When choosing a social network, up-to-date social media statistics for B2B and B2C are crucial to consider.
Whether you market to businesses or to consumers, you can’t fly blind.
You should learn the basics about any marketing channel you choose, but definitely one like social media, where the most substantial gains are seen over time rather than in the beginning.
Otherwise, you’ll end up following the bandwagon and “just choosing Facebook” because everyone and their Auntie Em is choosing it too. Then you’ll wonder, months later, why and how you ever got “duped” into spending so much time and money on “this social media stuff.”
How to Choose the Best Social Network for Your Particular Business
When using social media for small businesses, it’s a gigantic mistake to choose a social media channel because… well, for any reason other than it’s the best channel for YOUR business.
Did you know…
- Many studies report that frequent Facebook users practice extroversion (on the network), yet have high neuroticism & narcissism, with low self-esteem & self-worth?
- 71% of Inc. 500 execs estimate that just 5% or less of their total annual sales come through Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest?
No?
Then keep reading. Because statistics and data on each network must influence which network you choose.
Choosing the Best Social Network for YOU:
A Cheat Sheet
Tip: The most likely way you’ll profit with social media is to use the data below strategically.
- Who do you expect to target with your posts?
- What types of social media content will you post?
- When will you post?
- How often will you post?
- Why are you using social media to begin with?
Keep the above in mind when perusing the below social media statistics.
Here’s an infographic of the best tips and social media statistics. Just click it to view it larger (in a new window):
All the Social Data You’ll Need to Make a Network Decision
This section of our social media guide can help you choose between the four networks below. Click the network to jump to its statistics.
32 Tweetable Statistics
LinkedIn Audience Demographics (7)
- Nearly 70% of LinkedIn’s 38 million users reside outside the U.S.
- Some 28% of online adults are LinkedIn users, which is 23% of the entire adult population.
- 28% of the African American population and 18% of the Hispanic population use LinkedIn.
- LinkedIn’s fastest growing demographic is students and recent college grads, currently at 39 million.
- LinkedIn is the only social platform where those ages 30-64 are more likely to be users than ages 18-29.
- 50% of Internet users with college educations use LinkedIn.
- 100% of the 50 largest U.S. law firms (the Am Law 50) have a LinkedIn account.
LinkedIn Usage Statistics (2)
- 13% of LinkedIn users visit the site daily, with 7% visiting several times a day.
- 25% of LinkedIn users visit the site weekly, down from 34% in 2013.
LinkedIn & Commerce (11)
- A whopping 41% of 1,300 polled millionaires use LinkedIn regularly.
- Millionaires prefer LinkedIn over ALL social networks except Facebook.
- 78% of 600 LinkedIn users surveyed said, “I’m typically willing to pay more for high quality items.”
- LinkedIn is the platform of choice for Inc. 500 execs, used by 94% in 2015 (up from 88% in 2014).
- 86% of 600 LinkedIn users surveyed are brand loyal, reporting, “When I find a brand I like, I stick with it.”
- comScore’s 2013 Buying Power Index reports that LinkedIn members have nearly 2x more buying power than Facebook.
- LinkedIn sends 64% of all social media leads to websites, compared to just 17% from Facebook & 14% from Twitter.
- LinkedIn traffic has the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74%, 277% higher than Twitter (.69%) & Facebook (.77%).
- LinkedIn may not pull best social engagement (.054%), but leads are most interested in doing business (2.74% conversion).
- $44.24 is the average order value for Shopify visitors referred by LinkedIn.
- The average CEO on LinkedIn has 930 connections.
Best Types of Content for LinkedIn (7)
- 78% of LinkedIn professionals consume content to keep up with industry news.
- 73% of LinkedIn professionals consume content to discover new ideas within their industry.
- 62% of LinkedIn professionals consume content to build relationships w/colleagues & clients.
- 55% of LinkedIn professionals consume content to build their reputation.
