Top 10 social networking sites and platforms
Top 10 social networking sites and platforms
What are the most popular social media platforms? Find out what digital marketers need to know about Fa
The best social media sites have seen a lot of traffic in the past few years.
Facebook may still be dominant, but TikTok has seen the fastest growth of any social media platform. Since its launch just five years ago, the video-based platform is now the fifth for most monthly active users (MAU).
Meanwhile, Instagram has seen amazing growth and is ranked 4th in MAU.
This means for brands that want to reach an audience, the choice of social media platforms is growing and changing. And attention should be paid to where the demographics may move.
Facebook was once a place for all ads but now it is preferred by an older user group. Generation Z and Millenials have taken to Instagram, and check out this space on TikTok.
With that in mind, how do you choose where to invest your time (and possibly advertising spending)?
We’ll take a look at the most popular social media platforms in our social media directory: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit, YouTube and WhatsApp.
Comparison of the top 10 social media platforms
| MAU | Revenues | Launched | headquarters | ||
| 1 | Facebook social networking site | 2.7 billion | 86 billion dollars | 2004 | Menlo Park, California |
| 2 | Youtube | 2 billion | $19.8 billion | 2005 | San Bruno, California |
| 3 | The WhatsApp | 2 billion | 5 billion dollars | 2009 | Menlo Park, California |
| 4 | 1.16 billion | $6.8 billion | 2010 | Menlo Park, California | |
| 5 | tik tok | 689 million | 35 billion dollars | 2016 | Culver City, California |
| 6 | snap chat | 433 million | 911 million dollars | 2011 | Los Angeles, California |
| 7 | 430 million | $212.5 million | 2005 | San Francisco, California | |
| 8 | 416 million | 1,693 million dollars | 2010 | San Francisco, California | |
| 9 | 353 million | $3.72 billion | 2006 | San Francisco, California | |
| 10 | 310 million | 8.05 billion dollars | 2003 | Mountain View, California |
Top 10 Social Media Apps by Monthly Active Users
| MAU | ||
| 1 | Facebook social networking site | 2.7 billion |
| 2 | Youtube | 2 billion |
| 3 | The WhatsApp | 2 billion |
| 4 | 1.16 billion | |
| 5 | tik tok | 689 million |
| 6 | snap chat | 433 million |
| 7 | 430 million | |
| 8 | 416 million | |
| 9 | 353 million | |
| 10 | 310 million |
Top 10 Social Media Sites & Platforms
1. Facebook
Headquarters: Menlo Park, California
Launched: 2004
Monthly Active Users: 2.7 billion
Founders: Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes
Revenue: $86 billion (2020)
Despite the shifting demographic, no matter your industry, there is a space for you on Facebook.
Some of Facebook’s leading industries include financial services, e-commerce, retail, gaming, entertainment, media, communications, technology, consumer goods, and automobile companies.
As newsfeeds increasingly suppress business postings, there are still ways to boost engagement without investing in advertising.
Consider joining (or creating) groups, using a Facebook Messenger chat bot, or using live video to increase your engagement.
2. YouTube
Launched: 2005
Headquarters: San Bruno, CA
Monthly active users: 2 billion
Revenue: $19.8 billion (2020)
Founders: Jawed Karim, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley
YouTube is the original video social media platform that prides itself on dominating the market, ranking second in monthly active users at 2 billion.
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YouTube’s reach is unparalleled, with 73% of US adults using the platform. Numbers that cannot be ignored.
YouTube has a strong user base across all age groups. Including the 65+ age group that is hard to reach and with 38% of US adults using the platform, it is second only to Facebook.
YouTube covers everything from beauty, gaming, education, to home improvement. This is the platform on which most brands are investing, with video being the growing medium for content marketing.
3. WhatsApp
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
Monthly active users: 2 billion
Revenue: $5 billion (2020)
Founders: Brian Acton, Jan Koum
WhatsApp is still the most popular social messaging app, coming in front of Facebook Messenger.
A closed messaging app may not seem like the obvious choice for brands. But, keep in mind that SMS open rate is 98% compared to 20% of email; You realize it’s a captive audience. And unlike SMS, WhatsApp messages are free to send.
If you use WhatsApp for customer service and retention, you will start to realize that the potential for brands is huge on a clearly low-leverage platform. If you can hack WhatsApp, you have a direct marketing channel for your audience.
