In 2025 the landscape for social media platforms is changing. Users are shifting networks and joining even more apps than before. According to The Sprout Social Index™, 30% of people plan to use social more in 2025, while 56% plan to keep their usage the same.
So what does this mean for brands who want to connect with their ideal customers? It’s not simply a case of posting on every social media platform and hoping for the best. Different apps have different demographics, content types, ways to engage and more.
Keeping up with new and existing platforms is essential if you want to engage your current community and expand it. This article will explain the best social media platforms for business marketing, so you can select the best ones for your social media strategy. We’ve got the need-to-know stats—including more research from the Sprout Social Index—and insights from all the popular and emerging social apps.
Why should you use social media apps for your business?
Social media apps provide the perfect avenue for reaching your audience where they already are. The Index found that 93% of consumers believe brands should keep up with online culture, and the best way of doing that is through actively managing social profiles.
Social media apps can help you identify who your audience is, and understand what they expect from you. You can use social media management tools to perform advanced techniques like sentiment analysis and social listening to better understand your brand’s reputation and what your audience actually thinks. Social apps can also be used as a direct communication line with your customers, through engagement like comments and messages.
These apps are where conversations are happening, and where culture is being pushed forward. The more your brand engages on them, the more you’ll connect with your customers.
20+ best social media platforms for business to boost your strategy
We’ve ranked this list of the 20 best social apps based on their number of monthly global active users. But it doesn’t mean the apps with the most users are right for your business.
Consider factors such as demographics, content preferences, time spent on each platform and popular discussion topics. Compare this to your target audience to reveal where your audience is, and how you can use some of these platforms to connect with them.
1. Facebook
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: Over 3 billion
- US users: Over 179 million
- Average time spent per day (US): 30 minutes (2023)
- Largest age group: 25–34 year-olds
- Who should use it: Brick and mortar small businesses (think: local events and reviews) and nonprofits (think: fundraisers) are two industries that stand out on Facebook. It’s also useful for creating different interest groups, offering customer service and social advertising.
Still reigning as one the best apps for social media worldwide, Facebook is a network businesses can’t afford to ignore. With 90% of consumers having a Facebook profile, according to the Index, there’s a good chance your next customer is on Facebook.
Facebook messaging and reviews are an important touchpoint between customer service and social media as it’s a key platform to meet customers looking for support and answers. Adding a Facebook chatbot through a tool like Sprout Social can boost your conversational social messaging and responsiveness.
2. WhatsApp
Key Stats:
- Monthly global unique active users: Almost 3 billion
- US users: Over 68.1 million (2023)
- Average time spent per day: Approximately 34 minutes (2023)
- Largest age group: 26-35 year olds
- Who should use it: Direct-to-consumer brands like retailers or financial services can benefit from offering customer service to an international audience.
WhatsApp is the most popular global messaging app. For brands, WhatsApp presents an opportunity to personally connect with customers all over the world, providing timely support and real-time business updates.
There are many options for using WhatsApp for business, from standard customer care to creative marketing. For example, Domino’s Pizza Indonesia increased their sales by 72% in 2023 by using WhatsApp.
3. YouTube
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: Over 2.5 billion
- US users: 215 million
- Average time spent per day: Approximately 50 minutes (Worldwide in 2024)
- Largest age group: 15-35 year-olds
- Who should use it: The industries with the strongest influencer media value on YouTube are tech, gaming, food and beverage, beauty and fashion. And as the second largest search engine in the world, YouTube content can expand your reach.
YouTube is an ideal platform for brands looking to reach and engage with their audience on the platform and in Google search. With the addition of YouTube Shorts, the network has created multiple ways to leverage video.
Of all the social platforms, YouTube is where people spend most of their time. Edutainment is a content factor, but you can also feature products in visually appealing and engaging ways. Chipotle uses their channel for short films and celebrity features, but they also feature simple videos highlighting new dishes.
4. Instagram
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: Around 2 billion
- US users: Over 159 million
- Average time spent per day (in the US): 33 minutes
- Largest age group: 25-34 year olds
- Who should use it: Travel, beauty, fashion and health/fitness tend to do well on Instagram. If your brand is all-in on influencer marketing, user-generated content and short-form video, Instagram is crucial.
Instagram is a top social media app globally and has impressive reach in certain regions. For example, it’s one of the best social media apps for brands targeting UK adults. As the preference for short-form video increases, brands need to invest in networks like Instagram where this content is king. Instagram is also a key place to tap influencers and creators—which is especially impactful for Gen Z and Millennial audiences. According to The 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report, 84% of social media users who are Gen Z or Millennial have an Instagram profile, the most out of all the social media platforms.
