It’s not just about the numbers when it comes to social media apps; it’s about finding the right platforms that align with your brand identity and resonate with your audience. Consider factors like your target demographic's preferences and how many platforms you can manage efficiently.
To simplify your decision-making process, we've conducted research to present the top social media platforms . While some are familiar names, others might be newer to you. Take a closer look at these platforms to determine which ones suit your brand best. Keep in mind that you don’t need to be present on every platform to succeed.
Our list is based on the latest data regarding monthly active users (MAUs)*. While user volume is significant, it's equally important to choose platforms where your target audience actively engages. Prioritize platforms that offer the best return on investment (ROI) for your specific business goals by identifying where your ideal customers are most active."
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List Of top social media apps and platforms
Below is a list of social media apps and platforms that you can use to promote your business. Read through and see which fits your brand and also where your target audience is engaged.
1. Facebook — 3.05 billion MAUs
Facebook is the largest social networking site, with over 3 billion people using it monthly, according to Statista. Approximately 37 percent of the world’s population uses Facebook, with its direct messaging spin-off app, Facebook Messenger, boasting 931 million monthly active users. Beyond individual users, over 200 million businesses, mainly small ones, leverage Facebook tools, while seven million advertisers actively promote their businesses on the platform, making it a reliable choice for a social media presence. Facebook Groups and the robust advertising tool, Facebook Ads Manager, further enhance the ability to connect with audiences and expand one's following on the platform.
Getting started on Facebook is straightforward due to its compatibility with various content formats such as text, images, video content (Facebook Reels), and Stories. However, the Facebook algorithm prioritizes content that stimulates conversations and meaningful interactions among users, particularly those within family and friend circles
2. WhatsApp — 2.78 billion MAUs
WhatsApp is a messaging app used by people in over 180 countries, boasting an estimated 2.78 active users, according to Statista.
Initially, people originally used WhatsApp to send text messages to their family and friends, but the launch of WhatsApp Business in 2018 has seen the messaging platform become a popular choice for brands. WhatsApp Business reported having over 200 million monthly active users in June 2023.
WhatsApp’s business platform allows businesses to provide customer support and share updates with customers about their purchases. For small businesses, there’s the WhatsApp Business app, while enterprise businesses can use the WhatsApp Business API.
As the most widely used messaging platform, WhatsApp can be a great customer service channel for your business.
- YouTube — 2.49 billion MAUs
YouTube is a video-sharing platform where users watch a billion hours of videos daily. Besides being the second largest social media app, YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, its parent company.
If you use video to promote your business, then you definitely need to add YouTube to your marketing strategy. To get started, google articles on “how to create a YouTube channel for your brand”.
4. Instagram — 2.04 billion MAUs
As a visual social networking platform, Instagram is the place for showcasing your products or services with photos or videos. On the app, you can share a wide range of content, such as photos, videos, Stories, Reels, and live videos. As a brand, leveraging an Instagram business profile can offer a wealth of benefits. This includes access to comprehensive analytics for your profile and posts, the convenience of scheduling posts through third-party tools, and a prime platform for curating user-generated content from your audience. Much like Facebook, Instagram’s algorithm places a premium on engagement, making it crucial to foster meaningful interactions with your followers
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5. WeChat — 1.32 billion MAUs
WeChat was released in 2011 by Tencent, one of China’s biggest tech companies. With over 1.32 billion monthly users, 80 percent of China's total population is active on the app.
Similar to WhatsApp and Messenger, WeChat initially served as a messaging app but has since expanded into a multifunctional platform. In addition to messaging and calling, users can engage in online shopping, bill payments, grocery purchases, money transfers, reservations, taxi bookings, and more.
WeChat stands out as the most widely used social media app in China and various parts of Asia. For brands looking to enhance their presence in China, especially considering that popular social networks like Facebook and X are inaccessible there, WeChat emerges as a compelling alternative. You can promote your brand through ads on the official WeChat account or via WeChat Moments. Additionally, numerous WeChat-based influencers can assist in reaching millions of Chinese consumers.