- 51% of LinkedIn professionals consume content to spark conversation.
- Linking to YouTube videos results in a 75% higher share rate on LinkedIn.
- On LinkedIn, articles with a positive tone are shared more often than those with a neutral or negative tone.
Best Times to Post on LinkedIn (2)
- LinkedIn best days to post are Tuesday to Thursday, during business hours.
- Best times to post to LinkedIn peak at just before or after work, or at lunchtime (e.g., 7-8am, 12pm, 5-6pm).
- **This makes sense, since these are down-times when professionals/execs are less likely to be working as hard.
Top Reasons Businesses Choose LinkedIn (3)
- LinkedIn excellent 2.74% B2B conversion rate is the highest of any major social network.
- Marketing on LinkedIn offers an easy way to reach executives in a professional online environment.
- There isn’t as much “noise” to filter through as on social networks not meant exclusively for business (i.e., Facebook).
41 Tweetable Statistics
Facebook Audience Demographics (17)
- More than 1.3 billion people use Facebook, and approx. 64% visit every day.
- 90% of all social media users use Facebook.
- Some 71% of online adults are Facebook users, which is 58% of the entire adult population.
- 67% of the African American population and 73% of the Hispanic population use Facebook.
- Users age 25 to 34 are the most common age demographic, at 29.7% of total users.
- 56% of Internet users ages 65 and older use Facebook, up from 45% in 2013, up from 35% in 2012.
- More than half of online adults 65+ use Facebook, representing 31% of all seniors.
- Women (77%) are somewhat more likely to use Facebook than men (66%), a trend that continues from prior years.
- Among Facebook users, the median number of Facebook friends is 155, among 50 of which are “actual” friends.
- 74% of Internet users with college educations use Facebook.
- Facebook users are more trusting than other social network users.
- Facebook users have more close relationships than users of other social networks.
- Facebook users are much more politically engaged than most people.
- Facebook revives “dormant” relationships.
- In a study of 269 Facebook users, less than 5% unsubscribed from (hid) any of their friends’ feeds.
- 64% of the 50 largest U.S. law firms (the Am Law 50) have a Facebook account.
- Facebook has 1.39 billion+ MOBILE monthly active users—slightly less than China’s total population, and greater than India’s.
Facebook Usage Statistics (11)
- Approx. 70% of Facebook users engage with the site daily; 45% use it several times a day.
- Facebook has 890 million daily active users as of 2015, 82.4% of which are outside the U.S. and Canada.
- The average user spends 21 minutes on Facebook per day.
- U.S. Facebook users in particular spend more than 40 minutes per day on the network.
- About 1/3 of Facebook users only log in with their phones.
- 50% of 18- to 24-year-old users visit Facebook when they wake up.
- In a study of 269 Facebook users, the longer they’ve had an account, the more they interact with the site (posting, commenting, photo tagging).
- People use Facebook to meet two primary needs: (1) The need to belong and (2) the need for self-presentation.
- Many studies report that frequent Facebook users practice extroversion (on the network), yet have high neuroticism & narcissism, with low self-esteem & self-worth.
- A study from the Univ. of GA found that people with high narcissism, and people with low self-esteem, spent the most time (more than an hour per day) on Facebook.
- A study from the Univ. of GA found that frequent Facebook use may be associated with lower academic performance, but may lead to higher self-esteem and a sense of belonging.
Facebook & Commerce (8)
- The average CEO on Facebook has 630 friends.
- A whopping 57% of 1,300 polled millionaires use Facebook.
- 69% of Facebook users aged 16 to 64 shop online.
- 80% of Inc. 500 execs use Facebook (down from 84% in 2014).
- Facebook sends just 17% of all social media leads to websites.
- $55 is the average order value for Shopify visitors referred by Facebook.
- The average visitor-to-lead conversion rate of Facebook traffic is only 0.77%.
- 71% of Inc. 500 execs estimate that 5% or less of their total annual sales come through Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest.
