At this point, Instagram isn’t even mainstream—it’s practically THE stream.
And as marketers, we love data. We want to know what’s working and when it’s working. But, even we were shocked to find out just how much of a power player Instagram is these days.
For example, in Instagram’s Year in Review 2018 blog post, they mentioned that the ❤️ emoji was used 14 billion times in comments.
That’s just one emoji.
Ready to have more of these reactions: 😮?
Keep reading!
Here are 10 stats about Instagram that may surprise you.
1. Instagram has the highest engagement of all the social media platforms
Instagram is beating out Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat as the queen of getting people to hit the like button. That’s a pretty big deal.
Where users are willing to interact is exactly where they are willing to: learn about brands, engage with brands, and even buy products.
2. Instagram isn’t just for kids
If you’re worried that Instagram users are just window shopping—fret no more. Instagram users are spread pretty evenly across the annual income board.
Here’s who you’ll find on the platform:
- 31% of the people making over $75,000 a year
- 32% of the people making $50,000–$74,000 a year
- 32% of the people making $30,000–$49,000 a year
Instagram users aren’t just browsing; they have the money to buy the products they’re being advertised.
3. 75% of users take action
What’s better than knowing that people with disposable income are on Instagram? The fact that three-quarters of them are doing something after they watch an ad. Users are interacting with a brand—they’re visiting their website, they’re looking at the brand’s Instagram profile, and they’re watching the brand’s stories.
(RELATED: How to Increase Instagram Story Engagement)
4. On average, cost-per-click (CPC) is lower on Instagram than Facebook
Calling all marketers on a budget—if you’re scared by the average Facebook CPC of $1.72 (and you know your audience is on Instagram too, which it likely is), you can potentially save $1 per click on your ads.
The average CPC for Instagram feed ads is around $0.60 and $0.50 for stories.
5. 60% of users learn about new products through Instagram
Instagram has become the new shopping mall. Instead of going to the mall to browse for new products, Instagram users are having the app do the work for them. All they need to do is browse around their favorite accounts and Instagram’s Discover page will show them exactly what they’re looking for. 60% of Instagram users are finding out about new brands regularly.
For example, a user looking at vegan recipes will quickly find that their Discover feed has turned into a myriad of vegan food-related posts. Guess who could be the business behind one of those posts?
You!
6. 66% of business profile visits come from Instagram users that don’t follow them
Looking for more customers? Instagram is really starting to sound like your answer. Businesses are seeing an influx in profile visits from users who don’t already follow them.
This means your Instagram content strategy needs to be top-tier. If someone doesn’t follow you, how are you convincing them that your business is worthy of a follow?
(RELATED: The Customer Avatar Worksheet: Finally, Get Clear on WHO You Are Selling To!)
7. Brand follower growth is increasing from 6% to 8% month-over-month
If you doubted that Instagram users wanted to follow business profiles, you’re in the same boat as us. We’d assume that users wanted to follow their friends and watch their funny cat videos—but that’s not the case at all.
In fact, Instagram users want to follow business profiles (say whaaaaaat!). This means that as long as a business is giving them the content they want to see, users are happy to follow them.
8. Users under 25 years old spend over half an hour on Instagram each day
Is Instagram the new TV? We know that people love their Netflix and HBO series (R.I.P. Game of Thrones), but people like spending time on Instagram. Not only has opening the app become a serious habit for a lot of people, they’re likely to spend over half an hour on the app a day.
That’s like 30-minutes of complete and total advertising time.
9. 60% of Gen Z’ers prefers to see an influencer in an advertisement
Knowing that users are spending a good amount of time on the platform makes us question: Do they want to be advertised to? Well, apparently so. 60% of Generation Z adolescents would rather see an influencer in an ad.
This generation has come to connect with influencers by watching them live their lives. They don’t want a Super Bowl commercial telling them what brand of chips to buy. They want their favorite influencer to tell them. Where will that influencer tell them?
Instagram.
(RELATED: The Evolution of Marketing Part 2: How Modern Ads Compare to Historical Ads)
10. 30% of users bought a product they discovered on Instagram
And now, for the last stat that we’ve purposely saved for last because—it’s wild. 30% of Instagram users have bought a product they learned about on the platform.
Do we need to say more?
While it’s obvious that Instagram has taken over most of the world (with 1 billion users and counting), it’s not so obvious that there is a lot of time being spent on the platform and money moving from consumer to business.
So it’s in the best interest of your business to get your brand (and your ads) on the platform ASAP.
