Without a doubt, the king of social networks. From its creation until today, Facebook has steadily grown its number of active users, making it the social network used all over the world, with 2.32 billion monthly active users in 2019.
Facebook lets its users create a space where they can share images, text and videos. It also lets them create interest groups, where people with similar hobbies can interact and share about the topic they’re passionate about.
Live videos have allowed people to show their daily lives in a new way, and they’re very useful for showing important events to relatives who couldn’t attend. Companies have seen the potential of live videos and use them as a tool to build loyalty with their target audience.
YouTube
The titan of video, YouTube ranks as the second most used social network, with 1.9 billion monthly active users in 2019.
Its success comes from being able to watch videos on almost any topic: tutorials, reviews, music, series, films, debates and many more. YouTube also lets users upload videos and, with enough views, earn income from them.
That last feature is what drove the rise of “YouTubers”, people who publish videos and make a living from them, and who are the main reason more and more people watch and visit the site.
The social network of photography. Over the last year, Instagram has climbed positions and gained new users, reaching 300 million monthly active users in 2019.
From the start, Instagram was designed as a space where people could share photos: outings, food, get-togethers, special moments; every image was welcome.
Since Facebook bought the network, major updates have increased its popularity, such as videos, stories, direct messaging and live broadcasts, giving its users more ways to interact.
TikTok
A newer social network dedicated to short videos, TikTok has been making a strong impact and gaining users, reaching a total of 500 million monthly active users this year.
TikTok lets its users upload short videos, usually music and lip-sync videos, and with the help of filters they create entertaining videos that can captivate people.
It’s a social network widely used by young people between 14 and 25, and it’s most popular in Asian countries and the United States, although user numbers are growing in Latin American countries.
Twitter is quite popular as a network for commenting and sharing opinions, with an average of 330 million monthly active users in 2019.
Twitter mainly works for sharing opinions in messages, or “tweets”, with a character limit, but it also lets people share images and videos, and users can like and even retweet a message.
Its latest updates, such as the higher character limit per tweet, have helped it gain users by giving them more freedom to share fuller messages. It’s still a relevant social network, but it can’t compete with the top three.
A social network dedicated to job hunting and building business connections, LinkedIn had 303 million monthly active users in 2019.
It lost users this year, but it’s still relevant for an audience interested in finding work.
Its latest updates have given it a simpler, easier-to-use design, but it still doesn’t attract as many users as other social networks.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a social network for sharing videos that disappear over time. Its main attraction is its filters, which let people create fun videos they enjoy.
In 2019, Snapchat reached a total of 301 million monthly active users.
This is another social network widely used by young people who like to share their day-to-day in a more fun way. Celebrities have found a space here to share with their fans, posting short videos knowing they will be deleted over time.
Other social networks
Other social networks also have a large number of active users: networks such as Weibo, WeChat, QQ and Qzone are widely known and used in Asia, especially in China.
This is because social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are blocked in those countries, so local networks that work in a similar way were developed to keep people connected.
Now you know which social networks are the most used, and the numbers may change and new networks may appear. For companies, knowing these networks gives them a picture of where their target audience may be, so they can create a communication channel on that network and bring new traffic to their website (which can then generate new customers).
Speaking of social media, at Gulupa Digital we are experts in social media management and can help you create quality content that wins over your users. If you’re interested in this or other services, contact us here.