Best Types of Content for Facebook (2)
- 57% of millennials (born b/w 1982 & 2004) use Facebook to coordinate social plans at least once weekly.
- People like to scan on Facebook. Keep your writing short for better responses.
Best Times to Post on Facebook (2)
- Facebook best days to posts are Thursdays & Fridays for peak engagement.
- Highest Facebook traffic occurs midweek, between 1pm and 3pm.
Top Reasons Businesses Choose Facebook (1)
32 tweetable statistics
Twitter Audience Demographics (11)
- 77% of Twitter’s 288 million users reside outside the U.S.
- Some 23% of online adults are Twitter users (up from 18% in 2013), which is 19% of the entire adult population.
- 27% of the African American population and 25% of the Hispanic population use LinkedIn.
- Twitter users are 33% more likely to be Democrats. (40% of Twitter are Dems, compared to 30% of the U.S. population.)
- Twitter has the most online adults age 18-29 (37%) as users, followed by users age 30-49 (25%).
- Since 2013, more men, whites, 65+ yr olds, household incomes of $50K+, college grads, & urbanites use Twitter.
- The percentage of women who use Twitter (21% of all online adults) is about the same as as men (24%).
- Twitter is particularly popular among those under 50 and the college-educated.
- 30% of Internet users with college educations use Twitter.
- Knowing the 6 types of Twitter conversations can help you identify your audience.
- 90% of the 50 largest U.S. law firms (the Am Law 50) have a Twitter account.
Twitter Usage Statistics (2)
- Twitter’s 288 million active users visit the social media network at least monthly.
- About 35% of Twitter’s 288 million active users visit every day.
Twitter & Commerce (4)
- CEOs using Twitter extensively for primarily business-focused tweeting have more RTs, faves, and significantly more followers, MIT finds.
- CEO tweets with social proof (i.e., awards), info on new products, customers, or stories perform well, MIT finds.
- $46.29 is the average order value for Shopify visitors referred by Twitter.
- The average CEO on Twitter has 3.9K followers.
Best Types of Content for Twitter (12)
- On Twitter, articles with a positive tone are shared about as frequently as those with a neutral or negative tone.
- CEOs who focus on biz-related tweets get much higher response from Twitter, though they tweet LESS than other CEOs, MIT finds.
- For most, using images on Twitter will generate 5 to 9 times more retweets and 4 to 12 times more favorites.
- Twitter “engagement” is shown as RTs and favorites of posted tweets, with little dialogue.
- 120- to 130-character tweets increase the likelihood of Twitter engagement (RTs/favorites).
- Using hashtags on Twitter increases RTs & favorites, but at a rate still significantly less than using images.
- Using hashtags on Twitter boosts engagement. Length of hashtags matter little.
- If Twitter social authority is 50+, the likelihood of tweets & favorites decreases w/inclusion of links.
- Placing the URL at the end of the tweet? Tweets with URLs in the middle are 26% more likely to be RT’d.
- Tweets with only 1 hashtag are 69% more likely to be retweeted than tweets with 2+.
- 15% of new Twitter followers are lost within 3 weeks unless engaged with early.
- Twitter DM campaigns get a 300% higher click rate on average than one-off email campaigns.
Best Times to Post on Twitter (1)
Top Reasons Businesses Choose Twitter (2)
Google+
29 Tweetable Statistics
Google+ Audience Demographics (10)
- Google Plus has 300+ million active monthly viewers, as of the end of 2013.
- As of 2014, average time users spend on Google Plus is only 7 minutes … per month.
- Nearly 70% of Google Plus users are male, and age 45-54 is the fastest growing demographic as of 2013.
- 38% of total U.S. Internet users use Google Plus.
- 37% of all social media users use Google Plus.
- 15% of U.S. small businesses use Google Plus.
- Google Plus has 20 million monthly mobile U.S. users.
- 64% of B2B marketers in North America use Google Plus to distribute content.
