I originally wrote this article in 2016, and ever since, I have been updating at the beginning of each year, with an update on all of the Social Media demographics, statistics and facts that will help you grow your business.

We are now in 2018, and I am going to share with you what you can expect in 2018, and statistics that will shape the Social Media landscape.

I came across a piece of research from PewResearchCentre that I knew had to be shared. Their research however was based on the US market, and not the UK. If you are a business that primarily sells to the USA, take a look at this research here.

After doing further research, I came across some great statistics from various websites based on the UK demographics of social media users.

UPDATE: This article was initially written in 2016, but as it is now 2018, I want to give you a breakdown of the statistics from 2016, 2017 as well as UPDATED statistics for 2018.

UK Social Media Demographics: General Statistics 2016

The United Kingdom has a population of 64.1 million and 89% of this population is an active internet user. 38 million people actively use social media and a further 50% of total population actively use their mobiles to access their social media.

Since January 2014, there has been a 4% growth in active internet users, 6% growth in social media users and 7% increase in mobile users accessing social media.

Social Media Demographic

UK Social Media Demographics: General Statistics 2017

The UK population is now 65.1 million, with 92.6% of the population actively using the internet. There are still approximately 38 million people actively using Social Media, which will continue to grow throughout 2017.

Did you know that almost 80% of time spent on Social Media, happens via mobile?

Social Media Statistics

With more than 56% of online adults using MORE THAN ONE Social Media Platform, Social Media usage will continue to grow substantially over the next 12 months.

UK Social Media Demographics: General Statistics 2018

Mobile has become a huge part of how people are searching online. There are now 2.56 billion global mobile social media users.

To give you an update on where, and how users are spending their time, see a visual from an infographic created by tracx.com.

Social Media Demographics

Facebook Demographics 2016

Facebook is the leading social network with over 1.44 billion monthly active users worldwide and over 31 million in the UK alone. Facebook’s demographic in the UK is fairly even with 49% male users, and 51% female. Did you know that 60% of the UK population has a Facebook account? Whilst Facebook’s younger demographic seem to be looking elsewhere, they still have a strong 2.5million of 13-17 year olds using Facebook, along with 26% of users still in the 25-34 age demographic.

Facebook Demographics 2017

Facebook now has over 1.65 billion monthly users, and 84% of all UK adults use Social Media. The age, and gender demographics are still the same, but we are seeing more of the older generation turn to Facebook. 76% of Facebook users visit the site daily and over 2 million businesses use Facebook for advertising. 

Facebook Graph

Facebook have recently launched their “Facebook Live” feature, and this will come as no shock considering 100 million hours of video content are watched on Facebook daily. Since the launch, there has been a 700% growth in video views, with people spending 3x longer watching a LIVE video than they do watching a recorded video.

Facebook Demographics 2018

There are now more than 50 million small businesses using Facebook Pages to connect with their customers. 4 million of those businesses pay for social media advertising on Facebook.

The best time to post on Facebook is 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Other optimal times include 12:00–1:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and 1:00–4:00 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays.

Here are some updated Facebook Demographic statistics.

Facebook Demographics

Twitter Demographics 2016 

My favourite social network; Twitter has over 15 million active users in the UK and over 65% of these users are under the age of 34. Over 80% of the 15 million active users access the social network from their mobile with a further 29% checking their Twitter feed multiple times during the day.

Just like Facebook, Twitter is relatively even with 49% males and 51% female in regards to user demographic. There are over 400 million tweets sent daily, and close to 75% of users are following less than 50 twitter accounts.

Twitter Demographics 2017

Twitter usage has dropped slightly, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel as 37.5% of UK Social Media users, actively use Twitter. 81% of millennials check Twitter at least once per day which shows that daily usage from millennials is still high.

Did You Know: 

  • Tweets with images receive 18% more clicks than tweets without images
  • Tweets that include links are 86% more likely to be retweeted
  • Your tweets have a 12x higher chance of being retweeted if you ask for it, and 23 x higher if you actually spell out the word “retweet”.
  • 66% of user-generated tweets that mention brands come from mobile users
  • Twitter engagement for brands is 17% higher on weekends
  • Tweets with hashtags get 2x more engagement

Twitter Demographics 2018

For 2018 Twitter Demographics, take a look at the below.

Twitter Demographics

Pinterest Demographics 2016

Pinterest launched in 2010 and in just two years, it had increased its traffic by 789% with 200,000 UK users. As you can expect, Pinterest’s demographics are less balanced than Twitter or Facebook with 62% of users female, and 38% of users male. There have been reports suggesting a stronger female usage up to 80% but no solid evidence to support this… yet. Did you know that 88% of all Pinterest users purchased a product they pinned and a further 49% have purchased 5 of more products they pinned?

