As a business leader, you don’t need another reminder that social media marketing exists. Your customers are scrolling, searching, watching, and interacting with your brand across multiple platforms every day. What’s changed — and what matters for 2026 — is social media’s scale, sophistication, and influence on brand visibility and trust.
Owning your brand on social media has long been an asset, but as AI search eclipses traditional methods of discovery, a robust social media presence becomes a measurable business requirement.
Quick Insights
- Over 5.24 billion people globally engage on social media in 2025, making it the largest communication ecosystem on earth.
- U.S. adoption remains high: 84% YouTube, 71% Facebook, 50% Instagram, 37% TikTok among adults.
- Social media is a primary channel for brand discovery, trust-building, and customer connection across ages and demographics.
- Younger audiences are increasingly shaped by creators, communities, and social-first content, rather than traditional media.
- Marketers and business leaders are shifting their budgets and strategies toward social channels for scalable reach and measurable results.
- Social media is a frontline tool for PR, customer engagement, and — when needed — crisis communication and reputation management.
The Current State of Social Media: Where Your Customers Are Spending Their Time
Let’s look at the numbers: as of 2025, over 5.24 billion people worldwide maintain at least one social media identity. That’s 63.9% of the population. In the U.S. alone, 84% of adults use YouTube, 71% use Facebook, 50% use Instagram, and 37% use TikTok.
With such huge audiences, social platforms have become one of the first places where people turn for a mix of entertainment and information; it’s where they conduct product research, interact with brands, and find their news each day. Social media has transformed from the “top of the funnel” into the whole thing.
Platform Usage Trends and What They Mean for Your Brand
Just like not all platforms carry equal weight, the audiences for these specific platforms vary, too:
- Younger audiences (under 30) gravitate toward Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. These are places where creator-driven, visual content drives engagement, discovery, and community.
- Older audiences continue to use Facebook and YouTube regularly, often for news, long-form video, and brand or interest-based pages.
- Many users (globally and in the U.S.) engage on multiple platforms, meaning brands have to think cross-platform versus “one and done.”
One major shift entering 2026 is that consumers, particularly younger ones, increasingly trust creators, peers, and community voices over traditional institutional advertising. Brands that collaborate with creators and build authentic, personality-rich content often enjoy organic engagement and discoverability in this space.
The Business Case: How Social Media Drives Measurable Results
Building a smart case for additional social media investment in 2026 requires hard data.
A 2024 industry report finds 78% of marketers say social media increases their brand exposure, with a majority saying that social still effectively drives measurable traffic to their sites. Customers engaging with a business spend as much as 40% more on the brand’s products and services, and those who’ve had positive experiences with brands are more likely to recommend them to others.
Social media’s utility lies in its flexibility; you can run paid campaigns or post for daily organic engagement. Both are cost-effective ways to reach broad audiences and build brand awareness, often at a fraction of the cost of traditional channels.
How are small businesses leveraging social media? Let’s dig in:
Brand Awareness and Discovery
- Up to 90% of marketers report a social media-driven increase in brand visibility.
- Brands that have leveraged their social platforms for awareness have also expanded to seek direct revenue-related activity.
- Paid social campaigns are some of the most cost-effective ways to reach target audiences thanks to precise targeting, measurable results, and broad reach.
How does that translate to cost-effective discovery? Consider the case study of McCarthy and Stone, whose Facebook lead ads allowed interested people to learn more about real estate properties with just a few taps. The ads, modestly priced, produced 4.3 times more sales leads than the previous year.
Customer Engagement and Loyalty
Social media isn’t just for promotion, either. The smartest brands use it to connect with their customers (enthusiastic and not) to both surprise and delight and resolve customer service issues.
The engagement pays off, too:
- Customers who interact with a business on social media spend 35–40% more on that brand’s products or services.
- Positive social media experiences drive word-of-mouth and referrals, too. After satisfying interactions, consumers are often more likely to recommend the brand to others.
- By contrast, poor social responsiveness and limited engagement carry significant risk. Recent research suggests that more than 50% of customers will switch to competitors after a single negative service experience.