The ease of Instagram shopping has also made the platform an ecommerce hub. Leveraging this feature can help you connect with customers while generating sales. Bassike, an Australian clothing brand, regularly does this in their social media content. Customers can click on whatever the model is wearing, learn more about the items and purchase it for themselves in seconds.
5. TikTok
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: Over 1.5 billion
- US users: 170 million
- Average time spent per day: 58 minutes
- Largest age group: 10-29 years old
- Who should use it: TikTok remains a great option for businesses targeting younger demographics around the world with video content.
Known for short videos, TikTok dominates as one of the top social platforms US consumers spend the most time on—and it’s no longer the new kid on the block. Showing up with authentic content on TikTok can build trust with consumers on the platform—73% of users feel a deeper connection to brands they interact with on TikTok vs other platforms. Considering nearly half of users say TikTok helped them make purchase decisions, that trust can go a long way.
H2 6. WeChat
Key Stats:
- Monthly active users: Over 1.3 billion (mostly Chinese-speaking)
- US users: 1.5 million
- Average time spent per day: 80 minutes
- Largest age group: 22% of users in China are between 31 and 40 years old, and 22.7% are 51+
- Who should use it: Brands with an international presence and target audiences who speak Chinese languages.
Part messaging app, part payment app, part lifestyle platform, WeChat’s social commerce integrations and high message capacity have made it an element of everyday life for users—especially in China. On the social connection side, WeChat users send more than 45 billion messages every day. And on the financial side, WeChat is a leader of mobile payments in China.
Users can do everything from booking and paying for medical appointments to reserving taxis and tables at restaurants. WeChat’s many app integrations make it easy to follow Official Accounts—basically, business profiles. In fact, nearly 50% of users follow 10-20 Official Accounts.
7. Reddit
Key Stats:
- Members worldwide: 1.2 billion
- US users: 221.19 million
- Average time spent per day: 34 minutes
- Largest age group in the US: 20-29 years old
- Who should use it: Reddit is a great place to listen to your community or join specific conversations.
Reddit is one of the best social media apps for traffic, with billions of visits per month and over 100,000 interest-based communities making it a top social media platform. Since their deal with Google, (Reddit has allowed Google to access their content to train their AI in return for more visibility in search results) web traffic has also increased. It’s known for promoting authentic connection, where Redditors specifically look for and join conversations they can trust. Even if you don’t join the conversation, listening to what Redditors are saying leads to valuable insights that you can use to improve your brand.
One unique Reddit marketing strategy is hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything). The game’s website IGN hosted a big AMA at the start of 2025 to discuss how they review games with their Reddit fans.
8. LinkedIn
Key Stats:
- Members worldwide: 1 billion
- US users: 190 million
- Average time spent per day: 34.8 minutes
- Largest age group: 25-34 years old
- Who should use it: Almost every business can benefit from being on LinkedIn, particularly if you are a B2B company.
While LinkedIn is often associated with B2B marketing, there are plenty of reasons why other brands should consider developing their LinkedIn strategy.
As the world’s largest professional network, it’s one of the best social media platforms for recruitment, thought leadership and lead generation. Brands can hyper-target their professional audience using rich demographic data and interest-based filtering. It’s also home to investors, making LinkedIn a valuable resource for establishing investor relations and your employer branding strategy.
It’s important to note, LinkedIn has recently switched up its content style to include short-form videos. This means brands can diversify their content calendar and speak directly to potential customers and future employees in a similar style to TikTok, YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels.
9. Telegram
Key facts:
- Monthly global active users: 950 million
- US users: 20 million
- Average time spent: 4 hours per month
- Largest age group: 25-34 years old
- Who should use it: As a chat platform it should be used similarly to apps like WhatsApp.
Like WhatsApp, Telegram offers business accounts that can be used to interact with customers directly, as well as handle marketing directly through the platform. While it has a very low US user base at the moment, it’s popular in other regions, particularly India. Companies that need regional customer service here or in other countries with a large number of Telegram users could benefit from creating an account.
Telegram is useful for SMEs who want to give pre-set information to their customers quickly and automatically. Businesses can set their opening hours and location on a map so customers can easily find them and know when they’re open. There’s also an option for ‘quick replies’ which are shortcuts to additional information like menus, what’s in stock, daily specials or reservations.
10. Snapchat
Key Stats:
- Daily active users: Around 800 million
- US users: 87.3 million
- Average time spent per day: 30 minutes
- Largest age group: 15-25 year-olds
- Who should use it: Businesses that hold in-person events or experiences can benefit from using customized geofilters or AR effects on Snapchat.
