The “TikTok effect” on influencer marketing is palpable, but Instagram and YouTube are still highly relevant venues for creator video.

TikTok is now the third largest social network in the US, ahead of Snapchat and Pinterest. Facebook won’t be able to stop the teen exodus, Instagram’s user base is growing older, and Twitter will start losing users.

While Instagram giveth, Facebook taketh away. The Meta-owned platforms face diverging futures. Instagram's US user base will increase by 4.0% this year to 128.3 million, while Facebook's will decline by 0.8% to 178.3 million.

For many content creators, Instagram isn’t everything. In the US, 41.0% of creators run websites or blogs to reach their audiences outside of social media. Newsletters and podcasts are also tools they use to staying connected. But perhaps most notably, 43.3% do not use anything other than social platforms.

TikTok and Instagram were once again the top US social networking apps of 2021, downloaded 94.0 million and 64.0 million times that year, respectively. Snapchat took third place with a 10% jump in downloads, leapfrogging Facebook, whose downloads fell by 11%.

TikTok was the No. 1 mobile app in the US last year, with 94.0 million downloads, a 6% increase over 2020. Runners-up Instagram and Snapchat reached 64.0 million downloads and 56.0 million downloads, respectively, meaning the three most downloaded apps in the US were all photo- and video-sharing platforms.

Among US social video viewers, YouTube is the most popular place to watch live content, with 52.0% tuning in on the platform. Facebook ranks as their second app of choice, used by 42.6% for live video, while Instagram and TikTok tie for third with 33.4%.

US Instagram ad impressions are split mostly between two formats. For the US clients of performance marketing firm Tinuiti, 47.0% of impressions came from the feed and 42.0% from Stories in Q4 2021.

For the first time, in 2021, Instagram will pull in more US ad revenues ($26.46 billion) than the core Facebook platform, its ad marketplace, and Messenger combined ($23.84 billion).

User-generated short videos are all over the internet, from TikTok to Instagram Reels to Triller, and the marketing opportunities are exploding. Here’s how the main venues compare across usage, paid advertising, organic and influencer marketing, and commerce.

For the first time, Instagram will make up over 50% of parent company Facebook's $50.30 billion in net ad revenues in 2021.