I hope my marketer’s guide to social media performance in 2025 will help with your their planning for the coming year.
Social media is a foundational layer of global commerce and communication. With the total global social networking audience estimated to reach 5.42 billion users in 2025, understanding platform performance is non-negotiable for marketers.
Meta, with a market value of $1.4 trillion as of late 2024 and its ownership of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, remains the undisputed powerhouse. Here is your essential guide to navigating the performance, demographics, and marketing opportunities across the Meta family of apps in 2025.
Meta’s Ecosystem at a Glance
| Metric | Detail | Implication for Marketers |
| Total Users | Connects billions of daily users across four of the world’s largest platforms. | Unmatched scale for audience reach, retargeting, and brand awareness. |
| Annual Revenue | $164.5 billion (2024) | Demonstrates the immense, continuous investment in ad technology and features. |
| Reels Playback | 138.9 million Reels played per minute across Facebook and Instagram. | Video/Short-Form is the priority. Content strategy mustheavily feature vertical video. |
| Threads Growth | 150 million mobile app downloads in just 6 days (July 2023). | Signals high consumer appetite for new ‘text-first’ platforms; a space to watch for brand narrative. |
Facebook: The Global Giant & Conversion Driver
Despite its age, Facebook remains the most used social media platform globally and is crucial for top-to-bottom-funnel marketing activities.
| Metric | Statistic | Marketing Insight |
| Monthly Active Users | 2.9 Billion (Most popular globally) | Unrivalled reach. A must-have for all broad awareness campaigns. |
| Daily Active Users | 3.43 Billion (Across the Facebook family of apps, Jan-Mar 2025) | High daily routine engagement ensures maximum ad visibility. |
| Key Demographics | Largest Audience: India (~383M users). Access: 98.5% use mobile devices. | Geo-target heavily in emerging markets. Optimise all assets for mobile-only consumption. |
| B2C Usage | 91% of B2C marketers use Facebook for marketing purposes. | Still the primary channel for B2C content and community-building. |
| Ad Platform Value | 94% of marketers use Meta for ads; 44% rate Facebook as the most important platform. | Highly trusted ad platform for performance marketing and scalable campaigns. |
Key Takeaway for Marketers
Facebook is your platform for scale, conversion, and targeting broad demographics, particularly for B2C and lead generation. Prioritise short-form video (Reels) and mobile-optimised creatives.
Instagram: The Discovery and Youth Culture Engine
Instagram has solidified its role as the platform for product discovery, aspirational content and reaching younger audiences.
| Metric | Statistic | Marketing Insight |
| Monthly Active Users | 2 Billion | Massive, highly visual and highly engaged audience. |
| Audience Size | Largest Audience: India (413.85M users). USA:~171.7M. | Strong global relevance, especially in APAC. |
| Core Demographics | 60% of users are 18-34 years old. 91% of Gen Z have a profile. Gender is nearly balanced (50.6% Male / 49.4% Female). | The definitive channel for reaching youth culture and future consumer bases. |
| Product Discovery | 61% of social media users use Instagram to find their next purchase. | High purchase intent. Focus on Shoppable Ads, Product Tags and in-feed/Stories catalogue integrations. |
| Ad Performance | In-feed ads account for nearly 54% of ad revenue. Small brands (1k-5k followers) get the highest Reels view rate (~20%). | While in-feed is essential, prioritize working with nano/micro-influencers for superior organic Reels performance. |
| Top Content | Reels and Stories are the preferred video formats. | Stories are perfect for time-sensitive, casual content; Reels for discovery and reach. |
Key Takeaway for Marketers
Instagram is the ultimate platform for visual storytelling, brand building, and social commerce. Focus your budget on discovery and mid-funnel consideration to drive product views.
WhatsApp and Messenger: The Conversational Commerce Channels
Messaging apps are evolving from simple communication tools into powerful channels for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), service, and direct sales.
WhatsApp: Global Scale and Customer Service
| Metric | Statistic | Marketing Insight |
| Monthly Active Users | Over 2 Billion (Most used mobile messaging app globally) | Essential for any business with a significant global customer base, especially in regions like India. |
| Volume & Growth | Over 100 billion messages sent daily; volume grown by ~54% since 2018. | Signals massive customer comfort and reliance on the platform for daily communication. |
| Business Adoption | WhatsApp Business grew from 50M to 200M monthly active users between 2020-2023. | Businesses are rapidly moving to the platform to manage customer relationships at scale. |
Marketing Use
Leverage WhatsApp Business API for 1:1 customer service, order updates, abandoned cart recovery and sending permission-based, personalised offers with incredibly high open rates.
Facebook Messenger: Engagement & Automation Hub
| Metric | Statistic | Marketing Insight |
| Reach | 1 Billion users (~12% of the global population). The 7th most used social platform. | High penetration in key Western and APAC markets (Australia, Canada, Philippines, Vietnam). |
| User Profile | Largest Group: Men 25-34 years old. | Effective for reaching key decision-makers and high-value customer segments. |
| Business Engagement | Over 40 million businesses use Messenger; 8 billion messages sent monthly between businesses and customers. | A highly mature channel for conversational commerce. |
| Automation | Over 300,000 chatbots used by businesses. | Automation allows for 24/7 lead qualification, instant customer support and guided purchasing flows, making it the most used messaging app by brands. |
Marketing Use
Use Click-to-Messenger Ads for lead generation, real-time customer support, and using chatbots to segment and nurture prospects before handing off to a human agent.
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About Me
If you enjoy my blogs, you might be curious about my background. I’ve worked in PR and Marketing since 1993. Later, in 1999, I founded a full-service agency and spent the next 24 years successfully growing it. During that time, I had the privilege of partnering with some of the biggest blue-chip brands in the UK and learned extensively from the exceptional marketing professionals I met along the way. Then, in 2023, the management team I built successfully acquired my agency, 8848, setting me free to pursue new passions.
Now, my love of marketing and communications powers our own family venture: a retreat of holiday cottages in the Peak District. I love making brands look and work better, and consequently, in just a few short years, we’ve driven significant growth. In fact, thanks to my focus on SEO, we consistently rank on page one for most key regional search terms, making 2025 our busiest year yet.
Do you need help making your brand or business perform better? If so, I’d love to meet you.