Snapchat can be one of the best social media platforms for your brand if your audience is mainly Gen Z. With daily active users increasing by 18% year over year, the platform’s popularity is growing with younger crowds.
Snapchat has also leaned into augmented reality with filters and AR shopping. Considering that 92% of Gen Z is interested in AR shopping experiences, Snapchat could be a powerful social media platform to amplify your products to this audience. The mobile-only UK bank, Starling Bank, used Snapchat to market to 18-34-year-olds and saw great success.
11. Kuaishou
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: Around 700 million
- Average time spent per day: 129 minutes (2022)
- Largest age group: 31-35 (in China) years old
- Who should use it: Kuaishou is a popular alternative to TikTok, with large user bases in places like China and Brazil. It should be considered by brands who are very active in these markets.
Kuaishou’s content is short video, similar to TikTok’s, but interestingly its largest age group is much older than TikTok’s. For brands already creating short-form video, Kuaishou could represent a way to leverage this format for an older international audience, considering the high viewer base and average time spent on the app.
Kuaishou isn’t accessible in the US at the moment, but it can be very useful to add it to your global social media strategy if you have regional accounts.
12. X (formerly known as Twitter)
Key Stats:
- Monthly active users: Around 600 million
- US users: 76.9 million
- Average time spent per day: 11 minutes
- Largest age group: 18-29 year-olds
- Who should use it: The jewelry industry gets the most engagement on X, as does fast-moving consumer goods, food, beverages and home.
X is one of the top social media apps for brands keeping up with the latest trends. X also enables brands to receive direct audience feedback and questions. And being responsive can build your brand’s image—X customer care interactions lead to a 58% better attitude towards brands. Irish airlines RyanAir knows the importance of customer engagement. It often posts light-hearted content and is always available for audiences on X.
X has changed a lot in the past couple of years following its rebrand. Brands relying on X therefore need to keep up with its changing features, as well as how its user demographics are changing.
13. QQ
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: 550 million
- US downloads: Almost 700,000 in 2023
- Average time spent per day: less than 30 minutes (China in 2020)
- Largest age group: Under 26 (China in 2023) years old
- Who should use it: QQ is best for brands marketing towards people in China. It’s also growing internationally, making it an app to watch for the future.
QQ is an instant messenger platform managed by Tencent, one of China’s biggest tech companies. It has a young user base in China, which remains its largest market by a considerable margin.
If you communicate regularly with Chinese customers, consider starting a QQ alongside a WeChat account. Tencent has also created international versions of QQ that are worth monitoring, as these may grow in popularity and become a more viable choice for companies outside of China.
14. Pinterest
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: Around 500 million
- US users: 90 million
- Average time spent per day: 14.2 minutes
- Largest age group: 50-64 year olds
- Who should use it: Some of the most popular categories on Pinterest include fashion, food and drinks, beauty, home decor and travel.
Pinterest is one of the best social media platforms for business marketers when it comes to spotting emerging trends and targeting niche audiences. It’s also consumers’ go-to platform for inspiration and finding new brands—97% of top Pinterest searches are unbranded, and 85% of users go to start a project, like planning for a wedding or a birthday. And while the majority of their user base skews older, Gen Z users are growing on the platform.
Sprout uses Pinterest to curate content around special events and advice around social media management.
15. Threads
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: 300 million
- US users: 30 million
- Average time spent per day: 6 minutes (2023)
- Largest age group: Over 24 years old
- Who should use it: Threads works similar to X, which makes it useful for customer service and brands making use of text content. Though it’s still quite new, brands are starting to experiment on the platform.
Since it’s managed by Meta, Threads also has a lot of interactivity with other Meta apps like Instagram.
Having a Threads account gives your customers another way to communicate with you, if Threads is their preferred text-based platform. UK-based grocery chain Lidl GB’s post below is a good example of how brands use informal language to engage with their customers.
16. RedNote
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: 218 million
- US users: 3 million
- Average time spent per day: 18 minutes per visit
- Largest age group: Under 24 years old
- Who should use it: Though TikTok access in the US has been returned, alternatives like RedNote are worth considering, particularly for brands that also operate in China.
RedNote is maybe one of the trendiest social media platforms at the moment as its US users exploded in the first few weeks of 2025. RedNote’s features mirror Instagram and TikTok’s, and it’s become one of the most popular apps in China.
This means brands who saw success on Instagram and TikTok could gain similar traction on RedNote. However, it’s wise to monitor the platform in the next few weeks to see if it becomes a top social media app for the US.
17. Tumblr
Key Stats:
- Worldwide visits in March 2024: 190 million
- Monthly active US users: 16.74 million
- Average time spent per month: 20 minutes
- Largest age group in the US: Under 35 years old
- Who should use it: Consumers on Tumblr spend a lot of time on entertainment program topics.
