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Are you not sure where to start planning a winning content strategy? This strategy template for Gen Z entrepreneurs will help you fuel your creativity. Generation Z is changing the future of digital brand influence and setting the tone for online culture. It also has...
Sep 23, 2025
The state of social media in 2025 is best understood through the numbers. With more than 5.4 billion people using social platforms and handling an average of 7 apps per month, the industry has never been more complex, or more competitive.
To cut through the noise, we’ve compiled the latest social media statistics from trusted global reports and combined them with Planable’s survey of 1,000 marketers worldwide. Together, these insights reveal how marketers spend their time online, which platforms are gaining ground, and the challenges of managing multiple social media accounts in an increasingly complex landscape.
In 2025, the question isn’t whether people are on social media, but how many platforms they’re juggling, how much time they’re giving them, and how those habits are reshaping marketing.
The latest social media statistics highlight a global audience that’s still expanding, though growth is slowing in already-connected regions. With billions of monthly active users, the numbers confirm that social platforms remain the backbone of digital life worldwide.
The global social media user base keeps growing with billions of people logging in to at least one social media platform every month.
Here’s what the global numbers tell us:
With 5.4B+ social media users worldwide and most people using 6-7 platforms each month, brands don’t need to be everywhere. Instead, they should double down on the biggest social media platforms their target audience already uses and adapt strategies for each age category.
Sources: DataReportal (July global overview), DataReportal (Global social media users), Backlinko (Social media users), Smart Insights (Research summary)
How much time are people actually spending on social? The latest social media statistics point to hours per day across age groups, with younger consumers leading the way.
Here’s what the global numbers tell us:
People now spend nearly 19 hours a week on social. That means there’s more opportunity for discovery, but also more competition for attention. Brands should lean on short-form and high quality video content that matches how people naturally spend their time.
Sources: DataReportal (Global social media users), DataReportal (Global overview), Smart Insights (Research summary), Backlinko (Social media users), Talkwalker (Stats & trends)
Social is mobile-first. Most active users access their favorite social media platform on smartphones, with desktop playing a secondary role for work-oriented networks and long-form video.
Here’s what the global numbers tell us:
With 99%+ of users logging in via mobile, every piece of content needs to be mobile-first. Vertical video, quick messaging, and tap-friendly ad formats will outperform desktop-focused campaigns. Only platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube still hold space for desktop experiences.
Sources: DataReportal (Global overview), DataReportal (Global social media users), Backlinko (Platforms/app popularity), Statista (Global networks ranked), Talkwalker (format/behavior context)
Beyond counting social media users, the latest social media statistics show how habits are changing across the digital landscape. People are spending more time across multiple social platforms, experimenting with new formats, and blending entertainment with shopping.
Here’s what the global numbers tell us:
2025 is defined by multi-platform, video-first, commerce-enabled usage. Rather than asking which platform is winning, the real shift is in how people behave: mixing entertainment, communication, and shopping with ease across apps. Brands should focus on short-form video, private conversations, and social commerce experiences that travel across channels.
Sources: DataReportal (Global overview), DataReportal (Global social media users), Talkwalker (format/behavior context)
Social media platform growth continues in 2025, but the way people use each network is changing.
These social media statistics show that every platform attracts distinct behaviors, from discovery and commerce to community and conversation, marketers need to adapt their strategies accordingly.
Instagram remains one of the biggest social media platforms in 2025. With more than 2 billion monthly active users, it captures the attention of younger social media users through short videos like Stories, Reels, and creator collaborations.
Essential social media stats for marketers:
Marketers should view Instagram as the bridge between entertainment and shopping. Users expect Reels, Stories, and creator collabs to feel native and fun, not like ads. With audience engagement dipping, the key is to prioritize quality interactions. Aim for saves, comments, and shares rather than chasing likes. If you can integrate shoppable posts into authentic content, Instagram can still be your most valuable conversion-friendly social media platform.
Sources: DataReportal (Essential Instagram stats 2025), DataReportal (Digital 2025: United States), Backlinko (Instagram users), Statista (Instagram user age distribution)
Facebook remains a dominant social media platform with over 3 billion monthly active users, making it one of the largest online communities. Despite increased competition from multiple platforms, Facebook is still central for older age groups, family connections, and group-based communities.
