What social media platforms are most used by marketers?

Research highlights: Facebook is the most used social media platform for marketing, with 86% of marketers leveraging it, and delivers the highest ROI globally. Facebook (91%) is the top choice for B2C marketers, and LinkedIn ranks as the top B2B social media marketing platform (86%). Overall, Meta platforms dominate both B2B and B2C marketing, with Facebook and Instagram used by the majority of marketers.

Related research: Social media marketing growth: key statistics & trends | How many people use social media (+ age & country) | What are the top social media platforms in the world? | What's the average time spent on social media each day?

Top social media platforms for marketing

Facebook is the top social media platform for marketing, with 86% of marketing professionals leveraging the platform
Instagram is the second-most used social media platform among marketers, with 79% reporting it as part of their social media marketing mix
LinkedIn, used by 65% of marketers, ranks third overall and leads as the top platform for B2B marketing, highlighting its role in social media marketing effectiveness for professional audiences
Despite being a video-first platform, YouTube is used by just over half of marketers (51%)
X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok are used by fewer marketers, at 31% and 28% respectively. This is potentially due to platform-specific controversies or concerns over ad effectiveness and user targeting
Threads has yet to gain traction, with only 9% of marketers including it in their strategies
While TikTok has grown in popularity among users, less than a third (28%) of marketers report using the platform for social media marketing
Despite being a Meta-owned platform, the gap between Facebook and Threads in terms of social media marketing use is substantial at 77 percentage points

LinkedIn is the most used social media platform by B2B marketers, with 86% of respondents reporting they use it for marketing according to a recent global survey by Statista, slightly ahead of Facebook at 83%
Instagram is also widely adopted in the B2B space, used by 75% of marketers
YouTube is used by just over half of B2B marketers (51%)
TikTok is used by only 24% of B2B marketers, indicating limited traction in the B2B space despite its explosive growth in consumer markets
X/Twitter shows a significant drop in adoption compared to more visual or professional platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram, used only by 32% of B2B marketers
Threads has the lowest adoption rate among B2B marketers at just 8%
The gap between LinkedIn (86%) and Threads (8%) underscores the wide disparity in how different platforms are valued for B2B marketing
Meta dominates the B2B marketing landscape, with Facebook (83%) and Instagram (75%) used by a majority of B2B marketers, far outpacing rivals like X/Twitter and TikTok

Facebook remains the top choice for B2C marketers, with 91% of respondents using it, an even higher share than among B2B marketers (83%)
Instagram is used by 86% of B2C marketers, making it the second most popular platform and showing its strength in visual and lifestyle-driven content
LinkedIn is less prominent in B2C marketing, with just 55% adoption and 31 percentage points lower than its use among B2B marketers (86%)
YouTube is used by 53% of B2C marketers, nearly identical to its use among B2B marketers (51%), suggesting video content remains important but not dominant in both B2B and B2C strategies
TikTok adoption is higher among B2C marketers (32%) than B2B (24%), reflecting its stronger appeal in direct-to-consumer engagement
X/Twitter has near-equal usage among B2C (31%) and B2B (32%) marketers, indicating a plateau in relevance for both groups
Threads remains the least used platform in B2C marketing as well with only 9% adoption
Meta platforms dominate B2C marketing even more than B2B, with Facebook (91%) and Instagram (86%) signaling unmatched reach in consumer engagement

Despite increasing competition, Facebook delivers the highest return on investment among social platforms, according to marketers surveyed in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America, with 28% of marketers ranking it as most effective in terms of ROI
Instagram is the second most ROI-effective platform according to 22% of marketers. This is likely due to its emphasis on visual storytelling, influencer partnerships, and in-app commerce features that resonate particularly well with younger, consumer-oriented audiences
YouTube delivers top-tier ROI for 12% of marketers. Its inclusion by over 1 in 10 marketers as their best ROI platform confirms the platform’s strength in brand storytelling and audience engagement through video
Half of marketers believe the best ROI comes from Meta-owned channels, reinforcing the platform’s cross-channel efficiency, retargeting capabilities, and mature ad tools