Tumblr helps brands flex their creative muscle with a variety of content formats from text posts to photos to videos and even audio content. Brands can reach their intended audience, targeting users based on demographic information like location and interest. Gen-Z also makes up a whopping 48% of the microblogging site’s audience.
Big brands like Disney have been known to use Tumblr to reach younger audiences. They operate an official Disney Pixar account, where they share behind-the-scenes artworks and information about films for their followers.
18. Discord
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: 150 million
- US users: 23% of all traffic
- Average time spent per day: 17 minutes
- Largest age group: 25-34 years old
- Who should use it: Discord can be a popular app for communicating with customers and digital distribution. It’s most commonly used by companies and brands that work in video games.
Discord is a slightly unique social media app, as it is very community and chat-focused. Users create or join groups based on their interests and direct message each other through these groups.
If you work in games, creating a Discord chat is the perfect way to connect with your customers. You can build a community around your games and get direct feedback on your development. Even though Discord is seen as a gaming platform, any company can create a Discord community, which is worth considering if you rely a lot on feedback from your customers.
19. Twitch
Key Stats:
- Average monthly visitors: Over 100 million
- US users: 41.5 million
- Average time spent per day: 95 minutes a day
- Largest age group: 20-29 year-olds
- Who should use it: If your brand is in the gaming industry, Twitch is a given. The platform has 73% of the market share when it comes to streaming platforms for gamers.
Though Twitch is often associated with gaming, it’s quickly becoming the go-to platform for all things live-streaming. At any given time there are millions of active streamers on Twitch, making it an ideal platform for brands looking to target younger audiences like Millennials and Gen Z through live video.
20. Bluesky
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: 20 million
- US users: 3.2 million
- Average time spent per day: Approximately 10 minutes
- Largest age group: Under 35 years old
- Who should use it: It could be a good choice for brands who want to test new platforms before they potentially grow their user base.
While Bluesky’s active users are still quite low overall, its growth metrics are very positive, with an almost 100% increase in users in October 2024. Though B2C brands are still more likely to be posting on Bluesky at the moment (54% vs 12% B2B), 40% of B2B marketers plan to invest their time on the social media platform moving forward. Seventy-three percent of Australian marketers say their brands are already posting on Bluesky.
Bluesky posts are text-based, and the company is focused on building an open community. This could make it a strong direct communication channel for brands in the future. A few brands with strong online presence have already gained a following on Bluesky, like the bookseller Waterstones.
21. Lemon8
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: 16 million
- US users: 1 million
- Average time spent per day: 40 minutes
- Largest age group: 25-34 years old
- Who should use it: Lemon8 is a growing social media platform that’s partnered with TikTok. Content on Lemon8 is mostly designed to appeal to women and is lifestyle-focused, making it a smart choice for brands specifically targeting women.
Lemon8 is a fast-growing platform, with a 120% increase in users from 2023–24. It’s positioned as a trendier alternative to TikTok, with similar short videos and its partnership with the company.
It also adopts a Pinterest-style board view and topic tabs that range from home, fashion, beauty, food, wellness and travel.
22. Mastodon
Key Stats:
- Monthly global users: 10 million
- Monthly active users: 1 million
- Average time spent per day: 5 minutes (November 2022)
- Largest age group: 25-34 years old
- Who should use it: Mastodon is another microblogging platform, and may be suitable for businesses in niche markets.
Mastodon is an open-source platform. It has a tight-knit community and is mostly used by people interested in software development or decentralized social media.
Its user base is still very small when compared with other platform options. But providing content for this specific audience can benefit brands targeting niche audiences.
23. Neptune
Key Stats:
- Monthly global active users: The platform is currently in beta testing
- Who should use it: Neptune is a new platform that’s trying to stand out from the crowd. It’s a good option for innovative brands looking to set themselves apart from their competitors.
Though Neptune hasn’t fully launched, it’s worth keeping an eye on to see if its innovative approach results in a popular platform in the future. It’s built on a unique content approach, including letting users customize their algorithms with a focus on content quality.
Since social media changes so often, it’s always wise for marketers to keep an eye on possible new apps. Who knows—in a few years, Neptune might be the next big platform.
Find the best social apps for your brand
To build customer relationships that last, you first need to identify where your audience lives online. But knowing which social media platforms your customers frequent is only half the battle. You also need to understand what makes each social media site tick and the rules of engagement.
Check out our social media benchmarks by industry resource to effectively set benchmarks for yourself on various social media platforms and inform your social strategy.
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