6. TikTok — 1.22 billion MAUs
TikTok (known as Douyin in China) is a short-form video-sharing app. Since its launch in 2017, TikTok has rapidly become one of the world's fastest-growing apps, recently surpassing Google as the most visited internet site.
TikTok offers users the ability to create and share videos ranging from 15 seconds to 10 minutes long, enriched by a diverse collection of sound effects, music snippets, and filters that enhance their appeal. The platform hosts a wide array of content, spanning from lip-syncs, dances, and challenges to DIY tips and makeup tutorials, catering to nearly all interests.
With approximately 47.4 percent of TikTok users in the U.S. falling within the 10-29 age group, it presents an ideal social media platform for businesses targeting a youthful demographic.
Notably, TikTok's algorithm places emphasis on engagement and video watch time, underscoring the importance of capturing viewers' attention within the first few seconds of your video.
7. Telegram — 800 million MAUs
Telegram is a free messaging app that works across multiple devices with no limits on media sizes.
Telegram stands out with its comprehensive end-to-end encryption covering all aspects, from chats and groups to shared media among users. Its strong emphasis on security has attracted a growing user base, particularly following WhatsApp's privacy policy updates allowing data sharing with Meta, its parent company.
Brands can leverage Telegram in various ways beyond offering individual customer support. They can develop chatbots tailored for the Telegram environment or utilize Telegram's channel functionality to disseminate messages to a massive audience of up to 200,000 individuals.
8. Snapchat — 750 million MAUs
Snapchat focuses on photos and short videos (known as snaps) shared between friends.Snapchat played a pivotal role in popularizing the vertical video format, a trend that quickly spread to other visual social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. However, the emergence of Instagram Stories, in particular, has somewhat impeded Snapchat's expansion and diminished marketers' enthusiasm for the platform.
Nonetheless, a significant 69% of American teenagers report using Snapchat regularly. Thus, if your primary target audience comprises teenagers, incorporating Snapchat into your marketing strategy could be beneficial.
9. Kuaishou — 673 million MAUs
Kuaishou is a Chinese rival to Douyin or TikTok. Like its competitors, Kuaishou allows users to overlay text and stickers to images or videos and add sound bites. Users can also live stream content to their followers on the platform or record longer videos.
Compared to TikTok, Kuaishou is more popular with an older audience, especially in rural parts of China. The app also relies more on e-commerce revenue than on advertising revenue.
10. Sina Weibo — 599 million MAUs
“Weibo” (微博) means “micro-blog” in Chinese. Launched by the Chinese technology company Sina Corporation in 2009, Sina Weibo, or simply Weibo, is a microblogging platform that compares to Twitter and Instagram.
Through Weibo, users can post images, videos, and stories, see trending topics, use hashtags in posts, and use the platform for instant messaging.
11. QQ — 571 million MAUs
QQ was released in China in 1999 by Tencent. Prior to the launch of WeChat, QQ was the number one Chinese messaging app. Besides its instant messaging features, QQ also enables users to decorate their avatars, watch movies, play online games, stream music, shop online, blog, and make payments.
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12. QQ — 558 million MAUs
QQ or Qzone is another China-based app from Tencent that mixes social networking and blogging. Users can upload multimedia, keep diaries, write blogs, play games, and stream music with the social media app.
Like Facebook, users can also connect with friends, see a feed of updates, comment, share or react to posts, and update cover or profile photos.
13. X (formerly Twitter) — 550 million MAUs
X's monthly active user numbers have been reported as anywhere between 335 million to 666 million. In a September 2023 interview, X CEO Linda Yaccarino shared that the company currently had 550 million MAUs, so we've gone with that value.
The platform once known as Twitter invites an audience that loves to post news, entertainment, sports, politics, and more. What makes it different from most other social networking sites is it strongly emphasizes real-time information — things happening and trending right now — in just 280 characters (140 for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese).
14. Pinterest — 465 million MAUs
Pinterest is a one-stop shop for inspiration and discovering new products and ideas. On Pinterest, users "pin" photos that link to websites, product pages, blog posts, and other content across the internet. It's a great platform for driving traffic to your website, and Pinterest’s user base are seven times more likely to purchase products they've pinned.
