South African businesses are expanding their social media strategies as TikTok and LinkedIn attract growing user engagement, while Facebook’s long-standing dominance continues to erode.
This is one of the key findings of the South African Social Media Landscape Report 2026, released last week.
Conducted by market research firm Ornico and World Wide Worx, in partnership with Ask Afrika, the 16th edition of the report shows SA’s social media landscape reflects the shifts in how people engage online.
Arthur Goldstuck, founder of World Wide Worx, who presented the findings of the report during a webinar, noted local firms are responding to changing consumer behaviour by expanding their presence across multiple social media platforms, embracing artificial intelligence (AI)-driven content creation and placing greater emphasis on audience engagement rather than simply chasing follower growth.
According to the report, SA’s social media landscape in 2025 was characterised by gradual shifts in how people engage online rather than a single disruptive change.
According to the report, LinkedIn remains the most widely used platform among organisations, with 85% of brands using it, followed by Facebook (83%), Instagram (73%) and YouTube (63%).
The report identifies TikTok as the leading platform for habitual short-video consumption and one of the fastest-growing social networks in SA.
Its penetration increased from 34% in 2023 to 38.6% in 2024, while its share of highly-active users climbed from 25.1% to 32.4%, reflecting what the report describes as "its growing grip on South Africans' attention".
Facebook loses momentum
LinkedIn has also strengthened its position, particularly among professionals and businesses.
Its penetration grew from 12.2% to 15.8%, while high-frequency use increased from 6.6% to 10.3%, reflecting more regular engagement and expanding influence in professional networking and B2B marketing.
Goldstuck noted: "I would say not the biggest surprise of all but one that keeps surprising people is the resurgence and the strength of LinkedIn in the last couple of years.
“It shot from 72% to 85% last year, overtaking Facebook at 83%, and this year LinkedIn has gone up to 88% of corporations using it, with Facebook slipping further down into the 70% range. That's the big story among brands using social media in South Africa."
Meanwhile, Facebook continues "a steady decline in use and relevance across virtually all demographics", with overall penetration falling from 59.6% to 56.2% and its highly-active user base declining from 53.8% to 51.2%.
"While Facebook remains the biggest platform, what's really fascinating is the extent to which Facebook has dropped in popularity, from 40% to 37%,” commented Goldstuck.
“At the same time, we've seen LinkedIn jump from 25% to 36%, which is the highest level that it has achieved.
“That tells you that the advertising budgets are following these social media activities and probably in the next year you'll see LinkedIn becoming the number one category for spending social media advertising budget, likely to overtake Facebook."
According to Goldstuck, LinkedIn remains a fascinating arena because it says a lot about the working environment and the upward mobility of young people.
“The 25 to 34 age group is far more likely to be using LinkedIn, with 24% penetration and 16% highly-active users. Bear in mind this is a professional network," he pointed out.
The report also highlights growing adoption of specialised platforms. Pinterest increased its user penetration from 9.9% to 12%, Reddit from 4% to 5.4%, while Telegram rose from 10.3% to 13% as users sought greater privacy, specialised functionality and alternatives to established messaging platforms.
The report says users are becoming more deliberate in how they use social media, while emotional attachment to platforms is declining.
Audiences are no longer captive and increasingly engage with platforms on their own terms, creating new challenges for brands seeking to maintain relevance.
"Brands now face the challenge of maintaining relevance with an audience that is increasingly discerning, forcing a strategic shift from chasing unlimited growth to sustaining genuine engagement."
Businesses diversify strategies
The South African Social Media Landscape Report 2026 is based on a survey of more than 100 of SA’s largest brands.
It primarily comprised marketing and media professionals (51%) and agency leaders (48%), with most respondents occupying senior decision-making positions.
It further reveals the changing platform landscape is reshaping how organisations approach digital marketing.
According to the report, 57% of surveyed organisations now have structured social media strategies targeting both B2C and B2B audiences, reflecting the growing maturity of the sector.
Marketers have expanded their presence across multiple platforms while adopting AI-driven content creation tools to improve efficiency.
"Marketers have broadened their approach across multiple platforms and begun leveraging new tools (like AI-driven content creation) to keep their messaging effective and efficient."
The report also finds that social media investment remains mixed.
“While 53% of organisations spend less than R10 000 per month on social media, 23% now invest more than R50 000 monthly. Around 31% increased their social media budgets over the past year, although only 34% expect to increase spending further, suggesting many organisations are adopting a cautious approach while evaluating returns on investment.”
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