Social media has changed the way individuals, organizations, and communities create, consume and share content. Social networks have helped people communicate and break geographical barriers that restricted instant communication, allowing successful social media collaborations. Over the years, Kenya’s population has been on the rise to a whopping 55.60 million people according to Global Digital Insights. In this respect, there has been a rise in social media users in Kenya and social media services as well. This article will take you through the social media applications in Kenya and their users. There are roughly 11.7 million social media users in Kenya as of January 2022.
[lwptoc]Facebook Users in Kenya
Facebook is an American online social network service that is part of the company Meta Platforms. According to Statcounter Global Stats, the majority of mobile users in Kenya use Facebook to connect, communicate and access information. As of March 2022, there were over 12 million Facebook users. This shows that 42.9 percent of Facebook users in Kenya are women. While Facebook’s largest audience was male users making up 57.1 percent of its user base. The company revised the audience figures which show that Facebook’s ad reach in Kenya was equivalent to 17.9 percent of the total population at the start of 2022. Additionally, the reach in Kenya is equivalent to 42.6 percent of the local internet user base, regardless of age.
Facebook Messenger Users in Kenya
Facebook Messenger is a non-free instant messaging platform and application developed by Meta Platforms. According to Statista, Facebook Messenger has a penetration rate of 19.7 percent in Kenya. A total of over 11 million users utilize the messaging platform for connection and communication purposes. The largest audience of Facebook Messenger users in Kenya are from the age of 25 to 34 years and make up 35.1 percent of the user base. This is followed by users aged from 18 to 24 years. Meta’s advertising research shows that ads on Facebook Messenger reached 1.90 million users in Kenya. While the revised audience numbers suggest that Messenger’s ad reach in Kenya was equivalent to 3.4 percent of the total population. As of the start of the year, 45.2 percent of Facebook Messenger’s ad audience in Kenya was female while 54.8 percent was male.
YouTube Users in Kenya
Youtube is an American online video-sharing platform that allows users to enjoy content or music or upload videos for public or private consumption. Over the years there has been a rise in content creators using social media to push their respective Youtube channels. In Kenya, there is a variety of content creators who dabble in lifestyle, make-up, and comedy content which garner a lot of attention. In Kenya, there are 9.29 million users of YouTube as of early 2022. This means that its ad reach was equivalent to 16.7 percent of Kenya’s population at the start of the year. In-depth, that means that these ads reach 39.9 percent of Kenya’s total internet user base regardless of age. As of January 2022, 42.7 percent of YouTuber’s audience is female, while 53.7 percent is male.
Twitter Users in Kenya
Twitter is an American microblogging and social networking service communications company. In Kenya, Twitter is used as a means of communication, connection, and sometimes accessing information. Most times Kenyans use Twitter as a way to share discord or share memes and debates on topics. Such an example of this is the #KenyansonTwitter, KOT for short. As of early 2022, Twitter’s advertising resources show that Twitter had 1.35 million users. This means that the ad reach in Kenya is equivalent to 2.4 percent of the total population at the time. The ad reach in Kenya is comparable to 5.8 percent of the local internet user base regardless of age.
LinkedIn Users in Kenya
LinkedIn is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites. The platform is used primarily for professional networking and career development, to allow job seekers to link with potential employers. The figures published by LinkedIn advertising research indicate that the platform had 2.90 million members. The ad reach on LinkedIn shows that the audience in Kenya was equivalent to 5.2 percent of the total population at the start of 2022. In context, the ad reach in Kenya is comparable to 12.4 percent of the local internet user base. As of early 2022, the largest audience reached on LinkedIn is male at 62.2 percent, while women make up 37.8 percent.
Instagram Users in Kenya
Instagram is an American social networking service that focuses on photo and video sharing. This application allows its users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by the use of hashtags and geographical tagging. Numbers published by Meta’s advertising tool indicate that in early 2022, Kenya had 2.50 million Instagram users. This suggests that the ad reach in Kenya was comparable to 4.5 percent of the total population. It is also important to note that the application’s ad reach was equivalent to 10.7 percent of the local internet user base as of the beginning of 2022. It was also revealed that 54 percent of Instagram’s ad audience in Kenya was male, while 46.0 percent was male.
Snapchat Users in Kenya
Snapchat is an American social network that works with the principal features that include pictures and messages that are available for a short amount of time before they become inaccessible to their recipients. It works as an instant messaging app and service. In Kenya, Snapchat is used as a means of communication and in some cases, accessibility of information through Snapchat’s video series. Data published by Snapchat’s adverting indicated that the app had gained 1.75 million users at the beginning of the year. This means that the ad reach was close to 3.1 percent of the total population. The ad reach Snapchat has is equivalent to 7.5 percent of the local internet user base, as of January 2022. In that context, 28.1 percent reflects the male audience while 70.0 percent reflects the female audience.
Why is this information important?
The statistics are important because although some Kenyans use traditional media to discover brands, social media makes it easier for brands to be discovered because it links them directly to their audience, through various social media apps.
Conclusion
When it comes to social media users in Kenya, it can be noted that they use social media primarily to connect with family and friends. Moreso, other than accessing content, it is used in the accessing of information and is an easy way to directly reach potential consumers.
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