Once upon a time, social media was well just about that— connecting with your close friends and relatives. Simple messages in the inbox of requests from people you actually knew. But things have long since been changed. Social media is now an entire field for people to explore. Not only do people share photos, status updates with each other, but with so many social media platforms out there, each one has a niche of its own. This gives variety and flexibility to social media users.
At the moment, half of the world's population can be found on social media networks. And the remaining half are most probably not there due to either poor internet connection or no internet connection at all. These people may include those living in rural or far-flung areas, or even people who just want to avoid social media. Regardless of these figures, social media has expanded and continues to do so, with the number of users marked at a remarkable 3.8 billion.
Facebook beats all other social media platforms with approximately 2.6 billion monthly active users, just a few numbers away from reaching the 3 billion mark. On second and third positions, we have Whatsapp and Youtube, with 2 billion monthly active users for both. Not to forget that Whatsapp too is a Facebook acquisition, as well as Messenger and Instagram. And both Messenger and Instagram occupy the fourth and fifth ranks respectively, separated by WeChat at number 5, the only Chinese social media venture to be in the top 5, while the rest are all American companies.
Other than the personal perspective, social media has transformed the way businesses work. Due to the variety of social media marketing opportunities, businesses both large and small have tweaked their marketing models accordingly. It has also paved the way for many other tasks, such as finding jobs in groups, more outreach for those working in the creative sectors, and endless potential for small business owners working from the comfort of their homes.
But what other platforms are revolving around in the social media universe in 2020? The following infographic by Visual Capitalist illustrates the power of each.
Infographic by: VisualCapitalist
