Instagram Snapshot: Facts and Figures


instagram

More than 20 billion images have been uploaded to Instagram since 2010. At present (September 2017), it acquires over 8.500 likes and 1,000 new images every second from an active daily user base of over 500 million.

Other Facts and Stats:

  • 95+ million image and video uploads daily.
  • 216,000 image uploads every minute.
  • 2 billion likes daily.
  • 93% monthly member growth rate.
  • Used by 20% of all Internet users between the ages of 18 and 65.
  • 70 percent of users check their feed at least once per day.
  • 90% of its users are under the age of 35.
  • 68% of users are female.
  • Available in 25 languages.
  • 70% of its user base is located outside the United States.
  • Average user spends 275 minutes on Instagram each month.
  • Valued at $35 billion.

The business world has joined the Instagram network in a huge way. Corporate users are often attracted by its brand engagement levels, which are four times those of Facebook and Twitter. This is because the human brain processes visual content 60,000 faster than it does text.

How To Use Hashtags

Hashtags will help you get more likes on Instagram by attaching your content to trending topics. You can reflect the key characteristics of your brand’s identity with purpose-designed hashtags created just for your business. The key to hashtag success is keeping it relevant yet unique without overlapping on another brand’s posts. Once you have launched your brand hashtag, you can monitor its adoption pattern focusing on dynamic social media trends including:

  1. Is your hashtag gaining popularity?
  2. Are your followers using your hashtag?
  3. Is that hashtag recruiting followers to your feed?

By tapping into Iconsquare’s search engine you will be able to see the number of times your hashtag has been used which is an indicator of how popular it is. Also via Iconsquare‘s “Top Tags on Instagram” analytics, you can compare your hashtag to top rating trends. You can also export data about any hashtag, with metrics covering:

  • Posts per day
  • Likes
  • Comments
  • Advocates
  • Geo-location

This enables you to dive into the analytics for deep insights into hashtag dynamics, assisting you to refine your feed to complement your follower’s interests.

Tips and Tricks

Here are a few easy tips to get you started with your Instagram account:

  • Sundays, Monday and Thursday are usually the best days to post.
  • The average number of hashtags to stimulate engagement is 11.
  • For best results use a combination of brand specific hashtags, industry-related hashtags and trending hashtags.
  • Always share your images and videos across social media platforms to reinforce your brand profile.
  • Extend your reach by following key influencers and commenting on their posts.
  • Build up a portfolio of posts before you start following anyone so they have something to experience if they check you out.
  • Where possible include a question to stimulate comments and participation.
  • Always reply to comments and mention the commenter in your image, while abiding by Instagram Etiquette.
  • Actively “Like” and “Comment” on popular photos and videos and mention both the creator and the other commentators.
  • Use Instagram Direct to contact your top followers.

Instagram Metrics

Metrics on Instagram came of age with the release of their Instagram for Business platform in 2016. The revised platform features built-in diagnostics allowing you to analyze who your followers are and which posts are resonating with them.

Additional analytics are also available through a third party app such as Iconosquare. Using this app, you can: measure the success of your Instagram campaigns, follower churn rate, track growth over time, and monitor the success of your hashtags.

Feed this data back into your publishing schedule to take advantage of the best day of the week and time-of-day to post. Similarly, you can track your follower acquisition per day/per week/per month to evaluate your Instagram strategy and make adjustments where necessary.

Glossary of Common Instagram Terms

MCM = Man Crush Monday

WCW = Woman Crush Wednesday

TBT = Throwback Thursday

TransformationTuesday = transformational photos including the hashtag in the description of the transformation. Many people will make a diptych showcasing a “before and after” photo

bae = before anything else, usually indicates a strong love or connection to a person, pet or possession

selfie = a picture of yourself, taken by you

igers = means Instagrammers one of Twitter’s most popular hashtag

Latergram = Something you post on Instagram at a “later” time

Repost = posting a picture that someone else posted, making sure to credit them

MotivationMonday = a positive and motivational message, often written with an image that illustrate the message