Social media is incredibly important for most businesses that want to expand their digital profile, sell products online, and increase brand awareness/engagement.

Most people know that social media is used by a significant proportion of the U.S population, but the current statistics on social media use are staggering: 79 percent of online users are on Facebook, 500 million LinkedIn users pay for premium accounts, Instagram hit 1 billion users in 2018, and 81 percent of millennials check Twitter daily.

Creating an optimized social media profile is crucial for businesses to increase consumer engagement with their brands. However, some social media platforms are becoming greater opportunities for this converted engagement than others. Below, we’ve highlighted some of the fastest-growing social media channels according to updated stats from the Pew Research Center.

Instagram may be the fastest growing social media channel to date

User growth on Instagram has skyrocketed and is one of the fastest-growing social media channels. The platform’s 1 billion users by the end of 2018 represented a seven percent increase from last year, which equaled out to 35 percent of all online users.

60% of all Instagram users visit the platform daily and engage with other users. The platform also has significant opportunities for marketers to engage a larger Facebook audience as well. Pew found that nearly 91 percent of Instagram users also use Facebook, most likely spurred by the fact that Facebook owns Instagram.

Current user growth is not slowing down soon on Instagram as more users continue to interact with brand hashtags, submit and respond to visual content, and find creative ways to leverage on the platform.

Snapchat provides an opportunity to market to younger demographics

Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, made headlines when they released their IPO. While the stock has not delivering on lofty investor promises, the Snapchat platforms continues to experience significant growth.

Only behind Facebook on daily visit percentages among all active users, 49 percent of Snapchat’s 188 million users check the platform each day.

Snapchat is extremely popular among younger adults and presents and enormous opportunity for brands targeting millennial and Gen-Z demographics. Approximately 78 percent of Snapchat’s user base are between the ages of 18-24.

Companies that want to experiment in short form video content may want to look into Snapchat, especially when trying to engage younger consumer audiences with their brand.

Pinterest has experienced exponential growth in recent years

Pinterest has recently grown as a major player among social media platforms after gaining immense valuations and user bases, according to Forbes.

The platform has been valued as high as $12 billion dollars and has a user population of over 200 million users, making it one of the fastest growing social media channels in recent memory.

Pinterest may also provide companies and brands that advertise predominantly to women an immensely useful platform. Recent user activity on Pinterest consists of over 70 percent of women. However, the platform is currently making changes and new pins to also focus on men as well.

The three social media channels above could be prime opportunities for marketers to create visually-engaging content for interested users. Leveraging video, original photos, and similar visual assets may allow digital marketers to benefit from the current social media “gold rush” we are witnessing.