Instagram is the new star in the zoo of social networks. When talking about influencer marketing what many people are really talking about is Instagram influencer marketing.
Some people dream of Instagram fame – others already got there.
But what is it about this social network that is all about photos that make it so popular? Who is on there, how active is the audience and what can you achieve by hopping on the bandwagon? Can you start writing your own Instagram success story or is it already too late and the places in the spotlight already taken?
Here are some facts and numbers that can tell you a lot about Instagram and the marketing potential it has.
Before you read on - we have various resources that show you exactly how to use social networks to gain massive traffic and leads. For instance, check out the following:
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1. 500 Million Monthly Active Users
By June 2016 Instagram had 500 million monthly active users. That is a rise of a solid 100 Million from September 2015. So far it does not look as if the growth of users on Instagram is slowing down. More and more people enjoy the community around sharing photos.
Image Source: Statista
Update 2020:
Instagram growth has continued. By 2018 Instagram has already reached 1 billion monthly active users.
Image Source: Statista
2. Instagram’s user base is growing fast
Instagram is still growing insanely fast with 15% growth rate – and expected to keep up growing fast for several years to come.
Are you on Instagram If not, what are you waiting for?
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Image Source: eMarketer
3. Young people love Instagram
While over all Internet users around 28% of people use Instagram, in the age group 18 – 29 Instagram is far more popular. 55% of these young adults use Instagram.
Image Source PEW Research Center
Over 50% of teens between 13 and 17 use Instagram.
Image Source PEW Research Center
4. 59% of users use Instagram daily
The community on Instagram has already been active before, but the number of people that use Instagram daily still increases. It seems as if nothing of the shiny new attraction is rubbing off and the user experience is still driving activity.
Image Source PEW Research Center
5. In some industries the follower growth rates on Instagram are outstanding
While on some social networks growing a following takes a lot of effort – or even advertising money, on Instagram in some industries growing a following fast is still not only possible.
Especially for B2C industries like apparel, beauty and home goods follower growth rates for Instagram are exceptional.
Image Source: MediaPost
6. Instagram will make more ad revenues than Google and Twitter in US mobile by 2017
Instagram is very lucrative for its parent company Facebook considering add revenues. Bringing in more than 500 Million $ in ad revenues in 2015. For 2016 the ad revenues are expected to more than double that amount and development will continue in 2017.
Image Source: eMarketer
7. 80% Instagram users are from outside the US
The Instagram community is very global. With 80% of Instagrammers not from the US, the adoption of Instagram outside the US is fairly high – compared to other social networks.
Image Source: DMR
8. Over 80 Million photos are uploaded every day
Image Source: ClickZ
9. The most prominent account right now is Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez has a stunning 99,5 Million followers. Since she is right now taking some time off – her last photo dates August 15 – this might change in the future.
10. A photo of model Kendall Jenner is the most popular ever
With over 3.5 Million likes a photo of Kendall Jenner is by far the most popular posted on Instagram
11. 50% of comments are posted within the first six hours after a photo was posted
Compared to other social networks that show a fairly long lifetime of an Instagram post. On Twitter, the lifetime of a tweet is around 10 min.
Image Source: ClickZ
12. Approximately 8% of Instagram accounts are fake
Nobody wants to waste time talking to fake accounts. A study by an Italian security firm found that almost 8% of Instagram accounts are fake.
Source: Business Insider
13. 29% of users are inactive
The same study by Italian security researchers also found that 29.9% of Instagram accounts appear to be inactive. These accounts post fewer than one photo or video per month.
Source: Business Insider
14. Engagement with brands is 10 times higher than on Facebook
Engagement with brands is outstanding on Instagram. None of the other big social networks can claim engagement rates anywhere near what is going on on Instagram. The engagement with brands on Instagram is 10 times higher than on Facebook – and Facebook is by far more engaging than the other networks.
Image Source Forrester
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15. One-third of Instagram users have used their mobile to purchase a product online
This fact makes Instagram users a group of people that is 70% more likely to purchase a product online than non-Instagram users.
Source: GlobalWebIndex
16. Over 50% follow brands
53% of Instagrammers follow their favorite brands on Instagram. Again that is the highest percentage for all the major social networks.
Image Source: GlobalWebIndex
17. Posts with a location see 79% more engagement
Other factors that influence engagement seem to be mentioning other people’s user handle ( an increase of engagement by 56%), and the use of hashtags as posts with at least one hashtag see an increase of 12.6% in engagement.
18. Despite its success story, only 31% of B2C marketers name Instagram „very important“ as a marketing channel
B2B marketers find Instagram even less important to their marketing with only 8% of marketers naming it as „very important“ to their marketing.
19. Photos with faces are 38% more likely to get likes than photos without faces
Make it personal. And even if you do not like the selfie hype, they are not very likely to go away anytime soon.
20. The most Instagrammed food is Pizza
Image Source: The Telegraph
With all of the above numbers, we have to keep in mind that Instagram is still on the rise and growing in many aspects. Brand adoption can pick up speed as Instagram gets even more popular and word gets around about brand’s success stories. There is still a lot of room for marketing success on Instagram. Best practices and case studies will make the headlines, and more brands will adopt them. Bloggers have already found many ways to market their blog on Instagram – and more will follow.
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