The most popular social networks, by active users
What the raw data can tell you about choosing a social network
According to data pulled together by Digital Insights, here’s the breakdown for the social networks with the most monthly active users. You can check the Digital Insights blog for the overall number of users, too, although active users is likely to be a more meaningful metric when making decisions.
Social networks, ranked by monthly active users:
- Facebook: 1.28 billion
- Google+: 540 million
- Twitter: 255 million
- Instagram: 200 million
- LinkedIn: 187 million
- Pinterest: 40 million
You’ll notice that Facebook is far and away the most popular social network, with twice as many monthly active users as the runner-up. You’ll notice a Facebook-as-king theme running through much of these stats.
Here is the chart for social network growth, courtesy of a report published at the first of the year by GlobalWebIndex. It acts as a nice counterbalance to the overall active user numbers since it highlights what may be some up-and-coming social networks.
Should you decide which network to join based on its size?
Yes and no. Size matters inasmuch as you’d probably like the network you join to have reached a tipping point of users, popular enough that spending your time there will be time well spent. For that matter, even Pinterest’s 40 million users could be enough volume for you, especially if the demographics fit (see below).
At the same time, relying solely on size can be dangerous. First off, consistent social network data is hard to find. The active user stats above show a 215 million user gap between Twitter and Pinterest, yet other stories can claimPinterest is more popular than Twitter (the difference in reporting comes down to surveys vs. stats, as well as the definition of popularity).
Also, size does not exist in a vacuum. There are scores of other factors that could be just as valuable or more valuable as you decide which networks to join. In some cases, size might be a false indicator of whether or not you should be on a particular network.
- Will more users mean more competition for attention?
- Are your customers on the network?
- Does the network fit your demographic?
- Does your industry have a presence?
https://blog.bufferapp.com/how-to-choose-a-social-network
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