Skip to content
This website logo: dawsondecoded.com
  • Home
  • Blog
  • ToolboxExpand
    • Guides & Tutorials
    • Brand Names, Logos & Symbols
    • AI Writing & Content Tools
    • Photos & Illustrations
    • Website Builders
    • AI Image Generation Tools
    • Sound & Audio Tools
  • Podcast
  • About
  • Contact
  • EnglishExpand
    • English
    • Français
  • Shopping Cart 0
    • No products in the cart.

This website logo: dawsondecoded.com
Shopping Cart 0

What are the best social media platforms to drive traffic to your blog in 2025?

ByJohn Dawson June 23, 2025July 23, 2025

In this post, we’ll briefly compare the major social media platforms, from the perspective of a blogger looking to grow their audience. Each platform is analyzed based on user base, demographics, strengths and weaknesses.


🎧

Prefer to listen? This topic is also explored in an episode of the John Dawson Blogcast:

A burst of multicoloured light rays converging to a single point at the centre of the image. In the foreground, going across the screen, a row of social media logos.

“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.”

Steuart Henderson Britt, psychologist and marketing author

Why Promoting Your Blog on Social Media Matters More Than Ever

Pinterest

X (Twitter)

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

TikTok

Reddit

Quora

LinkedIn

Medium

So, Which One Should You Pick?

Blog Promotion on Social Media: FAQ

Why Promoting Your Blog on Social Media Matters More Than Ever

There are over 1.8 billion websites registered worldwide, but only around 200 million are actively maintained and visible to readers. The vast majority, roughly 80%, are parked, inactive, or abandoned. That means nearly 4 out of 5 websites are just digital noise, making discoverability a real challenge for new blogs.

On top of that, around 250,000 new websites go live every single day, adding to an already saturated digital landscape. In a space that crowded, you can’t just “publish and pray” anymore. Visibility matters, and that’s where social media comes in.

Graph illustrating the growth of website numbers compared with internet users.

Growth of internet users versus the number of websites from 2000 to 2022: the number of websites peaked at approximately 1.77 billion in 2018 before declining slightly. Meanwhile, internet users surpassed 5.3 billion by 2022, reflecting the steady global rise in online participation.

Fraph showing the proportion of content creators vs online consumers.

As of 2023, there are approximately 207 million content creators worldwide. In contrast, the global internet user base has reached around 5.4 billion. This means that roughly 3.8% of internet users are actively creating content, while the remaining 96.2% are primarily consumers. This disparity is further highlighted by the “1% rule” in online communities, which suggests that only 1% of users actively create content, 9% engage occasionally, and the remaining 90% are passive consumers.

Note: A Sign of Hope for Content Creators


The relatively low percentage of content creators compared to consumers indicates a significant opportunity. With fewer creators catering to a vast audience, there’s less competition for attention, allowing quality content to stand out more easily.

Moreover, the decline in the number of active websites—from a peak of 1.77 billion in 2018 to about 1.3 billion in 2023—suggests that many have stepped back from maintaining websites, possibly due to the effort required. This reduction means that dedicated content creators face less noise, making it easier to capture and retain audience attention.

For aspiring content creators, this landscape is encouraging. The vast majority of internet users are seeking content to consume, and with fewer creators producing high-quality material, there’s a clear demand waiting to be met.

By consistently delivering valuable and engaging content, creators can build a loyal audience and establish a strong online presence. The key lies in understanding your audience’s needs and providing content that resonates with them.

Having just started a new blog, the next step is to promote it through social media. Ideally, you want to do that without spending any money on ads.

But not all platforms are equal when it comes to driving traffic and engagement organically. Some are fast-paced and viral-driven, others reward depth and consistency. Some are perfect for building a personal brand, while others quietly send evergreen traffic your way over time.

And here’s a critical shift to be aware of:

As Neil Patel pointed out, Google search traffic is steadily declining, especially for newer sites. In contrast, social media platforms are becoming the go-to discovery engines, especially for younger users and niche topics.

That means if you want people to find your blog, you can no longer rely on SEO alone.

So let’s start with a quick overview of the major social media platforms: Pinterest, X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Quora, LinkedIn, and Medium, through the lens of what could actually move the needle for your blog in 2025.


