There’s no doubt that social media is a vital tool for businesses of all sizes, for both B2C (those that sell to consumers) and B2B (those that sell to businesses). It’s an inexpensive marketing option and delivers a great return on investment if you get your approach right. However, like all marketing activities, it works best when you understand your target audience and make your marketing messages specific and relevant to that demographic. Once you know who you want to market to, the next hurdle (pardon the pun) is to reach them. To assist with locating your ideal audience, we take our traditional, annual review of UK social media statistics for 2019:
Facebook UK Users
Facebook remains one of the most prominent social media platforms. Whether you want to reach a local audience or a worldwide one, the site delivers flexibility, targeting and opportunity.
- In the UK more than 44 million users were registered with Facebook as of December 2019.
- 71% of UK adults can be reached through the platform, which, if you are thinking of using Facebook Ads, can be highly targeted.
- The mix of users is quite even between men (48%) and women (52%).
- Video is the most engaging type of content on Facebook which means you are likely to get more views and shares. Indeed, Facebook videos receive 135% more organic traffic than images
- In the 18 to 54 age group, between 85% and 92% of the population engage with the platform across all income groups.
In the UK more than 44 million users were registered with Facebook as of December 2019
Twitter UK Users
Unlike Facebook, Twitter can be a little less forthcoming about its user numbers and demographics. While a lot fewer people in the UK use the platform, it still gives businesses a significant reach.
- Twitter’s figures for users has remained fairly constant at 13.7 million in the UK.
- More males (60%) tend to use the platform compared to females (40%).
- 80% of Twitter users access the platform on a mobile device and 74% of users say they engage with it to get news stories.
- While it’s often seen as a platform for older people, 62% of 18-24-year-olds and 69% of 25-34-year-olds have an account.
- According to the platform itself, users are six times more likely to retweet a video than a post with just an image.
YouTube UK Users
Video has certainly become a major content focus for marketers and businesses. That’s why platforms like YouTube have become more important as a way to get your marketing message across and build engagement.
- YouTube has been used by 37 million adults in the UK over the last year and the amount of time spent looking at videos is increasing (an average total viewing session of 40 minutes).
- More brands are using YouTube because it is a great place to upload longer content.
- More than 70% of views on YouTube are on a mobile device such as a smartphone.
- 70% of the most popular videos on YouTube are created by just 10% of channels and the most popular subjects are comedy, music, popular culture and explainer or how-to videos.
Pinterest UK Users
Pinterest remains a niche social media platform that businesses can often dismiss. But with more than 291 million users (worldwide) it can be a good fit if you understand how to use it for your company marketing.
- 5% of users on Pinterest are women who often use the site to plan their purchasing decisions.
- The most popular subjects on Pinterest are food and drink, home décor, fashion and accessories and beauty products.
- Social savvy millennials (50%) use the platform more than any other demographic.
- More than half of users log on to the site to find information about products they are looking to purchase.
Instagram UK Users
Instagram has continued to grow in popularity and still remains skewed towards a much younger audience. Being purchased by Facebook gave a huge boost to user numbers.
- In the UK, there are 24 million Instagram users.
- The platform appeals more to 18 to 34-year-olds who make up nearly 60% of users. The split is 54% female, 46% male.
- Regular Instagram users spend an average of 53 minutes a day on the platform.
- 20% of users will engage with a business profile on Instagram on a daily basis and more than 80% of users follow at least one business on the site.
24 million Instagram users in the UK
Google My Business
Google+ has now shut down as a social network with all profiles and pages deleted. The network struggled to collect users and was affected by a data breach in 2018. However, Google My Business allows news posts. Whilst not a social platform per se, we do strongly advise you to review the My Business area and make regular posts. Whilst they are only temporary, the posts generate decent and relevant traffic. Should you have products rather than services we also strongly recommend you add “Products” to your My Business account. Unfortunately, we are not able to locate meaningful stats about My Business, but once you start using it, you will receive regular stat updates from Google on the number of views and clicks through to your site. You can, of course, also track referrals in Google Analytics.
LinkedIn UK Users
If you run a business or are a professional, the chances are you will have a LinkedIn account and the company indicate they have some 20 million users in the UK.
- The split between users in the UK is 60% male and 40% female and there has been an increase in engagement on the site in the last few years.
- 40% of active users use the site every day and some 61 million users worldwide are thought to be ‘senior-level influencers’.
- Profiles on LinkedIn that have a photo are 12 times more likely to be viewed and get 36 times more messages.
- LinkedIn drives much more B2B traffic to blogs and websites than any other social media platform.
Snapchat UK Users
Snapchat remains a social media platform that appeals to younger users. Trying to compete with platforms such as Instagram, which it most closely resembles, has not been easy although it still attracts a decent number of users.
- There are thought to be 14.5 million Snapchat users in the UK.
- 77% of users in the UK are between 18 and 24 and it is used by 90% of regular social media engagers in this age group.
- Snapchat has a gender difference with 60% of users female and 40% male.
- According to Snapchat itself, users open their app 20 times a day on average.
UK Social Media Statistics For 2019
Businesses have quite a challenge choosing among the wide range of different social platforms available. If resources and time are tight it’s important to find the social media sites that help you reach your audience and engage with them in an effective way that delivers a strong return on investment. We hope the information we’ve provided in our UK social media statistics for 2019 review will help you make that decision.
Resources
The data from this article has been pulled from multiple sources. We have reported the data as accurately as possible. The following sources contributed to the collation:
Statista
Avocado Social
We Are Social
Omnicoreagency
Twitter Business
Hootsuite
Sprout Social
Foundation
Influencer Marketing Hub
Want to compare stats with previous years?
Check out our previous year’s articles:
Statistics For Social Media Users In The UK For 2018
Social Media User Stats in the UK 2017
Social Media User Statistics in the UK
The Demographics of UK Social Media Users