019 and the biggest jump of all major social media platforms (Pew Research Center)
• On average, consumers spend 23.2 hours a month on YouTube, more than Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. (Hootsuite)
• YouTube has over 2 billion users. (Omnicore)
• YouTube accounts for over 25% of total worldwide mobile traffic by volume. (Sandvine)

Age and Gender

• 49% of U.S. internet users over 65 years of age say they use YouTube, compared to only 13% on Instagram, 7% on Twitter, and 4% of TikTok users. (Pew Research Center)
• YouTube’s largest advertising audience (21.2%) is 25- to 34-year-olds, followed by 35- to 44-year-olds. (Hootsuite)

Geography

• Roughly 15% of YouTube’s traffic comes from the U.S. (Alexa)

Takeaways

YouTube is the leading video platform, with a wide range of users from Gen Z all the way to Baby Boomers. Because it’s known for long-form content, users tend to spend much more time on this platform compared to other social networks.

With this in mind, brands should develop a long-form video strategy to capitalize on this huge traffic source and lead generator.

LinkedIn Demographics

General

• LinkedIn’s user base in 2021 is roughly 774 million, with 21% of that being U.S. internet users. (Statista)
• LinkedIn saw a slower user growth in 2021 (4.2%), compared to the previous year at 6.2%. (eMarketer)
• LinkedIn makes up the largest share of B2B display advertising in the U.S. at 32.3%. (eMarketer)

Age and Gender

• 56% of LinkedIn users identify as male while 43.1% identify as female. (Statista)
• Roughly 60% of LinkedIn users are between 25 and 34 years of age. (DataReportal)

Geography

• LinkedIn is used in 200 countries and territories. (LinkedIn)
• India, China, and Brazil have the largest LinkedIn user bases after the U.S. (DataReportal)
• Over 75% of members are outside the US. (LinkedIn)

Education/Income

• 51% of U.S. adults who have a college education use LinkedIn. Only 12% of U.S. adults earning less than $30K use the platform. (Pew Research Center)
• Half of U.S. adults who earn $75K+ use LinkedIn. .(Pew Research Center)

Takeaways

Although LinkedIn’s user growth has slowed down, it’s still the number one social media platform for B2B brands. It’s full of decision-makers and young adults entering the workforce prime for social selling.

Reddit Demographics

General

• There are 430 million users on Reddit. (Statista)
• Reddit saw 14.4% user growth in 2021. (eMarketer)
• 18% of U.S. internet users use Reddit, growing 7% from 2019. (Pew Research Center)

Age and Gender

• Gen Z makes up roughly 2% of Reddit users. (eMarketer)
• Reddit is made up of 62.8% male and 37.2% female users. (Statista)
• Only 3% of U.S. adults over 65 years of age use Reddit. However, 36% of U.S. adults between 18 and 29 years of age use it. (Pew Research Center)

Geography

• 46% of desktop traffic to Reddit.com comes from the U.S. (SimilarWeb)
• 21% of U.S. adults living in suburban areas use Reddit, compared to only 10% living in rural areas.

Takeaways

Along with YouTube, Reddit’s user base has grown significantly in recent years, compared to other social media platforms. This suggests that consumers are becoming more interested in what the network has to offer. From an audience perspective, it’s made up mostly of male Millennials, attracting most of its users from the U.S.

Snapchat Demographics

General

Age and Gender

Geography

Takeaway

One thing that’s clear with this Snapchat data is that young people love it. After Instagram introduced Stories, many thought Snapchat was on its way out. Turns out, it’s still a major player in the social media game. If your target audience is Millennials, you should definitely consider having a presence on that platform.

Feel free to refer to this list periodically as you’re working through your editorial calendars and audits for the new year. As this time of year calls for a fresh slate, the research behind your next incredible campaign has to be fresh, as well. Happy planning!