Pinterest

  • Monthly Active Users: ~553 million
  • Primary Demographics:
    • ~69% female
    • Gen Z fastest-growing group
  • Strengths:
    • Evergreen traffic potential
    • Users actively search for content ideas
    • Pins can drive thousands of clicks over time
  • Weaknesses:
    • Requires appealing vertical graphics
    • Not all niches perform equally well
    • Slower initial growth without consistent effort

For most bloggers, Pinterest is a must-try platform for organic growth. It’s a powerhouse for evergreen traffic, especially in visual niches, if you invest in compelling pins. It works best with timeless blog content, and has the potential to become a top traffic driver, significantly boosting your audience growth over time.


X (Twitter)

  • Monthly Active Users: ~600 million
  • Primary Demographics:
    • Ages 18–34 dominant (~62%)
    • Balanced gender (~50/50)
  • Strengths:
    • Real-time sharing & engagement
    • Easy networking with other creators
    • Hashtags and viral potential via threads
  • Weaknesses:
    • Very short content lifespan
    • Tweets with links may be downranked
    • Building an audience can be slow

X (Twitter) excels at real-time engagement and networking, but it demands consistency. Don’t rely on it as your primary traffic engine, instead, use it to build relationships, share quick insights, and spark curiosity about your blog. Over time, these touchpoints can help funnel a loyal, engaged readership to your site.


Instagram

  • Monthly Active Users: 2 billion
  • Primary Demographics:
    • Ages 18–34 dominant (~62%)
    • Balanced gender (~50/50)
  • Strengths:
    • Visual storytelling builds brand trust
    • High engagement through Stories and Reels
    • Influencer-friendly with collab potential
  • Weaknesses:
    • Hard to drive blog traffic (limited linking)
    • High content creation workload
    • Discovery via algorithm can be unpredictable

Instagram is a relationship-first platform. Great for building brand personality, trust, and loyalty through visual content. It’s not a top performer for direct traffic, but the ROI shows up in stronger brand recognition and moderate, long-term blog growth. Use it to connect, not just convert.


Facebook

  • Monthly Active Users: 3.07 billion
  • Primary Demographics:
    • Ages 25–34 largest group (31%)
    • ~57% male
  • Strengths:
    • Massive reach across all age groups
    • Groups are great for community and traffic
    • Content variety: text, image, video, live, etc.
  • Weaknesses:
    • Organic reach on Pages is very limited
    • Younger users are moving away
    • Needs strong community to see results

Facebook offers unmatched reach and community-building potential, especially through groups.
It’s a versatile platform that can deliver decent traffic while also fostering a deeper connection around your blog brand. Just be prepared to invest time in nurturing engagement to see long-term results.


YouTube

  • Monthly Active Users: 2.5+ billion
  • Primary Demographics:
    • Ages 18–34 sizable (top ~22%)
    • ~54% male
  • Strengths:
    • High engagement and time spent (avg 49 min/day)
    • Great for storytelling and tutorials
    • Can repurpose blog content as video
  • Weaknesses:
    • High production effort
    • Less direct blog traffic (platform keeps viewers)
    • Growth requires consistency and SEO strategy

YouTube gives you access to a massive audience and builds personal connections through video, but it’s not a quick win. It requires significant upfront effort and can be slow to deliver traffic early on. But if you stick with it, it has the potential to unlock deep engagement and long-term growth for your blog. 


TikTok

  • Monthly Active Users: ~1.6 billion
  • Primary Demographics:
    • Ages 18–34 majority
    • ~56% male
  • Strengths:
    • Extremely viral short-form content
    • High attention span and engagement
    • Great for personality-driven brands
  • Weaknesses:
    • Minimal link opportunities
    • Video-only content
    • Hard to convert viewers to readers

TikTok is one of the most accessible platforms for early visibility and audience growth, even if you’re starting from scratch. With consistent effort, it’s a great place to test ideas, build trust, and start showing up before you’re well-known. Done right, it can become the top of your blog’s growth engine.


Reddit

  • Monthly Active Users: ~500 million (logged-in)
  • Primary Demographics:
    • Ages 18–29 dominant
    • ~60% male
  • Strengths:
    • Highly engaged niche communities
    • Viral upvote potential
    • Great for discussion and idea validation
  • Weaknesses:
    • Very anti-spam/self-promotion
    • Unpredictable, harsh on marketers
    • Time-consuming to earn trust

Reddit can deliver spikes of highly targeted traffic if you genuinely engage in communities. Expect a high-risk high-reward scenario. When done thoughtfully, Reddit can send you surges of traffic and very interested readers.  Many bloggers have a love-hate with Reddit: it can be a source of their record traffic day, and also a source of humbling critiques. 