What the social media data reveals:
For marketers, Facebook should be their community headquarters. Even though Page engagement rates are modest, Facebook still gives access to the broadest global audience. Lean into Groups, native videos, and community-focused campaigns to build loyalty. If you’re targeting older audiences or multi-generational households, Facebook remains unmatched. The trick is not to post more, but to foster ongoing conversations that keep people coming back.
Sources: Data Reportal (Essential Facebook stats 2025), Data Reportal (social media users), DataReportal (Digital 2025: United States), Statista (Facebook global user age distribution),
LinkedIn has become more than a networking site. It’s now a core social media platform for content creation. With over 1.2 billion LinkedIn users, it thrives among young professionals aged 25–34 and is essential for B2B brands.
Key social media stats findings to consider:
LinkedIn is no longer just a site for finding jobs, it’s a content platform for professionals. Marketers should focus on building authority content, carousels, and thought-leadership that spark conversations among peers. With almost universal reach among US professionals, this is where employee advocacy and executive voices can elevate your brand. Posting consistently (2–5 times a week) helps maintain visibility.
Sources: Data Reportal (Essential LinkedIn stats 2025), DataReportal (Digital 2025: United States), Statista (LinkedIn age distribution), Talkwaker (social media trends)
With nearly 2 billion active users, it’s one of the fastest-growing social platforms among younger people. Entertaining videos, viral trends, and creator content dominate TikTok usage worldwide.
What social media stats you need to know:
TikTok should be the culture engine for marketers. With users spending nearly an hour a day on the app, attention is high. When marketers ask how to get more views on TikTok, the answer is consistency. Brands that win here: post often, ride trends fast, and collaborate with creators to stay relevant. It’s less about polished ads and more about authentic, entertaining storytelling.
Sources: Data Reportal (Essential TikTok stats 2025), DataReportal (Digital 2025: United States), Statista (TikTok user age distribution), Statista (TikTok user gender distribution)
X (formerly Twitter) is still a leading social media platform for real-time updates, news, and political discourse. With more than 580 million active users, it attracts a broad mix of internet users who value immediacy and conversation.
The social media data tells us this:
X (Twitter) is not where you’ll get massive engagement rates, but it’s where conversations break first. Success here comes from speed, wit, and visual support. Same goes for native video, quick replies, and on-the-spot commentary during live events. If Instagram is for polished content, X is for immediacy and opinion. Use it to showcase brand voice, customer responsiveness, and thought leadership during fast-moving discussions.
Sources: Data Reportal (Essential X stats 2025), DataReportal (Digital 2025: United States), Backlinko (Twitter ussers), Statista (Global social networks ranked by users)
YouTube is the largest social media platform by audience reach in 2025. With over 2.5 billion monthly active users, it dominates video content consumption across all age groups and regions.
Important social media stats to know:
YouTube is both a search engine and a storytelling platform. Shorts are now really important for discovery, helping new viewers find your brand. The best YouTube Shorts ideas focus on quick tips, behind-the-scenes moments, and trend participation. Long-form videos remain the anchor for trust, loyalty, and education. A winning strategy mixes frequent Shorts for reach with a steady cadence of in-depth long-form content that solves problems or entertains deeply.
Sources: Data Reportal (Essential Youtube stats 2025), DataReportal (Digital 2025: United States), Statista (Youtube user demographics)
Pinterest is a visual-first social media platform with 340 million monthly active users. It is popular among female users and those seeking product discovery.
What these social media stats reveal:
Unlike other platforms, users here come with intent: they’re planning purchases, collecting ideas, and actively searching. Success comes from treating Pins like search-optimized product pages. They need to be keyword-rich, seasonal, and visually compelling. Since most searches are unbranded, even smaller brands can compete if they publish consistently. For retail, fashion, home, or lifestyle, Pinterest offers one of the most direct paths from inspiration to checkout.
Sources: Data Reportal (Essential Pinterest stats 2025), DataReportal (Digital 2025: United States), Statista (Pinterest gender distribution), Pinterest Business (Audience insights)
Threads is one of the most notable growing platforms in 2025, crossing 320 million monthly active users within months of launch. Its integration with Instagram gives it a built-in advantage for rapid scaling.
Here’s what social media stats stands out:
Threads is still new, but it’s carving out a niche for casual, authentic conversations. Short text posts, quick replies, and lighthearted banter with creators resonate best with active users. Since ads are limited, this is the moment to build organic traction before competition stiffens. Cross-posting on social media through Instagram integration helps keep visibility high, but the tone should stay personal and conversational.
