Social media moves at a frantic pace and it can be hard keeping up to speed on the latest stats.

So today we're looking at five keys social facts every marketer should know about.

1. Timing is everything

While far from an exact science, new research from Chartbeat indicates the best time to post is in the late afternoon and evening.

Chartbeat found that social traffic is busy during mid-morning and midday, and most active from 3pm through to 1am.

Tweak and see if you observe an upswing.

2. Instagram wins engagement by a digital mile

Instagram remains the champion of engagement, without having to pay for the privilege. 

The average engagement for an Instagram post is 2.81%, compared to 0.25% on Facebook and 0.21% on Twitter. 

Likes currently account for 96% of engagement on Instagram, with comments making up just 3%. Also worth noting: photos still trump videos for Likes on Instagram.

3. Video has arrived

Video has finally matured. In November last year 1 billion videos were shared on Facebook daily. Now that figure tops 4 billion.

Facebook has recently rolled out a new Video Tab to give brands more control over their videos, and some tip the social network will overtake YouTube for video shares before the year is out.

On the other end of the stick, short form and live-streaming videos are currently trending thanks to platforms like Meerkat, Periscope and Vine.

4. Ask and ye shall receive

Sometimes all you have to do is ask. Research from Cornell University reveals that brands can get more engagement by adding calls to action in tweets including "RT", "retweet", "spread" and "please".

Brands can also get traction from existing content by retweeting with slightly different wording. You can try out a few options using this free tool.

5. YouTube's mixed blessings

A recent study from the GlobalWebIndex found that Facebook and YouTube has the biggest user base.

However, Twitter and YouTube also have the highest incidence of lurkers (users who browse but do not actively post or engage).

Interestingly, the report found that most users go to Twitter for news, and Facebook to catch up with friends.