2020 Social Media Demographics Overview
Social media has become a huge part of human life and activities; in fact, there are 7 social media users in every 10 Americans. Our team dove into the statistics to show you just how deeply rooted social media platforms are in American societies and what type of demographics you can expect to find on each of the social media platforms.
Our aim is to answer important and burning questions associated with demographics and there effects on social media advertising and marketing. This study was done for those interested in marketing and advertising on social media platforms with the purpose of providing information on what the demographics look like on each platform. These platforms include but not limited to the following: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Every day, more Americans join all of the popular and emerging social media platforms with many holding multiple accounts across several social media platforms. About 15 years ago, when Pew Research Center began the tracking of social media within the American populace, a measly 5% of American citizens made use of the platform. That number stands at 72% in 2020.
At first, young adults were the main users of social media platforms in the country. These demographics continue to make use of social media at a high-level, but the use of social media has spread to nearly every other demographic there is.
Why It’s Important to Understand the Demographics of Each Social Media Platform before Marketing/Advertising
Understanding the demographics of each social media platform that is most popular among a particular age group, social class, gender, and educational attainment, will help shape the type of content that will be acceptable by the predominant users of the platform. Marketing or advertising campaign can only go as far as the content of that campaign; the acceptance of that content will then determine the success of the entire campaign. Therefore, it is very important to understand the demographics of each social media platform in order to arrive at content that is suitable, acceptable and relatable by the predominant users/audience of that platform.
Another important reason is knowing what demographics to focus on each social media platform. Simply put, understanding the demographics of a social media platform will help ascertain the target audience of the marketing campaign. For example, a marketing campaign aimed at professionals in a particular field, sector or industry is best directed to users on LinkedIn compared to Snapchat. This is because the target audience is present on the former social media platform while a marketing campaign on Snapchat for professionals will not only be a waste of resources but will also alienate some of the audience on that platform.
Now, let’s take a look at what type of demographics you can expect from each social media platform:
The Demographics of Each Social Media Platform
Below is a summary of the demographics of the following social media platform; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
2020 Facebook Demographics Data
ACTIVE MONTHLY USERS
2.45 Billion Monthly Active Users
ACTIVE DAILY USERS
1.49 Billion Daily Active Users
AGE GROUPS
| AGE | PERCENTAGE |
| 18-29 | 86% |
| 30-49 | 77% |
| 50-65 | 51% |
| 65+ | 34% |
INCOME
| ANNUAL INCOME | % OF HOUSEHOLDS |
| $30,000 | 85% |
| $30,000 – $60,000 | 88% |
| $60,000 – $70,000 | 81% |
| $70,000 – $80,000 | 88% |
| $80,000 – $100,000 | 86% |
| ABOVE $100,000 | 86% |
GENDER
| GENDER | PERCENTAGE |
| FEMALE | 54% |
| MALE | 46% |
DEVICES
| DEVICE | PERCENTAGE |
| MOBILE | 96% |
| DESKTOP/LAPTOP | 25% |
TIME
Facebook users spend an average of 35 minutes a day on the platform
2020 LinkedIn Demographics Data
ACTIVE MONTHLY USERS
303 Million Monthly Active Users
ACTIVE DAILY USERS
121 Million Daily Active Users
AGE GROUPS
| AGE | PERCENTAGE |
| 18-24 | 21% |
| 25-34 | 60% |
| 35-54 | 17% |
| 55+ | 3% |
INCOME
| ANNUAL INCOME | % OF HOUSEHOLDS |
| $30,000 | 27% |
| $30,000 – $60,000 | 3.8% |
| $60,000 – $70,000 | 40% |
| $70,000 – $80,000 | 49% |
| $80,000 – $100,000 | 50% |
| ABOVE $100,000 | 60% |
GENDER
| GENDER | PERCENTAGE |
| FEMALE | 43% |
| MALE | 57% |
DEVICES
| DEVICE | PERCENTAGE |
| MOBILE | 57% |
TIME
On Average, LinkedIn user spends 6 minutes and 7 seconds per session.
MOST FOLLOWED ACCOUNTS
Bill Gates: 24 million
Richard Branson: 17 million followers
Ariana Huffington: 9 million
2020 Instagram Demographics Data
ACTIVE MONTHLY USERS
1 Billion Monthly Active Users
ACTIVE DAILY USERS
500 Million Daily Active Users
AGE GROUPS
| AGE | PERCENTAGE |
| 18-29 | 67% |
| 30-49 | 47% |
| 50-64 | 23% |
| 65+ | 8% |
INCOME
| ANNUAL INCOME | % OF HOUSEHOLDS |
| $30,000 | 44% |
| $30,000 – $60,000 | 45% |
| $60,000 – $70,000 | 36% |
| $70,000 – $80,000 | 55% |
| $80,000 – $100,000 | 46% |
| ABOVE $100,000 | 60% |
GENDER
| GENDER | PERCENTAGE |
| FEMALE | 51% |
| MALE | 49% |
TIME
Instagram users spend an average of 53 minutes a day on the platform.
