As of 2012, more than 1.4 billion internet users have accessed social networks; 157.8 million of which were located in the United States. Despite the ubiquity of social networks, market potential is still increasing, as user figures and user engagement continue to grow.

• Number of social network users in selected countries
• Global social networks with highest year-on-year user engagement growth
• User growth in countries using social networks

Leading social networks usually boast a high number of user accounts or strong user engagement metrics. For example, Facebook recently surpassed the 1 billion user mark whereas relative newcomer Pinterest was the fastest independent website in history to reach more than 10 million monthly unique visitors. Overall, U.S. users spent more than 121.8 billion monthly minutes on social media.

• Leading social networks worldwide ranked by number of registered users
• Most popular social networks in the United States, ranked by audience
• Average time spent on social networking sites worldwide

Market leader Facebook has shaped the social media landscape since its inception by constantly pushing boundaries not only in terms of scope but also in the area of user privacy issues. Apart from being the most popular social network worldwide, it has also become an integral part of online marketing and has made great progress in the development of social advertising.

• Leading countries based on number of Facebook users
• Leading product brands with the most fans on Facebook
• Social media marketing expenditure in the United States

Recently, social networking has demonstrated a clear shift towards mobile platforms. Smartphone and tablet apps as well as mobile web access have facilitated Twitter’s constant presence. In addition they have heightened the profile of location-based services like Foursquare and enabled users to comfortably access visual blogging sites including Tumblr and Pinterest via tablet.

• Year-on-year audience growth of popular mobile social networks in the U.S.
• Number of mobile social network users in the United States

• • Overview
  • Leading websites
  • Facebook
• • User behavior
  • Mobile access
  • Advertising