Pinterest Demographics 2017

There are now over 2 million active Pinterest users in the UK, and the females are still ruling the demographics at 85%. 57% of Pinterest users are through mobile. 

Pinterest Demographics 2018

Wondering what’s changed around Pinterest? Here is a simple breakdown that will share the important, “need-to-know” demographics for 2018.

Pinterest Demographics

Instagram Demographics 2016 

Last year, Instagram overtook Twitter in terms of global users (300m on Instagram, and 280m on Twitter).

90% of UK Instagram users are under 35, with a high amount of these female that are likely living in urban areas.

According to eMarketer, advertising revenue generated by Instagram will reach just under £1 billion in 2016 and by 2018, it is estimated that there will be over 106 million Instagram users in just the USA.

Instagram Demographics 2017

Instagram is a 50/50 social network in regards to gender however female internet users are 38% more likely to use Instagram compared to men at 26%. Instagram still has 300m monthly of which 90% is less than 35 years old.

Current statistics show that 51% of Instagram users access the platform daily, and 35% say they look at the platform several times per day.

Instagram released a new feature called “Instagram Stories“. Instagram Stories is benefitting from the large active user base Instagram itself enjoys, and now has 100 million daily active viewers. Rivaling the likes of SnapChat; Instagram Stories is here to stay, and has given instagram an upper hand in the world of Social Media.

Instagram Demographics 2018

Instagram Demographics

LinkedIn Demographics 2016 

Still the B2B social network leader, LinkedIn has over 60 million views every month in just the UK. There is a slight shift in regards to age and gender demographics with only 21% of users under the age of 35 and 79% of users are males.

Two new members join LinkedIn every second, there are 187 million monthly unique visitors and 40% of LinkedIn users check their account on a daily basis. LinkedIn is also used in over 200 countries and is available in 20 different languages.

LinkedIn Demographics 2017

80% of B2B social media leads still come from LinkedIn, and there are still two new LinkedIn users joining every second. The unique visitor count has dropped from 187 million to 106 million and the average LinkedIn user spends 17 minutes on the site per month. 

For me, LinkedIn is one of the most engaging social networks which is partly down to LinkedIn Pulse. Did you know that More than 1 million LinkedIn users have published long-form content, with 160,000 long-form posts being published weekly? Just posting a piece of content with an image will give YOU a 200% engagement rate increase.

LinkedIn Demographics 2018

A lot has changed with LinkedIn over the last two years, especially when it comes to it’s demographics.

LinkedIn Demographics

Google+ Demographics 2016 

Google+ has over 400 million users worldwide, with 63% of these users male, and 37% female. In the UK, 41% of users fall in the 18-24 age demographic and 29% of users fall in the 25-34 age demographic.

54% of Google+ users log into their account to stay in touch with friends whilst a further 42% use Google+ to interact with brand content. The average monthly time spent on Google+ is 7 minutes, with an average visit duration at just under 4 minutes.

Google+ Demographics 2017

Google+ has 375 million active users (this has dropped by 25 million). Google+ now has 70% male users (up from 63%).

Google+ users spend an average of 3 minutes and 46 seconds inside the social network per visit, and 22% of users visit the webinar at least once a month. Looking at age demographics, 28% of users are aged between 15 and 34. Brands are understanding the importance of Google+, as 70% of brands do actually have a presence on Google+.

With live streaming becoming a huge trend for 2017, Google made the mistake of removing Google Hangouts from its extensive feature list, but don’t forget; YouTube is owned by Google, and this is going to fill the gap for businesses looking to create videos.

Rather than sharing statistics around Google+, I want to introduce another network to this list; YouTube

YouTube Demographics 2018

YouTube Demographics

I hope the above statistics will help you better understand your target customer, and the social networks they use, AND how you can best utilise Social Media for your business. This brings me onto my content upgrade for this blog which is my 28 day Social Media Challenge!

28 Day Social Media Challenge

Join hundreds of entrepreneurs and go through my Social Media Challenge for FREE!

How You’ll Benefit From The Challenge….

  • Better brand recognition amongst your audience with social sharing opportunities
  • Improved customer insight on a platform where the audience provides its point-of-view through comments and other interactive behavior.
  • Improved brand loyalty with communication technology tailored to the desired audience
  • Reaching new groups of target audiences and the ability to amplify social content
  • Driving leads through content marketing and Social Media
  • Learn how to automate your content to save time online

What’s In It For YOU….

​In this free Social Media Challenge, you will gain access to 28 of the best “actions” to improve your online communication and engage online for FREE!

I will also share with you the importance of being consistent with your message online, the best ways to understand what your audience want from you and how to create content that drives success.​

How does that sound?

You can find out more here!

Sources: PewResearchCentre, We Are Social, Social Media London, eMarketer, Rose McGrory, E-Consultancy, ECommerce Manager, Pingdom and The Last Hurdle, Tracx.com.

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