Facebook, owned by Meta, has been the undisputed leader among social media platforms for a long time, surpassing its predecessors like MySpace. Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has amassed a massive daily user base of approximately two billion people. However, the spotlight has shifted recently to TikTok, in South Africa as well as worldwide, developed by ByteDance.
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In just seven years, TikTok has achieved remarkable success and is estimated to have reached a monthly user base of 1.4 billion by the end of 2022. Disregarding this platform would be a significant oversight, even in the local market.
Last Friday, Ornico and World Wide Worx published the South African Social Media Landscape 2023 study, providing insights into the social media landscape in South Africa and the platforms that are capturing the nation’s attention.
The study, based on Ask Afrika’s Target Group Index (TGI) survey of 24,744 respondents, represents 28.1 million South Africans and is weighted to the population. Ornico and World Wide Worx also surveyed social media usage by South Africa’s biggest brands and incorporated additional data sources, making it a highly anticipated and comprehensive research report available at no cost.
The study’s key finding reveals the rising popularity of TikTok, but with a significant caveat. Among South Africans aged 15 and older, Facebook remains the top social media platform, with 56.7 percent of the population using it. TikTok has surpassed Instagram to claim the second spot, with 30.6 percent of respondents on the platform. Instagram closely follows with a 27.6 percent penetration rate, while Twitter and LinkedIn have 22.5 percent and 14.7 percent penetration, respectively.
Arthur Goldstuck, CEO of World Wide Worx, emphasizes the importance of the youth audience in South Africa’s social media landscape. He points out that when a platform like TikTok, which has a strong presence among those under 15, gains significant traction among older youth and young adults, it indicates a significant shift in the social media landscape.
However, there is a significant challenge for TikTok to overcome. TikTok faces a major obstacle due to the high cost of data in South Africa and the impact of video content on data caps. The South African Social Media Landscape 2023 study highlights that TikTok’s penetration among the lowest socioeconomic levels is less than eight percent, compared to a penetration rate of 57 percent among the highest level.
Despite TikTok’s growing popularity, the affordability of data poses a significant barrier, particularly for users with limited financial means. This hampers its reach among certain segments of the population, creating a digital divide in terms of platform accessibility.