Popular topics and themes on the social platform include fashion, beauty, home, garden, and DIY. If you're a business or creator in one of these niches, it's a no brainer to share your content on the platform.
15. Reddit — 430 million MAUs
With roughly 1.7 billion visits in April 2023, Reddit has been called the "front page of the internet," thanks to its mix of current events, celebrity "ask me anything" (AMA) events, and in-depth discussions of niche topics.
There are subreddits (i.e., dedicated forums) for pretty much anything under the sun. Subreddits, however, have different levels of engagement, so it’s great to research to see if there are popular subreddits your brand can be part of. For example, if your business is a beauty brand, you could join r/beauty.
Be aware, though, most subreddits do not allow self-promotion. The aim is to engage with members in the respective subreddits by asking and answering questions, sharing tips and resources, and participating in discussions.
Besides submitting your content to Reddit and participating in discussions, you can also find content ideas and advertise.
16. LinkedIn — 424 million MAUs
At roughly 424 million monthly active users, LinkedIn has evolved from a simple job search engine and resume site into a professional networking platform where industry experts share content, network, and build their personal brand.
It has also become a place for businesses to establish thought leadership and attract customers and top talent, as well as a place for creators to build personal brands in their industries.
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17. Quora — 300 million MAUs
Quora is a community-based Q&A website and app where people can find information on a wide variety of topics. Questions and answers are user-ranked based on views, votes, reviews, and shares.
As a brand, you have the option to establish a presence on Quora by creating a dedicated page for your business or by leveraging employee advocates to address inquiries related to your products, services, or industry topics. Quora also offers an advertising platform that allows you to promote your business effectively. Given that 63% of users conduct research for significant online purchases, Quora presents an excellent opportunity to engage with customers who are actively seeking products or services
18. Discord — 154 million MAUs
Discord is a communication platform primarily designed for gamers. It allows users to create servers, join communities, voice chat, and text chat with others in real time.
Discord is popular due to its ease of use, customizable features, and compatibility with various devices. It has expanded beyond gaming communities and is now used by businesses, educational institutions, and other groups.
19. Twitch — 140 million MAUs
Twitch is a live-streaming platform for gamers. It offers video game content and other forms of entertainment. Users can create a channel, stream their gameplay, and interact with their audience through chat.
20. Tumblr — 135 million MAUs
Tumblr is a popular microblogging social media site with 135 million monthly active users.
Users can share content in different formats: text, photos, videos, GIFs, audio clips, links, and more. The site's users share content on every topic, niche, and interest imaginable.Tumblr also lets you customize your blog design. For this reason, many users opt to use their Tumblr account as their website.
21. Threads by Instagram — 100 million
Instagram’s Twitter alternative, Threads, hit app stores in 2023 with a record-breaking rise to 100 million sign-ups in a matter of days. While interest in the platform initially seemed to flag, Threads has regularly launched new features to keep MAUs climbing.
Threads has “just under” 100 million monthly active users according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who believes the app has a “good chance” of reaching 1 billion users in the next few years.
22. Mastodon — 1.7 million MAUs
Mastodon, a new entrant on the social media scene, exploded in popularity in late 2022, taking it from 300,000 to over 1.7 million monthly active users in 2023.
Mastodon is a decentralized, open-source software that allows users to set up servers to communicate with each other. Users can create posts of up to 5,000 characters, and add images, audio, and video.
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Bluesky — MAU unknown
Bluesky is a decentralized, invite-only social network built on an open-source protocol. While they’ve yet to publicly share their monthly active user numbers, the platform hit the 1 million (total) users mark in September 2023.Bluesky was created by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey while he was still in the role. The platform, which also has an iOS and Android app, bears a striking resemblance to Dorsey’s former product.
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Lemon 8
Lemon8 is a video and photo-sharing social media platform catering to users' interest in food, beauty, wellness, and travel. It doesn't support vertical video scrolling like TikTok, and the content created on the app usually centers around a specific topic.
The top trending topics on the app are fashion, beauty, food, wellness, and travel. Lemon8 new to the US but is very popular in Japan and Thailand...
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