Don’t exclusively look at social media as a channel for discovery and talking at your audience. Consider it a specific touchpoint for building loyalty and driving customer value to reduce churn by talking to them. Using social media in a focused way helps provide relevant information about your products and gives direction to your SEO strategy.
Why Social Media Branding and Advertising Are Essential Investments
Let’s be clear, though. Organic reach might be on the downswing, but engagement remains strong. People worldwide spend about two and a half hours each day on social media.
Posting more, especially in 2026, isn’t enough. You have to create smarter content that better aligns with your brand. Own your voice and identity and do your best to manage the customer’s experience across every interaction.
Winning brands invest in:
- Consistent visual identity and tone
- Strategic mix of organic and paid content
- Audience segmentation and targeting
- Storytelling that feels authentic, not salesy
When done right, social-first content strategies outperform volume-based posting and deliver better awareness, trust, and conversion metrics.
Staying Relevant in Online Culture
Knowing that social media is critical is one thing, and leveraging paid media for brand awareness is another, but how do you remain relevant to your audience?
93% of consumers say it’s important for brands to keep up with online culture, including by infusing humor into your posts and ads. But there’s a knife’s edge between remaining current and becoming cringe. You have to know your audience and understand their sensibilities. The wrong joke could send your reputation into a tailspin as it goes viral for all the wrong reasons. On the flip side, going viral for a good reason can help expose your brand to a new audience.
Social Media as Your Crisis Management and Digital PR Tool
In a crisis, social media becomes one of your most powerful assets. With social, brands can:
- Respond in real time
- Communicate transparently
- Clarify misinformation before it spreads
- Share consistent updates across platforms
Combined with broader digital PR efforts, social media gives brands control over their narrative and can help rebuild trust during controversies. It can also mitigate reputational damage faster than traditional media cycles allow.
Silence during a crisis does not serve your needs. If you’re not addressing an issue, someone else will.
Getting Started: Building Your 2026 Social Media Strategy
If you’re ready to invest (or reinvest) in social media this year, start with a plan:
- Choose the right platforms based on where your audience spends time. Use data. Don’t guess.
- Define a strong, consistent brand voice. From visuals to messaging, make sure everything aligns across channels.
- Set up engagement protocols. Who responds to comments, how quickly, and what’s the tone? Define it.
- Implement measurement frameworks. Track traffic, leads, conversions, sentiment, not just likes or followers.
Social media is too powerful and too influential to treat as an afterthought. A structured, intentional strategy ensures your brand shows up with purpose and impact.
Make 2026 the Year Your Brand Shows Up With Intention
Social media is often the place where modern brands are built, challenged, and chosen. With billions of users and rising customer expectations, showing up with intention is strategic leadership.
In 2026, the brands that win will be those that communicate clearly with their customers and invest in creating meaningful connections before they need them. Social media is a core business asset, not a box to check. Position your brand for stronger visibility and loyalty as you seek resilience over the long term.
Finding the right social media marketing partner can help shore up gaps in your strategy and provide the guidance you need to take your campaigns — paid or otherwise — to the next level. Contact us for more information and schedule a call.
FAQ's
Social media is important for business because it’s where your customers spend time, form perceptions, and discover brands. With global adoption surpassing 5 billion and high U.S. engagement, social channels influence awareness, trust, and purchasing more than ever.
Social platforms impact brand awareness by offering instant visibility, targeted reach, and real-time feedback. They enable brands to reach potential customers instantly and build brand recall faster than traditional media.
Social media often delivers measurable increases in brand exposure, web traffic, leads, and conversions. Paid social campaigns offer precise targeting and cost-efficient reach.
Social media enables real-time, direct communication with your audience — letting you respond quickly, provide transparency, and manage your brand’s narrative before misinformation or speculation takes hold.
Base platform choice on where your target audience spends time. In 2025, YouTube and Facebook reach broad, cross-demographic audiences; Instagram and TikTok resonate with younger users; LinkedIn remains key for B2B and professional outreach.
Nice article! The numbers around global usage and how younger audiences prefer social discovery are compelling, definitely makes the case for investing more intelligently in social strategy.
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