Digital Marketing Blog

Social media has taken the world by storm, and the increasing usage across the globe is a testament to both of those factors. According to We Are Social’s 2025 Global Overview Report, there are now over five billion active social media users worldwide. As a comparison, there were only 415 million global users in 2018 - that’s an incredible rise. As new platforms enter the digital arena and today’s digital natives continue to connect, converse, and source information from social media outlets, global adoption could continue to rise.

Studies from Statista show that whether you’re talking about Baby Boomers, Gen Zers - or anyone in between - YouTube is the most popular social media platform. To dig a little deeper, here are the most popular social media platforms according to age group: 18 to 29 years: YouTube (93%), Instagram (76%), Facebook (68%), Snapchat (65%). 30 to 49 years: YouTube (94%), Facebook (78%), Instagram (66%), Pinterest (43%). 50 to 64 years: YouTube (86%), Facebook (70%), Instagram (36%), LinkedIn (30%). 65+: YouTube (65%), Facebook (59%), Pinterest (22%), Instagram (19%). Social media users of all ages find video content accessible, engaging, and informative. Music videos, comedy videos, live streams, sports footage, and educational content are among the most popular forms of visual content.

Social media behaviors that prompt social media users to unfollow brands include Sharing click-bait and content that is hollow or misleading.

Publishing content that is overly political or sensitive. In fact, 64% of consumers will boycott a brand that shares overly charged messaging or shares a political stance that doesn’t agree with their values (Edelman). Not engaging in conversations with your audience and failing to respond to comments, messages or queries. Remember, social media is a social space. So you need to offer your audience value, avoid pushing personal opinions, and engage in conversations to see your social media following soar.

As we’ve established, social media usage is on the rise - and so is the adoption of AI in social media. Around 42% of marketers use generative AI tools to assist with social media copy creation and 14% of small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) report using AI to support their social media marketing efforts, according to Statista. Used strategically, generative AI creation tools can streamline social media content creation production and enhance your visibility across channels. But, there’s something you should know…

Since Elon Musk took over X and rebranded it as ‘X’, the platform has seen its fair share of controversy such as a boycott by big advertisers. Yet despite the likelihood of X’s follower base declining, the numbers suggest that it’s still a highly engaged social media channel. Here are some stats from Sprout Social to prove it. Almost half of active social users own an ‘X’ account X sees around 364 billion total user active seconds and 8.3 billion video views daily 59% of X users engaged with the platform to connect with the latest news So X could still be worth considering as part of your social media strategy.