7 Stats About the Top Social Networks for Brands

we looked into which of the top social networks are used by the most brands.

We Analyzed the Interbrand 100 Companies across YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, and Tumblr. Below are some key findings from this analysis. Download your copy of the full report for free to learn about how social teams are structured, what challenges social marketers face on a daily basis, and for a deep dive into each of the networks listed above.

The 2015 State of Social Marketing Report

1. Most Brands Are Active on Five or More Networks

Screen Shot 2015-06-30 at 7.40.14 AM — This chart from our new 2015 State of Social Marketing Report highlights adoption and usage of top social networks.

Five of the seven networks analyzed see monthly adoption from more than 50% of the Interbrand 100.

2. Facebook Dominates for Monthly Active Users

Screen Shot 2015-06-30 at 1.31.16 PM — This chart from our 2015 State of Social Marketing Report calls out the monthly active users from seven major social networks.

More than 1.4 billion people use Facebook, which is more than any other social network.

3. YouTube’s On Top

I don’t know why this surprised me, but it did. YouTube is used by 100% of these top brands. This highlighted a few key trends for me:

A. Video: Video is a top priority. We’ve seen this trend sweep across Facebook and other social networks, but YouTube is still a centerpiece of video strategy.

B. Integration: The integration of social media with other marketing and advertising channels is becoming the norm for top brands. Many of these top brands host TV commercials on their YouTube channels and video content from other digital marketing campaigns.

4. Twitter Adoption Is Maxed

Every single one of the 98% of top brands using Twitter were active in the month of April.

5. Mobile as the Norm

Instagram adoption is at 85% of top brands, which is surprising since organic publishing on the network is exclusive to mobile devices. Even more surprising is that 79% of top brands posted in the month of April.

6. LinkedIn Left Out?

You may notice that this list doesn’t include LinkedIn. This was by design. I love LinkedIn and use its publishing platform regularly, but when I dug into how these 100 companies use the network, I found that the majority focus primarily on recruiting and employee relations programs on LinkedIn. This is a valuable way to use the network, but isn’t comparing apples to apples when looking for comparative digital marketing trends.

7. Social Ads are the Norm

Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, and Google+ each launched promoted content offerings in 2013, joining the other networks that had previously launched ad offerings. This allows advertisers to create cohesive campaigns across multiple channels.