Top 10 Social Media Sites in 2021

It is hard to keep track of the trends in social media. Where do people socialize online in 2021?

Some empires crumble (like MySpace). Others grow to prominence seemingly out of nowhere and disappear again (like Google+).

Thus I decided to provide a current list of the most important sites based on sheer size. Of course I don’t have the means to know their sizes. Thus I used third party data from someone in the know.

Here’s a list of the top 10 12 largest social media sites and two bonus sites.

Most people just want to find out the most influential or popular social media sites based on the number of members and active usage. Here are the stats:

I took the data from the Digital 2021 Global Overview Report by we are social and Hootsuite:

  1. Facebook – Sharing with friends and family
  2. Youtube – Video sharing, commenting
  3. WhatsApp – Instant messaging
  4. Facebook Messenger – Instant messaging
  5. Instagram – Lifestyle image and video sharing
  6. Telegram – Private instant messaging
  7. TikTok – Funny video sharing
  8. Snapchat – Short term instant messaging
  9. Pinterest – Image sharing/bookmarking
  10. Reddit – Topical social news communities
  11. Twitter – Short message and link sharing
  12. Quora – Questions and answers community

Take note that Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram are all owned by the same person – controversial billionaire Mark Zuckerberg.

As you see I have ignored the Chinese social media tools nobody uses in the West. They are that huge because China has over a billion inhabitants.

Remember though that you can’t possibly participate at numerous of social media sites at the same time.

Choose not more than 3 to 5 and focus on these. Indeed most people do it that way. According to GWI the average social media user is actively participating on “2.75” sites.

Personally I focus on

currently.

This list does include popular instant messaging apps like WhatsApp because they are also social even though in essence they are more about private one to one communication or talking to small groups than being social in general.

Do you need help with your social media strategy and usage? As an experienced social media manager I can help you allocate resources, grow your audience and increase engagement organically.