BUSINESS AND SHOPPING
An estimated 71% of U.S. businesses have Instagram accounts
83% on Instagram users say they discover new products and services on Instagram
MOST FOLLOWED ACCOUNTS
Cristiano Ronaldo – 191M followers
Ariana Grande – 163M followers
Selena Gomez – 156M followers
2020 Twitter Demographics Data
ACTIVE MONTHLY USERS
330 Million Monthly Active Users
ACTIVE DAILY USERS
145 Million Daily Active Users
AGE GROUPS
| AGE | PERCENTAGE |
| 18-29 | 38% |
| 30-49 | 26% |
| 50-64 | 17% |
| 65+ | 7% |
INCOME
| ANNUAL INCOME | % OF HOUSEHOLDS |
| $30,000 | 23% |
| $30,000 – $74,999 | 36% |
| ABOVE $75,000 | 41% |
GENDER
| GENDER | PERCENTAGE |
| FEMALE | 50% |
| MALE | 50% |
TIME
Twitter users spend an average of 3.39 minutes per session.
BUSINESS AND SHOPPING
67% of B2B businesses are using Twitter as a digital marketing tool
77% of Twitter users have a better impression of a brand when they respond to a tweet
In Q3 2019, Ad engagement on Twitter was up 23%
MOST FOLLOWED ACCOUNTS
Barack Obama: 111.1 million followers
Katy Perry: 108.3 million followers
Justin Bieber: 107.5 million followers
SNAPCHAT
2020 Snapchat Demographics Data
ACTIVE MONTHLY USERS
360 Million Monthly Active Users
ACTIVE DAILY USERS
229 Million Daily Active Users
AGE GROUPS
| AGE | PERCENTAGE |
| 15-25 | 53% |
| 26-35 | 34% |
| 36-45 | 18% |
| 46-55 | 11% |
| 56+ | 4% |
INCOME
| ANNUAL INCOME | % OF HOUSEHOLDS |
| $30,000 | 32% |
| $30,000 – $60,000 | 33% |
| $60,000 – $70,000 | 31% |
| $70,000 – $80,000 | 42% |
| $80,000 – $100,000 | 39% |
| ABOVE $100,000 | 39% |
GENDER
| GENDER | PERCENTAGE |
| FEMALE | 61% |
| MALE | 38% |
TIME
On average, Snapchat users spend 30 minutes per day on the platform.
2020 Pinterest Demographics Data
ACTIVE MONTHLY USERS
320 Million Monthly Active Users
AGE GROUPS
| AGE | PERCENTAGE |
| 18-29 | 34% |
| 30-49 | 35% |
| 50-65 | 27% |
| 65+ | 15% |
INCOME
| ANNUAL INCOME | % OF HOUSEHOLDS |
| BELOW $30,000 | 18% |
| $30,000 – $74,999 | 27% |
| ABOVE $75,000 | 41% |
GENDER
| GENDER | PERCENTAGE |
| FEMALE | 70% |
| MALE | 30% |
DEVICES
| DEVICE | PERCENTAGE |
| MOBILE | 80% |
TIME
Pinterest users spend an average of 14.2 minutes per visit on the platform.
BUSINESS AND SHOPPING
90% of weekly pinners used Pinterest to make purchase decisions
Pinterest drives 33% more referral traffic to shopping sites than Facebook
MISCELLANEOUS
People who travel are 2x more likely to use Pinterest.
YOUTUBE
2020 YouTube Demographics Data
ACTIVE MONTHLY USERS
2 Billion Monthly Active Users
ACTIVE DAILY USERS
30 Million Daily Active Users
AGE GROUPS
| AGE | PERCENTAGE |
| 15-25 | 81% |
| 26-35 | 71% |
| 36-45 | 67% |
| 46-55 | 66% |
| 56+ | 58% |
INCOME
| ANNUAL INCOME | % OF HOUSEHOLDS |
| BELOW $30,000 | 83% |
| $30,000 – $60,000 | 81% |
| $60,000 – $70,000 | 80% |
| $70,000 – $80,000 | 80% |
| $80,000 – $100,000 | 82% |
| ABOVE $100,000 | 89% |
GENDER
| GENDER | PERCENTAGE |
| FEMALE | 38% |
| MALE | 62% |
TIME
On average, YouTube users spend 11 minutes and 43 seconds per day on the platform.
MOST FOLLOWED ACCOUNTS
PewDiePie: 102 million subscribers
Dude Perfect: 47.5 million subscribers
Badabun: 42.4 million subscribers
CONCLUSION
The target audience of your marketing campaign will determine the social media platform to use for that campaign. It will also determine the type of content used in that marketing campaign.
With the popularity of video-sharing platforms such as Tik-Tok in recent years, social media has found a way to constantly reinvent itself, stay relevant and open new avenues for marketing/advertising. For example, Tik-Tok has helped launch some of the biggest songs in the last twelve months in America, including the most-streamed song in American history, ‘Old Town Road.’
As a result, music industry experts and record labels are developing new strategies to capitalize on a growing social media platform with 130 million users in the United States alone and it has found a place in the hearts and smartphones among people between the age of 13 and 30. The platform has an average of 60 million active users in America and has helped launch another ubiquitous hit in 2020 in the form of hip-hop artiste, Roddy Rich’s The Box.
Now, this is just an example of how other social media platforms play a major role in the lives of Americans and the economy as a whole. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for those involved in social media marketing to reinvent themselves in order to keep up with the trend.
Once again, it is important to understand the demographics of these platforms in order to effectively leverage the benefits of these platforms through marketing/advertising.
SOURCES
● https://khoros.com/resources/social-media-demographics-guid
● https://www.maptive.com/feature/demographic-overlays
● https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media