Quora

  • Monthly Active Users: 400 million
  • Primary Demographics:
    • Ages 25–34 largest group (~30%)
    • ~57% male
  • Strengths:
    • Showcase expertise in detailed answers
    • Answers can rank on Google and stay visible
    • Good for long-term, targeted traffic
  • Weaknesses:
    • Traffic volume is moderate
    • Time-intensive writing
    • Must be careful with link placement

Quora delivers slow but steady trickle traffic by helping you show up where people are actively seeking answers. For broad-interest niches like personal finance, it’s a subtle but effective way to funnel qualified readers to your blog and build your credibility over time. You might not notice the impact daily, but a year later, you’ll see the traffic and reputation quietly adding up.


LinkedIn

  • Monthly Active Users: ~930 million
  • Primary Demographics:
    • Ages 25–34 dominant (~50%)
    • ~56% male
  • Strengths:
    • Professional, B2B-focused audience
    • Great for authority building and thought leadership
    • Organic post reach can be strong with niche content
  • Weaknesses:
    • Smaller general audience
    • Best for professional topics
    • Engagement can be inconsistent

LinkedIn helps you establish professional authority and reach an audience with a business mindset, even if the numbers aren’t massive. If your blog content resonates with professionals, LinkedIn is a valuable secondary channel for both traffic and brand positioning. It’s more about credibility and connections than clicks, but it earns long-term trust.


Medium

  • Monthly Active Users: ~100 million
  • Primary Demographics:
    • Millennials and Gen X (ages 25–54)
    • Skews toward educated, urban professionals
  • Strengths:
    • Great for long-form, authority-style content
    • Medium’s algorithm can recommend posts to new readers
    • Built-in audience with potential for organic discovery
  • Weaknesses:
    • Traffic can be inconsistent without publication support
    • Links out to your blog are limited and less SEO-friendly
    • To earn money, you need to join the Medium Partner Program and keep content behind their paywall

Medium is ideal if your content fits a thoughtful, essay-style format and you’re looking to build reputation or tap into an existing reader base. It’s a great platform for credibility and visibility, but less effective for direct blog traffic, unless used strategically. Cross-link carefully and treat Medium as a stage, not just a traffic tool.


So, Which One Should You Pick?

Promoting a blog organically on social media is a marathon, not a sprint. Different platforms excel at different things.

For the personal finance and passive income niche, a balanced approach could be: 

  • use Pinterest to drive consistent blog visitors interested in money tips, 
  • use Twitter and Reddit to engage with the finance community and occasionally share insights that draw people in, 
  • use YouTube or Instagram to put a face to your brand and explain complex topics in an accessible way, 
  • and use LinkedIn to share credibility-boosting content (like how your advice can help in careers or entrepreneurship). 

Over time, these channels reinforce each other: a YouTube viewer becomes a blog reader, a Quora reader follows you on Twitter, a LinkedIn connection invites you on a webinar, and so on, building your brand. 

Graph showing the proportion and number of people using a range of social media platforms.

Relative global usage share of the 10 major social media platforms: Facebook (2.96 billion monthly users) and YouTube (2.51 billion) dominate the landscape. Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn form a strong middle tier. Pinterest, X (Twitter), Reddit, Quora, and Medium have smaller but still meaningful audiences. Especially valuable for niche targeting and thought leadership.

Whichever platform you focus on, consistency, authenticity, and understanding your audience’s mindset on that platform are crucial. 

Track your results (which platform is bringing most traffic or engagement) and refine your strategy accordingly. 


Note: In the following posts, we will study each platform—one by one—sharing practical tips, real examples, and platform-specific strategies to help you make the most of your time and effort.


Blog Promotion on Social Media: FAQ

With over a billion websites online, and more than 250,000 new ones launched daily, publishing great content isn’t enough anymore. Social media platforms are becoming the new discovery engines, especially as Google search traffic declines for new sites. If you want people to find your blog, social visibility is no longer optional.

The goals vary depending on your platform, but typically include:
• Driving organic traffic
• Building a personal or brand presence
• Engaging with a community
• Networking with other creators
• Boosting long-term visibility and authority
A smart strategy will align your efforts with the strengths of each platform.

