Leading Social Media Brands in the US: Q1 2025 Analysis

Introduction

As we move into 2025, the social media landscape continues to evolve with major players like YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook maintaining strong footholds. Leveraging data from Sensor Tower, we provide an insightful analysis of these brands from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025, focusing on monthly deduplicated audience numbers, app engagements, and advertising trends. Sensor Tower’s comprehensive data allows us to cross-reference web, app, and advertising insights, offering unparalleled visibility into user behavior.

YouTube

YouTube, renowned for its vast video content library, continues to captivate audiences through its website, youtube.com, and the YouTube app.

• Audience Trends: YouTube maintained a stable monthly deduplicated audience above 320M throughout the quarter. The web and app audiences were roughly similar, with a slight increase in web-only visitors peaking at over 83M in March 2025.

• App Engagement: The YouTube app sustained a steady monthly active user base, hovering around 258M.

• Ad Spend & Channels: A notable increase in monthly ad spend was observed in March 2025, reaching nearly $5.8M, with a significant rise in impressions across Instagram and TikTok channels.

TikTok

TikTok, a leader in short-form mobile video, operates through its websites, douyin.com and tiktok.com, alongside the TikTok app.

• Audience Trends: TikTok's platforms saw fluctuations, with a peak of over 200M monthly deduplicated users in January 2025. The app-only audience dominated, consistently surpassing 100M.

• App Engagement: TikTok's app usage slightly dipped in February but rebounded to over 109M monthly active users by March 2025.

• Ad Spend & Channels: TikTok's monthly ad spend surged to over $9.4M in March 2025, with Facebook and Instagram being the primary channels for impressions.

Facebook

Facebook, the social networking giant, includes its website, facebook.com, and the Facebook app.

• Audience Trends: The monthly deduplicated audience remained stable around 280M. The app-only audience was slightly larger, reflecting over 120M users consistently.

• App Engagement: The Facebook app maintained a steady monthly active user base, nearing 254M by March 2025.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Facebook's monthly ad spend decreased to around $3.1M in March 2025, with Snapchat being a significant channel for impressions.

Conclusion

The social media giants—YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook—continue to dominate the US market with substantial monthly deduplicated audiences and robust app engagement. Sensor Tower’s data highlights the intricate dynamics of web and app usage, offering essential insights for brands and marketers. The ability to cross-reference comprehensive web, app, and advertising data underscores Sensor Tower’s pivotal role in navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape.

For more insights, explore Sensor Tower’s Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics.