Social media by the numbers 2026

YouTube (84% of US adults) and Facebook (71%) reach the most people, followed by Instagram (50%) and TikTok (37%), according to Pew Research Center's 2025 survey. For a Texas business, two more numbers matter: 28.2% of Texans speak Spanish at home, and 56% of Hispanic adults use WhatsApp. Pick one or two platforms your customers actually use, and route every lead to a conversation you can track.

The problem? Many businesses pick a platform because it's trendy or because the owner uses it, not because their customer is there or because they can keep producing for it every week. Then they measure success in likes.

How many Americans use each social platform?

Share of US adults who say they ever use each platform, from Pew Research Center's survey of 5,022 adults (February to June 2025):

Pew's 2026 survey shows usage holding steady: Facebook 70%, Instagram 51%, and TikTok 37% of US adults.

For advertisers, DataReportal's Digital 2026: United States report, with late-2025 data, puts Facebook's ad reach at 71.4% of US adults, Instagram's at 64.1%, and TikTok's at 55.7%.

Three caveats for reading these numbers:

• "Ever use" isn't daily use, and ad reach comes from each platform's own ad tools, so treat it as a ceiling, not active users.
• They're national. Neither Pew nor DataReportal publishes a Texas breakdown.
• Year-to-year comparisons need care, because both sources have changed their methods. Check the data date before you plan a budget.

What changes for a Texas business?

Language. In Texas, 28.2% of people age 5 and older speak Spanish at home, and about one in five do in the Austin metro (Census, 2024). And Hispanic adults use most platforms more than the national average:

Source: Pew Research Center, 2025. Translating an ad isn't the same as talking to someone in their language: write for the questions Spanish-speaking customers actually ask, and make sure someone can answer them in Spanish.

Where should a Texas business advertise?

For a small business, the rule is simple: start with one or two platforms you can sustain every week. Being good on two beats being mediocre on five.

Is TikTok advertising worth it for a Texas small business?

It depends on who you sell to. Pew found that 63% of adults 18 to 29 use TikTok, compared with 12% of those 65 and older. If your customers are younger, it can be worth it. But the real cost isn't ad spend, it's content: TikTok rewards frequent, natural video. If you can't produce at least a couple of videos a week, start on Facebook or Instagram. If you do commit to video, see our social media video tips.

How do you turn social leads into sales?

1. Answer where the customer writes. For most Texas customers that's a call, a text, or a web form; for many Spanish-speaking customers it's WhatsApp.
2. Reply fast. An unanswered inquiry is a customer calling your competitor.
3. Use business accounts, not personal ones, such as WhatsApp Business, so the conversations stay with the company.
4. Run ads that start a conversation. On Facebook and Instagram, you can run ads whose button opens a message to you.
5. Record where each lead came from, so you know which campaign sells.

If you follow up by text, get documented consent first: the federal TCPA can apply to marketing texts.

How do you connect WhatsApp Business to a CRM?

Once several people handle conversations, or you get dozens a day, the app stops being enough. That's when businesses use the WhatsApp Business Platform, which connects WhatsApp to a CRM to assign conversations, automate follow-up, and measure sales by campaign.

What to know about cost, according to Meta:

• Since July 1, 2025, Meta charges per delivered template message, by category (marketing, utility, or authentication) and the recipient's country.
• Replies are free within 24 hours of a customer's message.
• When a customer arrives from an ad that opens WhatsApp, a free 72-hour window opens for all messages.

A well-configured CRM turns every conversation into a lead with follow-up. For a bilingual insurance agency in Central Texas, we set up a CRM with 15 automated workflows, from instant lead response to appointment reminders. See the case.

How do you measure social media results beyond likes?

Measure conversations, leads, sales, and what each one cost, not followers or engagement. In a volunteer drive for an international social development organization, the goal wasn't reaching 300,000+ people, it was the 800+ confirmed sign-ups. See the case.

For the numbers to ask for every month, read marketing agency vs in-house team, and for what it costs to run your social channels, social media management pricing.

One honest caveat: these figures tell you where people are, not where your customers are. Before you invest, ask your current customers how they found you.

Want to know which platforms to invest in?

We'll review your customer, your capacity to produce content, and your current channels, and connect your social media and messaging to your sales so you can see what works. Explore our visibility and measurement service.

Sources

• Pew Research Center, Social Media Fact Sheet (survey of 5,022 US adults, February to June 2025): https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/
• Pew Research Center, What social media platforms do people use around the world? (October 2026): https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/10/01/social-media-platform-use-around-the-world/
• DataReportal, Digital 2026: The United States of America (published November 2025): https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-united-states-of-america
• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, Language Spoken at Home (S1601), Texas: https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2024.S1601?g=040XX00US48
• Meta for Developers, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing/
• WhatsApp Business, business app: https://whatsappbusiness.com/products/business-app/