Marketers searching for a way to engage and grow their reach would be well advised to consider the meteoric growth and popularity of Instagram, a free online photo sharing and social network platform acquired by Facebook in 2012. Instagram allows members users to upload, edit and share photos with other members through the Instagram website, email, and social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare and Flickr. On Instagram, you can follow other users’ photo streams, be followed back by those users, and search for friends by name or find any friends that may have previously connected to you on other social networks.
Some ridiculous Instagram numbers.
Just so you get an idea how popular Instagram has grown to be within a few short years (founded in 2010), listed below are 7 eye-popping stats:
- Instagram has 100 million monthly active users.
- 40 million photos are posted per day.
- 28 percent of U.S. Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 use it. (Pew)
- 98 percent of Instagram photos posted by top brands are now shared to Facebook. (Simply Measured)
- 59 percent of Interbrand’s top 100 brands are on Instagram. (SimplyMeasured)
- There are 8,500 likes per second on Instagram.
- 1,000 comments are made per second.
How businesses are using Instagram
Small companies are finding that connecting with their consumers on a visceral level is most effective with a tool like Instagram. Realizing that what is interesting to the brand and to the core target customer are where they must be. Smart business will use Instagram as a window inside their world. By sharing, small business owners put a face on their business, and begin to enrich relationships with customers.
Private Picassos, a children’s art studio in New York City, uses Instagram to record their student’s work, which has resulted in parents commenting and sharing the photos, thus increasing their business. “I don’t do any paid advertising, so it’s a way to encourage your client to do the marketing for you”, director Valeen Parubchenko says.
