Social media utilization is nuanced and ever-evolving, however don’t let that complexity depart you feeling directionless. For each query that arises as you construct your subsequent social technique, there’s a guidepost to be discovered within the knowledge on digital behaviors and habits.
Complete and dependable knowledge, that’s.
That’s why, even within the period of knowledge overload, entrepreneurs want sources just like the Digital 2026: World Overview Report, that includes over 600 pages of statistics from trusted sources that illuminate how audiences navigate the digital world. Over the previous yr, there was no scarcity of latest developments within the social advertising panorama. Discover all of them within the Digital 2026 report, however within the meantime, listed here are three stats that sum up what the social media panorama appears to be like like getting into the brand new yr.
72.3% of on-line audiences use social media for model analysis.
Social media presence and monitoring cannot be an afterthought in 2026. The narrative round your model on social — whether or not true or not — impacts buy choices, notably amongst high-intent consumers.
Actually, 72.3% of web customers aged 16 and older use social media to be taught extra about merchandise they’re considering of shopping for. And whereas Instagram has the very best proportion of customers there to comply with or analysis manufacturers, no platform is exempt. A powerful 26.6% of LinkedIn customers go to the platform for model analysis.
A technique or one other, potential clients are studying about your model on social, so be taught extra about what they’re seeing. Are you main the dialog? And if not, who’s? Gaining an correct, ongoing understanding of the place your model sits within the social media panorama is essential data for decision-makers past simply the social workforce.
80.7% of Snapchat customers are additionally on Fb.
Buzzy headlines might need you believing that customers of newer platforms robotically abandon older ones. In line with the Digital 2026 report, that couldn’t be farther from the reality. Web customers aged 16 and older actively use an common of 6.75 social platforms every month, and social media platform consumer bases overlap considerably in consequence.
For instance, equally to Snapchat customers (aged 16 and older, exterior of China), 81.8% of TikTok customers are additionally on Fb. Nevertheless, solely 34.8% of these TikTok customers are on Snapchat. So whereas each TikTok and Snapchat are recognized for his or her Gen-Z audiences, they don’t overlap as a lot as one may assume.
Diving into how — and extra importantly, why — platform audiences overlap can have big implications on your model’s social methods. Plus, as extra waves of overestimated headlines arrive within the new yr, the insights you uncover can preserve you on the data-driven monitor.
96% of on-line audiences entry the web through their telephones.
Whereas 96% of web customers go surfing utilizing their telephones, solely 59.6% do through laptops and desktops. Because of this, the possibilities are excessive that your viewers is viewing your social content material away from the larger display of the pc chances are you’ll create it on.
This additionally broadens the vary of contexts and environments your viewers could also be viewing your content material inside. Whether or not they’re scrolling earlier than mattress, on their every day commute or in line on the espresso store, your viewers wants your model expertise to resonate via the portal within the palm of their hand.
Greater than ever, manufacturers have to strategize round a holistic view of their viewers’s digital behaviors. With it, you’ll be higher positioned to adapt as utilization of different gadgets like smartwatches and AI voice assistants evolve.
What the newest social knowledge means for entrepreneurs
In a nutshell, tailoring social methods to customers’ multifaceted expectations and desires is non-negotiable in 2026. With so many avenues for reaching goal audiences through multi-channel model experiences, efficient curation begins with shopper intelligence. Pinpointing when, why, and the way your viewers frequents the combo of platforms they do is step one to uncovering focusing on, messaging and different alternatives hiding in plain sight. It’s additionally key to creating content material that stands out as a substitute of getting scrolled previous.
If the stats above sparked new questions or epiphanies, there are various, many extra the place these come from that may set you on the trail to your subsequent nice thought. Keep in mind: As the brand new yr brings new challenges and alternatives with it, look to dependable knowledge to be your strategic information.