Sources: Backlinko (Threads users), Data Reportal (Top social platforms 2025), Statista (Threads global MAU)
Planable surveyed 1,000 marketers to uncover how teams are managing social media this year, from planning and publishing to performance tracking and AI adoption.
The questions covered key operational areas such as team structure, content cadence, bottlenecks, and tool usage. Their answers reveal valuable insights on how marketing workflows are evolving: what’s working, what’s not, and where teams are investing their time and energy in 2025.
The data offers deeper insights into how today’s marketers engage with social media platforms and adapt to increasing content creation demands.
We asked marketers how their teams are structured and what kind of setup it takes to keep social content flowing. From solo creators to multi-role teams, the data paints a picture of just how lean or complex social media usage can be:
The fact that almost 40% of marketers manage social media solo highlights how lean many social operations still are. With growing pressure to be present on multiple social platforms, it’s impressive how much gets done with limited resources.
Planning habits can say a lot about a team’s resourcing, approach, and structure. So we asked: how far ahead do you typically plan content, and how frequently do you post on average on social media? Here’s what we found out:
Posting frequency is spread fairly evenly:
While some marketers stay ahead with clear content planning, many operate on a short fuse. And with 1 in 5 posting daily, users spend more time than ever actively creating content across different platforms.
We wanted to understand what “performance” really means for marketers in 2025. So we asked them directly: how do you measure success on social media? The results tell us what metrics teams prioritize when evaluating their strategy:
As Planable’s social media statistics show, engagement remains the top priority, which reflects a continued focus on community-building and brand awareness over hard performance metrics. For teams wondering how to prove social media ROI, this might indicate a need to better align measurement with broader business goals.
Social media workflows involve multiple stakeholders and moving parts. To pinpoint where teams lose the most time, we asked respondents to identify their top process bottlenecks.
What our social media survey data says:
Content approval workflows continue to be a key inefficiency for marketers. Notably, the number of respondents citing analytics as a bottleneck highlights the difficulty of translating performance into clear insights, especially when data is scattered across platforms.
To find out where marketers invest the most creative energy, we asked: which types of content do you create most often? The answers reveal the formats dominating 2025 workflows:
Short-form video still leads, but I didn’t expect text-only posts to be so high. I believe that, when marketers lack design or production bandwidth, they lean into formats that are fast, effective, and easy to scale.
To assess the current adoption of AI in day-to-day workflows, we asked marketers to share which tasks they currently use AI for, or plan to explore in the near future.
Key findings in our social media statistics:
But to better understand how this is evolving, we looked at AI statistics data from a separate AI-focused survey Planable ran with 870 marketers, where we explored deeper attitudes, habits, and concerns.
Here’s what we learned:
While AI-generated content isn’t yet the norm for everyone, social media marketers are clearly warming up to automation. Most teams are using AI for practical, low-risk tasks like writing, tweaking, or reformatting posts across platforms, not to replace creative work, but to move faster.
In a separate Planable survey focused on AI tools, nearly 60% of marketers reported using AI weekly or more, and the majority said it makes their job easier. It’s not just hype, it’s becoming part of the everyday toolkit.
The future of social media isn’t about being louder, it’s about being sharper. Marketers who lean on AI for speed, video for discovery, focus on fewer but stronger channels, and embrace platform-specific strategies will be the ones who thrive in 2026:
According to Planable’s survey, nearly 60% of marketers already use AI weekly, and 70% say it makes their work easier. By 2026, AI will handle more execution while humans focus on creativity and strategy.
TikTok users spend almost an hour daily, and YouTube Shorts uploads have doubled. Short-form will keep driving discovery, while long-form builds loyalty.
The average user now juggles around 7 platforms monthly. Exploding Topics predicts niche and decentralized platforms like BlueSky and Mastodon will attract younger users seeking smaller, authentic spaces.
Inkbot Design highlights that the “be everywhere” approach is ending. Winning brands in 2026 will double down on 1–2 channels where customers actually make decisions, instead of chasing every new app.
Sources: DataReportal (July global overview), Talkwalker (trends & formats)
A marketing enthusiast with a deep love for animals and poetry, finding inspiration in the most unexpected places. While she has always enjoyed writing articles, she discovered her true passion for SEO in 2023, a world where creativity meets strategy. Since then, every day brings her new lessons and opportunities to blend the art of words with the science of algorithms.
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