The Social

Social Media in Brazil - 2023 Stats & Platform Trends

Last Updated: January 27, 2023
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Welcome! Here at OOSGA, we've combined insights from our partners across various markets and our own hands-on experience to bring you this brief. If you are interested in partnering with us on social media marketing & research within Brazil, let us know!
The Outlook

How does social media look like in Brazil?

With an internet penetration of more than 80% and mobile penetration of close to 100%, the internet market in brazil is relatively developed comparing with other regional peers. Hence, the use of social media is maturing in the country and even leading in the Latin American market.

The regulation of social media has been a highly debated topic among various groups in recent years, with bills such as the “Fake News Bill” remaining stalled in Congress for nearly two years. However, recent violent attacks on Brazil’s Congress and other government buildings have brought attention to the role of social media algorithms in these events, and may lead to increased pressure for the passing of regulations on content moderation and digital platforms in the near future.

The way people use social media changed dramatically during the pandemic, it becomes more than just connecting with friends and family or following fan page etc for most Brazilian. The pandemic has led to a significant shift towards social media for Brazilian retailers as the lockdown was imposed.

Beauty specialist retailers, in particular, have used WhatsApp as a platform to reach customers and enable direct payment, a trend known as social selling. Despite the lifting of quarantine restrictions, many retailers have continued to see strong growth in online sales, and as a result, they are turning to social media to remain relevant and offer customers a favorable online shopping experience.

Home and garden specialist retailers also saw a strong shift towards social media during the pandemic. Even retailers that were classified as essential businesses and were able to continue operating throughout the year saw strong growth in online sales. In response, retailers are turning to social media-oriented marketing strategies to increase their digital presence. In particular, the use of messaging app WhatsApp to establish and maintain close contact with customers formed a key element of the shift towards digital channels during the pandemic. This is likely to continue as many Brazilian consumers have a strong preference for social commerce and WhatsApp is the most commonly used messaging app among Brazilian consumers. Therefore, it is likely that the forecast period will see numerous players operating in home and garden specialist retailers increase their digital presence on social media platforms.

Table of Contents
Internet Population|% of Population
Mobile cellular subscriptions|Per 100 Peopel
The Demographics

How are users distributed in Brazil?

Throughout 2022, on average there are about 171.2 million active social media users in Brazil on a monthly basis with an annual growth rate of 14.3 % in 2021-22 . This represents about  79.9 % of the total population. These social media users on average spend about 3.68 hours on social media and each on average have accounts on 8.7 platforms.

% of Total Social Media Users|Note: Meta's figure as reference, 2022

Main Drivers Behind Using Social Media?

Source: Survey by GWI. Users in Brazil that are aged 16-64 years old

What kinds of accounts do users follow?

Source: Survey by GWI. Users in Brazil that are aged 16-64 years old
The Platforms

What kinds of platform is used in Brazil?

According to data on search trends, WhatsApp has maintained its position as the top platform in Brazil since surpassing Facebook and Instagram during the pandemic. According to estimates by GWI in 2022, approximately 96% of internet users in Brazil use WhatsApp, while usage of Facebook and Instagram is around 88% and 90%, respectively.

In 2022, Instagram surpassed Facebook in terms of users in Brazil, as many Brazilian users are visual shoppers and the platform’s design supports this trend. This is also why TikTok has been gaining popularity. Note that data from Napoleon suggests otherwise, but based on observation and interviews with local marketers, Instagram is more widely/heavily used.

Most Used Platforms (% of Internet Users)|Note: 2022
Most Loved Platforms (% of Internet Users)|Note: 2022
Platform Figure (% of Population)|Source: OOSGA Analytics; eMarketer, Napoleon Cat, Facebook, ByteDance, Microsoft | Note: No LinkedIn Data Prior to 2019/8
Explore Social Media in Other Countries

Facebook Overview in Brazil

With the latest data published in January 2023, we can see that at the growth rate of 0.99%, there is now around 163.1 million Facebook users in Brazil . With male users account for around 45.13% and female users account for around 54.87%.

% of Total Population | 2022
Facebook Users | Unit: a Thousand People
Facebook User Growth | % of Population
User Growth By Age | Unit: a Thousand People
As legal restriction, figure of 13-17 is often underestimated(underreported) and 18-24 is overestimated
User Growth By Age | Unit: % of its Associated Age Bracket
Number may exceed 100% as multi-accounts holders or fake accounts prevail in the country

Instagram Overview in Brazil

With the latest data published in January 2023, we can see that at the growth rate of 1.03%, there is now around 122.9 million Instagram users in Brazil . With male users account for around 42.39% and female users account for around 57.61%.

% of Total Population | 2022
Instagram Users | Unit: a Thousand People
Instagram User Growth | % of Population
User Growth By Age | Unit: a Thousand People
As legal restriction, figure of 13-17 is often underestimated(underreported) and 18-24 is overestimated
User Growth By Age | Unit: % of its Associated Age Bracket
Number may exceed 100% as multi-accounts holders or fake accounts prevail in the country

TikTok Overview in Brazil

With the latest data published in January 2023, we can see that at the growth rate of 1.02%, there is now around 74 million TikTok users in Brazil . With male users account for around 0.375 and female users account for around 0.625.

TikTok Users | Unit: a Thousand People
TikTok User Growth | % of Population

LinkedIn Overview in Brazil

With the latest data published in January 2023, we can see that at the growth rate of 1.11x, there is now around 59.01 million LinkedIn users in Brazil.

% of Total Population | 2022
LinkedIn Users | Unit: a Thousand People
User Growth By Age | Unit: a Thousand People

Reference

  • Internet & Cellular Subscription:World Bank, ITU
  • Currency Exchange: Based on IMF data in 2023/1
  • Demographics: UN Population Database
  • Social Media Behavior: GWI, Hootsuite 2022 Digital Report
  • Meta, LinkedIn Data: Napoleon Cat Stats
  • Data Calculation & Regression:OOSGA.org
  • Analysis:OOSGA Analytics
  • Note: The data for monthly platform usage and the data for the most frequently used platforms are sourced from different research, hence there may be discrepancies in the numbers as both are estimated rather than real figure.
Author: Consumer Research

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