- 94% of the 50 largest U.S. law firms (the Am Law 50) have a Google Plus page, while only 30% are active.
- The average CEO on Google Plus has ~150 followers.
Google+ Usage Statistics (2)
- About 9% or 180 million of Google+’s 2.2 billion profiles have ever posted any content.
- Only 22% of online adults visit Google Plus at least once per month.
Google+ & Commerce (6)
- 58% of 2013 Inc. 500 execs use Google Plus.
- 52% of U.S. charities and nonprofits use Google Plus.
- 177 of 2013 Fortune 500 companies have a corporate Google Plus account.
- $40 is the average order value for Shopify visitors referred by Google Plus.
- Launch products & services with Google+ Events. It notifies your circles AND adds to their calendar!
- Few followers means low post views on Google+. For increased visibility, share to relevant communities!
Best Types of Content for Google+ (5)
- For maximum engagement, less than 60 characters is the ideal length of a Google Plus headline.
- On Google+, articles with a negative or neutral tone are shared more often than those with a positive tone.
- Google+ is designed to share longer content. Get posts noticed with images—and formatting (bold, etc.).
- Use hashtags on Google Plus just as on Twitter. (If you forget, G+ auto-tags popular keywords for you.)
- Organize your Google Plus contacts in related Circles to make targeting content to them easier.
Best Times to Post on Google+ (3)
- Google+ best days to posts are Monday—Friday for peak engagement, with Wednesday being best day.
- Highest Google Plus engagements occurs during the workweek (M—F), between 9am and 11am.
- If your Google Plus followers already engage, use Timing+ to find your best days & times to post.
Top Reasons Businesses Choose Google+ (3)
All Social Networks
15 (More!) Tweetable Statistics
- 52% of online adults now use two or more social media sites.
- Mothers with children under the age of five are the most active on social media.
- There are 31 million more females than males on social, globally.
- Starting in 2013, users Age 65+ are driving social media growth. Other age groups have started to plateau.
- An infographic is 30x more likely to be read than a text-based post.
- People remember 80% of what they see & do, but only 20% of what they read & 10% of what they hear. Use visuals.
- Publishers that feature infographics grow 12% faster than those that don’t.
- Content marketing generates 3xs as many leads as traditional marketing & costs 62% less.
- 70% of consumers say content marketing makes them feel closer to the sponsoring company.
- 60% of buyers seek out a product after reading content about it.
- Positive adjectives & knowledge-based verbs (know, understand, believe, prove, etc.) perform best in social media headlines.
- Study of 220,000 pieces of content shows “how-to” articles draw most shares in October, followed by August & November.
- Study of 220,000 pieces of content shows “list” articles draw most shares in summertime.
- Study of 220,000 pieces of content shows “why” articles (explainers) draw most shares in fall months.
- Study of 220,000 pieces of content shows “list” and “why” (explainer) articles are top 2 most shared content types.
Step 4. Choose the Best Social Network for YOUR Business
Now that you’ve weighed pros and cons, detailed demographics, and social media stats for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, it’s time to make an educated decision as to the best choice for your company.
What If You’ve ALREADY Chosen a Social Network
…and It’s the “Wrong” One?
If you’ve already hopped on a social network before finding this guide, have even a small following, have been promoting it, and are getting any engagement, you should probably stick with it.
In those cases, we’d hardly ever recommend abandoning an account completely.
Instead, put the existing social account on autopilot (scheduling recurring content), and focus only on growing your “primary” network.
For instance, if you’re on Facebook, but you’ve decided that LinkedIn is best for you, you can:
- Use Facebook for certain post types only, such as to create photo albums each time your team participates in a local event.
- Keep the post types the same as you have been, but post much less frequently (i.e., only two days per week, instead of several times per day you’re posting to your primary network.
This way, your existing followers won’t be abandoned or confused, and your old network won’t appear to be abandoned (since several places online almost certainly already link to it).