Tiago Bianchi
Research expert covering internet & gaming in Latin America and Spain
Social media usage in Brazil - statistics & facts
With the biggest population and online audience in Latin America, Brazil is simultaneously the fifth-largest social media market worldwide, the second largest within the Americas, and by far the biggest in the Latin American subcontinent. Its presence among Portuguese-speaking audiences worldwide, the extensive engagement of its public, and the many roles social networks play in its local audiences' lives make the country a key market for how social platforms operate. Such size and relative reach make Brazil a strategic market for platforms to invest in digital advertising and social influencers if they have enough gas to fight the growing competition on every front and are willing to deal with the country’s political turmoil.
This magnitude of Brazil’s social media audiences does not come without problems. The country still has the lowest social media penetration among Latin America’s biggest internet markets and is barely listed among the top 10 countries in the subregion for the matter. The gap in social media usage reflects Brazil’s social, economic, and digital divides, and historically richer and more populated regions have a higher penetration rate. The popularity of these platforms in Brazil also put them in the mined field of online political discussion in the country, intensified by Brazil’s polarized atmosphere of its two latest Presidential and general elections.
Despite not losing its long-standing dominance, the increase in competition might be good news for Brazilian customers, but a thorn in Meta’s side. The growing popularity of mobile-first social platforms like TikTok, the diversification of the Brazilian messaging app market with the likes of Telegram and Signal, and the increasing presence of YouTube in Latin America are forcing the conglomerate to change its aim on content spreading to focus on the pockets of local users.
And among all contenders, Meta’s platforms again sail ahead in this race: Instagram remains the most popular platform among influencers in Brazil, while Facebook sees its relevance fade away in engagement and rentability for such investments. On the other hand, both YouTube 11402 and TikTok 9670 carry their expansion and Latin America, quickly waging their battles in the region’s biggest market of interest.
How Brazilians use social platforms
With more than two-thirds of its population accessing social media, the audiences of social media platforms in Brazil are expected to grow from over 170 million users by the end of 2023 to more than 190 million by 2028. More than 84 percent of the Brazilian population uses social media daily, while social apps are continuously among the most popular and used by local users. Instant messengers are the most popular type of platform in Brazil, expanding themselves out of the social media lines and integrating into media-sharing, news consumption, digital advertising, and m-commerce spheres.This magnitude of Brazil’s social media audiences does not come without problems. The country still has the lowest social media penetration among Latin America’s biggest internet markets and is barely listed among the top 10 countries in the subregion for the matter. The gap in social media usage reflects Brazil’s social, economic, and digital divides, and historically richer and more populated regions have a higher penetration rate. The popularity of these platforms in Brazil also put them in the mined field of online political discussion in the country, intensified by Brazil’s polarized atmosphere of its two latest Presidential and general elections.
Hot market, burning stakes
Holding the hegemony of the Brazilian social media market, Meta’s success in Brazil is such that its products earned monikers of “Zap”, “Insta” and “Face” by the country’s users. Installed on virtually every smartphone in the country, the popularity of WhatsApp in Brazil turned it into a worldwide showcase of its expansion of communication network to a vital tool for m-commerce, customer service, and digital marketing. Meanwhile, Instagram already overtook Facebook posts among Brazilians, as both networks are now respectively the first and third most visited platforms in Brazil.Despite not losing its long-standing dominance, the increase in competition might be good news for Brazilian customers, but a thorn in Meta’s side. The growing popularity of mobile-first social platforms like TikTok, the diversification of the Brazilian messaging app market with the likes of Telegram and Signal, and the increasing presence of YouTube in Latin America are forcing the conglomerate to change its aim on content spreading to focus on the pockets of local users.
Not only social media
Growing competition, the responsibility of a highly connected and interactive audience, and a turbulent political landscape are no dealbreakers for the land of opportunities that is influencer marketing in Brazil. With virtually all social media users following influencers, the investment in this market pays off, with more than 300 million Brazilian reals invested in social media advertising in 2022, as social influence strategies remain effective to more than half of its Brazilian audience.And among all contenders, Meta’s platforms again sail ahead in this race: Instagram remains the most popular platform among influencers in Brazil, while Facebook sees its relevance fade away in engagement and rentability for such investments. On the other hand, both YouTube 11402 and TikTok 9670 carry their expansion and Latin America, quickly waging their battles in the region’s biggest market of interest.
