Social media keeps growing. The number of social media users grew by 5.6% in 2023. As of the beginning of 2024, it means that there are now more than 5 billion social media users worldwide. But how are these users distributed across the different social networks? And how do monthly active users in social media inform your marketing strategy? Let’s shed some light on it!
What Are Monthly Active Users?
Monthly active users (MAU) are those who engage with a social network within a period of 30 days. It is a key performance indicator (KPI) for software, websites, or apps that measures engagement. These numbers provide insights into user interaction as well as indicators of growth and retention.
The specific actions that are tracked may vary but they usually mean ones such as logging in, viewing content, interacting with posts, completing transactions, or following links. Such interactions are important metrics that track user engagement and interest in the service, showing effectiveness, audience behavior, and popularity.
The number of monthly active users is also a better-guiding aspect than the number of daily active users as it provides a more consistent insight into user activity over a longer period of time. This helps determine long-term strategies, user retention, and growth.
Ultimately, they help businesses and/or developers with improvements, optimization, and marketing strategies.
Monthly Active Users in 2024
Occasionally voices pop up saying social media is dying. But if you look at the current monthly active users in social media, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Nearly all major social media networks have seen a rise in monthly active users in 2023, with Facebook even crossing the 3 billion mark (and securing its position as the world’s favorite social media network).
Grab our social media report on monthly active users in 2024 at the bottom to get the full overview of all major networks!
There is no one definitive reason for this growth. However, according to the Datareportal Report 2024, 49.5% of users aged 16 to 64 use social media to keep in touch with friends and family, 38.5% to fill spare time, and 30.2% to find new content. Some other notable reasons are “seeing what’s being talked about” (28.7%), “sharing and discussing opinions with others” (22.7%), and “making new contacts” (22.5%). All of this indicates that social media now isn’t merely about entertainment but about meaningful social connection as well.
Instagram, for example, even prioritizes engagement and interaction. Another trend that drives engagement is that more and more users, especially younger age groups, use social media networks as search engines to look for information.
That is to say that social media is far from dying, and the amount of monthly active users is proof of that.
Why Understanding MAU Matters for Businesses
But why should businesses and marketers care about MAU?
You may think that MAU don’t really matter much for your social media strategy. After all, everyone knows Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are huge.
As already mentioned, to determine monthly active users, social media networks track the users’ engagement with the platform, usually explicit interaction with its content rather than a simple log in. By understanding MAU data, you can identify the largest audience reach, user retention, and growth. This helps you determine and finetune your social media activities.
It’s also helpful in tracking emerging platforms to decide whether or not they have potential for your business.
However, MAU is one of many metrics you should track to determine whether or not the network is the right fit for you. Keep an eye on age and gender demographics as well. Consider user behavior and their top reasons for using a social network. That way you can optimize your targeting and maximize your reach, growth, and–you guessed it–engagement.
Making Good Use of Monthly Active Users with Social Media Management Tools
As we’ve established, engagement is the driving factor for growth in social media. To increase engagement, you need compelling content, and you need to invest hours upon hours into posting that content to your various social media networks. Time you could be spending on less tedious and much more important tasks.
Aren’t you tired of that? Yeah, we are, too.
But we’ve got the solution for you! Streamline your publishing and scheduling tasks in just a few minutes with Blog2Social, your smart social media management tool. Manage all of your social media channels from a single place: your Blog2Social dashboard. Benefit from features like automated content publishing, precise scheduling using the Best Time Manager, and the social media calendar to simplify your social media management.
Gain back that precious time and put it to good use: making the most of the MAU and creating great content to engage your target audience!
Wrapping Up
Monthly active users in social media are an insightful metric to keep an eye on in terms of user retention and growth. This number shows you the potential of a social network and lets you keep track of it. However, don’t get stuck on that number. It’s only one aspect that informs your social media marketing!
With the right strategy, you can increase your engagement and grow your business with social media. Social media management tools like Blog2Social help you save time on posting and scheduling, so you can focus on analyzing your metrics.
Get the Social Media Report with Monthly Active Users for free!
Are you curious to gain insights into this year’s MAU? Grab your Social Media Report 2024: Monthly Active Users down below and step up your social media game now!
Anastasija Zado received an M.A. in English literature and then trained in content marketing management. She now uses her skill and knowledge from both courses as an online marketing manager working for ADENION GmbH, a company that specializes in online marketing and social media automation.
About the author