4. Instagram
Headquarters: Menlo Park, California
Launched: 2010
Monthly Active Users: 1.16 billion
Founders: Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger
Revenue: $6.8 billion (2020)
Instagram is a social network where product-based businesses, influencers, and coaches can thrive.
Since the introduction of marketable publications in 2018, the potential return on investment for product-based businesses is higher than ever – not only do B2B communicate with a massive audience, they can link product and sales information directly from the gram.
If your target demographic is under 35, Instagram is a goldmine: 75% of 18-24 year olds use Instagram, with 67% of Generation Z and 57% of Millennials using the app daily.
5. Tik Tok
Launched : 2016
Headquarters: Culver City, California
Monthly active users: 689 million
Founders: ByteDance Ltd, Zhang Yiming, Toutiao
Revenue: $35 billion (2020)
TikTok has described itself as the “leading destination for short videos on mobile” with the company’s mission to inspire creativity and bring happiness.
TikTok certainly struck a chord as it is the smallest app on the market, but it has already seen incredible growth. In 2017, just one year later, the app became the fastest growing app worldwide. Despite attempts to ban TikTok in the US and ban it in India, as of 2020, the app has been downloaded 2 billion times globally.
If you want to contact Generation Z, TikTok is the platform you should check out. In the United States, 25% of the public are teenagers or younger. These users are also very interactive; As of January 2021, the time each user spends on TikTok has exceeded that of Facebook.
6. Snapchat
Headquarters: Los Angeles, California
Launched: 2011
Monthly Active Users: 433 million
Founders: Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, Daniel Smith, David Kravitz, Leo Noah Katz
Revenue: $911 million (2020)
If your target demographic is young, you will definitely want to get into Snapchat.
The most active users on Snapchat are 13-year-olds, and they spend upwards of 30 minutes per day on the app.
Snapchat is a haven for user-generated content, behind-the-scenes videos, exclusives, and influencer acquisitions.
7. Reddit
Launched: 2005
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Monthly active users: 430 million
Founders: Steve Hoffman, Alexis Ohanian and Aaron Schwartz
Revenue: $212.5 million (2020)
Reddit advertises itself as “the front page of the Internet”, and according to Alexa rankings, Reddit is one of the 20 most visited sites.
Reddit has a unique mix of content and community, with over 150,000 communities dedicated to every topic imaginable.
With so many outlets, there is a place for every brand and business – it’s a matter of finding niches where your potential customers are active and diving into.
However, be warned, Reddit is a fickle place and will not tolerate blatant self-promotion. Move gently when you start navigating because if you get the tone wrong, commenters are quick to jump in and can throw off a brand.
8. Pinterest
Launched: 2010
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Monthly active users: 416 million
Founders: Ben Silberman, Paul Ciara and Evan Sharp
Revenue: $1,693 million (2020)
Some of the most popular content on Pinterest includes fashion, food, decor, wedding, workout, and DIY related pins.
Plus, anything with rich images can thrive on Pinterest.
Notably, 81% of Pinterest users are female – if you have a predominantly female audience, that’s a compelling reason to invest time in social media marketing on Pinterest.
This does not mean that men are not on Pinterest – 40% of new subscribers to Pinterest are male.
9. Twitter
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Launch: 2006
Monthly Active Users: 353 million
Founders: Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, Noah Glass
Revenue: $3.72 billion (2020)
If your business is related to entertainment, sports, politics, technology or marketing, you are able to earn massive engagement on Twitter.
On Twitter, brands have the opportunity to craft and polish their voice – there is room to be smart and elegant as well as informative and useful information.
Go into threads, provide value, share your content as well as others, and join the ongoing conversation.
10. LinkedIn
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, CA
Launched: 2003
Monthly active users: 310 million (estimated for 2019)
Founders: Reid Hoffman, Konstantin Guericke, Allen Blue, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Eric Ly
Revenue: $8.05 billion (2020)
Within its massive network of professionals, you will find over 61 million users in senior positions on LinkedIn.
If you are looking for decision makers who have the ability to hire your company, stock your product, or partner with you, LinkedIn is the right place for you.
Did you know that 44% of LinkedIn users have incomes above the national average? Or do more than 50% of Americans with a college degree use LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a highly focused social media platform, and because of that, it has unlimited potential to connect with the elite pool of professionals who can make a difference in your business.
