Marketing Through Social Media in the United States

Ashleigh Burke
BCOM 214
December 3, 2022
Table of Contents

AN OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA INDUSTRY...............................................................................................3

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW.................................................................................................................................................3

FACEBOOK AS THE MOST POPULAR PLATFORM..........................................................................................................4

TIKTOK AS THE FASTEST GROWING PLATFORM.........................................................................................................4

INSTAGRAM AS A RETAIL PLATFORM..........................................................................................................................4

SECTOR SEGMENTATION......................................................................................................................................4

MAJOR PLAYERS AND COMPETITORS.........................................................................................................................4

GENDER DEMOGRAPHICS...........................................................................................................................................5

AGE DEMOGRAPHICS..................................................................................................................................................5

FUTURE PREDICTIONS...........................................................................................................................................5

SOCIAL MEDIA AS THE FUTURE OF MARKETING........................................................................................................5

CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................................6

REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................................7

TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1............................................................................................................................................3

Figure 2............................................................................................................................................6
This document outlines important information surrounding the utilization of social media as a
marketing tool in the United States. The emergence of the social media industry has been on the
rise since the early 2000s. Since then, various platforms have been introduced and have seen
widespread success in reaching audiences worldwide making them promising tools for the future
of the marketing industry. This report includes an overview of the social media industry, its
potential as a marketing tool, industry trends, sector segmentation, and capitalizes future
predictions.

An Overview of Social Media Industry

Industry Overview

As social media popularity rises, so does the potential for sector segmentation. Social media
allows businesses to increase brand awareness and engagement while simultaneously increasing
sales traffic and generating revenue. Continuous social media traffic volume indirectly increases
the utilization of these platforms as marketing tools. According to Dixon, “In 2021, over 4.26
billion people were using social media internationally, this number is projected to surpass six
billion people by 2027” (Dixon, 2022). This increase in social media traffic aids the transition to
the utilization of these platforms for marketing opportunities (Lua, 2022).
Figure 1

Figure 1 (Dixon, 2022)

The graph illustrates the social media traffic trendline from 2018 until 2027. This trendline
shows a substantial increase in the number of social media users (in billions) over the twentieth
century. Many popular marketers can recognize this industry trendline is only set to see
continuous rapid growth, as social media is becoming an integral part of daily internet usage
(Dixon, 2022).
Facebook as the most popular platform

Facebook is the most popular social media network internationally. Due to its extensive
audience, Facebook is the most important social media platform for marketers. Facebook has a
widespread audience and high engagement rates, with an average of 2.41 billion daily active
users. Facebook also generates 97.6% of their total revenue from advertising alone. In 2021,
Facebook’s ad revenue hit $115 billion. Since Facebook maintains such an active widespread
audience, it has become a crucial marketing platform (Lin, 2022).

TikTok as the fastest growing platform

TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform internationally and thus has great potential
for expanding marketing opportunities. TikTok’s popularity has rapidly surpassed that of most
other social media platforms and this trend is only estimated to keep growing. To date, TikTok
has amassed 80 million active users in the U.S. alone. In 2021, TikTok generated four billion in
advertising revenue making up for 87% of their total revenue. Since, TikTok’s traffic volume is
anticipated to be continuously on the rise and is thus a strong marketing tool (Mou, 2020).

Instagram as a retail platform

Instagram is the most popular marketing platform for retail advertising and sales. Instagram has
integrated various tools for optimizing marketing efforts throughout the platform. The platform
has amassed over 2 billion monthly active users. In 2021, Instagram’s marketing revenue was
$47.6 billion, accounting for 56% of their total revenue. Retail companies especially can utilize
Instagram as their primary marketing tool and increase both audience and revenue.

Sector Segmentation
Major Players and Competitors

While the social media industry is open to new platforms and constantly evolving, there are
current major players leading the industry: Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. Facebook ads
allow marketers to find new fans, connect with existing fans, and retarget their audience.
Instagram ads allow marketers to visually promote brands to attract fans and retarget audiences
(Hill, 2019). The major platform competitors are Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn. While the
competitors are notable, their interaction rates and in-app marketing tools are limited when
compared to those of Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.

Gender Demographics
Social media usage varies based on gender demographics, by understanding these differences
marketers can alter marketing efforts to increase revenue. Facebook’s audience when evaluated
on a gender basis consists of 43.4% women and 56.6% men. TikTok’s audience is divided into
43% women and 57% men. Instagram’s demographics include 49.3% women and 50.7% men.
Each platform attracts varying gender demographics. Companies can utilize this information to
better reach and attain their target audiences based on gender (Duggan & Brenner, 2014).

Age Demographics

Social media usage varies based on age demographics, by understanding these differences
marketers can alter marketing efforts to increase revenue. Facebook’s target age group is 25-34
year olds because they make up the highest interaction rates. Tik Tok’s target age group is 10-19
year olds because they have highest engagement rates. Instagram’s target age group is 25-34 year
olds because they interact on the app the most. Each platform attracts varying age demographics
companies can utilize this information to better reach and attain their target audiences based on
age (IBISWorld, 2021).

Future Predictions
Social Media as the future of marketing

The advancement of technology aids the increase in social media engagement, which directly
increases marketing success through these platforms. Social Media Algorithms have set up a
system to reward those with highly engaged audiences and content that people consume. The
future of social media marketing is influenced by the strive towards a more personalized
platform experience (Pauline, 2022). By utilizing these in-app personalization marketing
strategies, marketers can work the media algorithm to better achieve and attain their target
audience. Future predictions found that annual advertising social media expenses are set to rise
to $134 billion by the end of 2022 (IBIS World, 2021). Since projections of social media
engagement are only set to increase, revenue from marketing campaigns will also directly
increase.
 Figure 2

Figure 2 (Stelzner, 2020)

The graph illustrates the relationship between U.S. Marketer’s utilization of social media
marketing in comparison to influencer marketing. This shows how the implementation of
personalization tools within these platforms has changed marketing tactics. Marketers are now
able to better curate their ad campaigns on a more personal level to reach their target audience,
rather than the previous broader attempts of endorsing ads through influencers (Stelzner, 2020).

Conclusion
This report covered an overview of the social media industry, its potential as a marketing tool,
industry trends, sector segmentation, and capitalized future predictions. The social media
industry is only set to follow its continuous growth pattern making it a vital marketing
opportunity. Social media platforms are only set to continue seeking a more personalized
experience for their users by promoting more targeted ads to increase target audiences. The
social media industry is continuously growing for years to come and with this growth brings
opportunity for successful marketing campaigns. For more information about the social media
industry as a marketing tool, please direct all inquiries to ashleighburke@airzona.edu.
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