Leading Social Media Brands in the UK: Q1 2025 Insights

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, Q1 2025 has seen notable activity among the leading platforms in the United Kingdom. This article delves into the performance trends of YouTube, Facebook, and WhatsApp, highlighting their digital presence and advertising strategies. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data offerings provide a unique lens through which these insights are gathered, from web and app usage to monthly advertising expenditures.

YouTube: A Digital Powerhouse

YouTube's digital presence remains formidable, with its website and YouTube app consistently attracting a massive audience.

• Audience Trends: The monthly true audience for YouTube remained stable, hovering above 64M throughout Q1 2025. The website consistently saw more unique visits compared to app-only visitors, indicating a strong web preference among users.

• App Engagement: Monthly active users of the YouTube app were steady, with numbers exceeding 48M by March 2025, highlighting a consistent user base for mobile experiences.

• Ad Spend & Channels: YouTube's advertising efforts saw significant fluctuations, with a notable spike in February 2025, where monthly ad spend reached over $740K and impressions soared past 117M, primarily driven by TikTok and Instagram channels.

Facebook: Steady Engagement

Facebook continues to maintain its stronghold as a leading social media platform, with its website and Facebook app showing stable user engagement.

• Audience Trends: Monthly true audience figures for Facebook hovered around 45M, with a balanced distribution between web-only and app-only visitors, indicating diversified engagement across platforms.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users remained around 40M throughout the quarter, showcasing stable mobile engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Facebook's monthly advertising spend was modest, with Snapchat being the primary channel for ad impressions, which exceeded 500K by March 2025.

WhatsApp: Consistent Messaging Platform

WhatsApp remains a dominant force in messaging platforms, with its website and WhatsApp Messenger app showcasing robust user engagement.

• Audience Trends: Monthly true audience figures for WhatsApp consistently surpassed 57M, with a notable preference for app-only usage, reflecting its mobile-centric nature.

• App Engagement: The app saw a steady increase in monthly active users, reaching over 54M by March 2025, indicating a growing mobile user base.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Advertising activity was minimal, with a brief monthly expenditure on Reddit in December 2024, highlighting WhatsApp's limited focus on paid media.

Conclusion

The social media landscape in the UK during Q1 2025 reveals distinct trends for YouTube, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Each platform exhibits unique engagement patterns across web and mobile channels. Sensor Tower's unparalleled insights into cross-platform user behavior and advertising strategies provide a comprehensive view of these dynamics. For more detailed insights, explore our Web Insights and Pathmatics offerings, alongside app performance data from App Performance Insights.