Pinterest is the front-runner for evergreen traffic, especially in visual niches. If you create compelling, vertical pins and target timeless blog content, it can generate steady clicks for years, not just days.

Yes, but not primarily for traffic. X is best for real-time engagement, networking, and sparking curiosity. If you’re active and consistent, it can build your reputation and slowly funnel readers toward your blog through trust and visibility.

Strategic consistency. Know your platforms, tailor your content, and match your energy to each channel’s strengths. A hybrid approach, like Pinterest for traffic, X/Reddit for interaction, YouTube/Instagram for personality, and LinkedIn for credibility, lets different channels support each other and build a well-rounded blog presence over time.


Sources:

  • Internet Live Stats, “Total Number of Websites.”
  • Siteefy, “How Many Websites Are There in 2025?”
  • Statista, “Monthly Active Users of Social Media Platforms in 2024–2025.”
  • DataReportal, “Digital 2024 Global Overview Report.”
  • Hootsuite, “Social Media Demographics to Know in 2024.”
  • Pew Research Center, “Social Media Use by Age and Gender.”
  • HubSpot Blog, “Best Social Media Platforms for Business and Blogging.”
  • Sprout Social, “Which Social Platform Drives the Most Traffic?”
  • Neil Patel, “Which Social Media Platform is Best for Blogging in 2024?” and “Google’s golden age is coming to an end.”
  • Backlinko, “YouTube User Stats & Engagement Data.”
  • Reddit Ads Help Center & Community Usage Insights.

Photo of John Dawson at the office, sitting at his desk.

Great to have you here! Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Hi, I’m John Dawson, the creator of DawsonDecoded. Whether you’re here to start a blog, explore new ways to earn online, or rethink your career path, I hope you’ll find something useful, and maybe even inspiring.

Want honest insights on blogging, online income, and simple tools to build something of your own?

Subscribe and get new posts delivered straight to your inbox. No spam, just the good stuff.


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Close up photograph of lottery balls being tossed in the air.

Content Creation vs Lottery: Which Is the Smarter Bet?

Why blog instead of buying lottery tickets? Because the odds and the long-term payoff make content creation a far smarter bet for financial success.

A Pinterest logo standing on a vast purple glassy expand covered with a network of luminous nodes linked to each other, with rays of sunshine emerging from a distant sunrise on the horizon.

Pinterest for Bloggers: Why It’s the Best Platform to Grow Your Blog in 2025

Pinterest is still one of the best ways to grow blog traffic in 2025. Here’s how to use it to get steady visitors for months, even years after posting.

A young woman is sitting in a coffee shop, focussing and typing on an open laptop in front of her, wearing headphones.

Are Influencer Courses Still Worth It in 2025, or Just Built on Yesterday’s Internet?

Online courses promise to teach you how to make money as a creator. But in 2025, are they worth it or just selling outdated methods?

Close-up of a camera lens held to take a shot, with the street lights reflecting in it.

Can You Really Make Passive Income with Stock Photography in 2025?

Can you really earn passive income selling stock photos? I tested it myself. Here’s what the reality looks like and what it takes to make it work.

A clock sitting on a pile of gold coins. In the background, we can see the sun rising on the business district of a cosmopolitan cityscape.

The Truth About Passive Income: What You Need to Know to Succeed

Passive income sounds great, but how real is the hype in 2025? Here’s what the stats say, and how blogging can still be part of the game.


Post navigation

Previous Previous
The Truth About Passive Income: What You Need to Know to Succeed
NextContinue
Can You Really Make Passive Income with Stock Photography in 2025?

Table of Contents | Sommaire
  • Why Promoting Your Blog on Social Media Matters More Than Ever
  • Pinterest
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • Reddit
  • Quora
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • So, Which One Should You Pick?
  • Blog Promotion on Social Media: FAQ

This website logo: dawsondecoded.com
Online Income, Decoded
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Affiliate Disclosure

© 2025 John Dawson | dawsondecoded.com - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP

Scroll to top
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Toolbox
    • Guides & Tutorials
    • Brand Names, Logos & Symbols
    • AI Writing & Content Tools
    • Photos & Illustrations
    • Website Builders
    • AI Image Generation Tools
    • Sound & Audio Tools
  • Podcast
  • About
  • Contact
  • My account
  • English
    • English
    • Français
Search