Leading Social Media Brands in Japan: Q4 2024 Analysis

Introduction

In the rapidly evolving landscape of social media in Japan, Q4 2024 presented intriguing trends among leading platforms. This article delves into the performance of YouTube, TikTok, and X Corp. (formerly Twitter), highlighting audience engagement, app usage, and advertising dynamics. Sensor Tower’s comprehensive data, including insights from Web Insights, Pathmatics, and App Performance Insights, provides a unique lens into these trends.

YouTube

YouTube's digital presence is vast, combining its website, youtube.com, and the YouTube app.

• Audience Trends: From Q3 to Q4 2024, youtube.com maintained a robust monthly deduplicated audience, consistently above 98M. Visits per unique visitor remained stable, with a notable peak in December at 370 visits per user.

• App Engagement: The app’s monthly active users hovered around 92M, indicating steady engagement without significant fluctuations.

• Ad Spend & Channels: YouTube’s monthly advertising spend saw varied trends, with a peak in October at over $20K, primarily via X, leading to over 14M impressions. Facebook and TikTok channels saw minimal activity.

TikTok

TikTok’s presence is marked by its websites, douyin.com and tiktok.com, alongside the TikTok app.

• Audience Trends: Both websites experienced growth, with tiktok.com reaching over 111M visits in December. The monthly deduplicated audience for TikTok surpassed 30M by the end of Q4.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users remained strong, nearing 23M, showing a slight increase towards the end of the year.

• Ad Spend & Channels: TikTok’s monthly ad spend peaked impressively in October at over $1.5M, generating substantial impressions exceeding 287M. Instagram was a significant channel, with high engagement and impressions.

X Corp. (formerly Twitter)

X Corp.’s digital footprint includes its website, x.com, and the X app.

• Audience Trends: X.com saw consistent unique visits, peaking at over 20M in December, with a stable monthly deduplicated audience around 40M.

• App Engagement: The app witnessed a slight decline in monthly active users, closing the year at around 29M.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly advertising spend was minimal, with a peak in September at just over $2.5K, primarily through TikTok, indicating a focused yet limited strategy.

Conclusion

The social media landscape in Japan during Q4 2024 showcased diverse strategies and engagement levels among leading brands. YouTube maintained a strong web presence, TikTok leveraged its app and expansive ad strategies, and X Corp. focused on stabilizing its audience. Sensor Tower’s unparalleled data offerings continue to provide essential insights into these dynamic trends, enabling businesses to navigate and strategize effectively in the digital arena.

Sensor Tower’s tools offer a competitive edge, empowering decision-makers with the data needed to drive strategic growth and innovation in the digital marketing space. For more information on how our insights can benefit your business, explore our Web Insights, Pathmatics, and App Performance Insights.