Deciding which social media platform to use for your brand can be difficult, especially when there’s a wonderful array to choose from. As a visually exciting and popular platform for a variety of audiences, Instagram is a great channel for brands looking to promote their products or services and connect with customers. Discover why Instagram can be a great place for brands and influencers to flourish with some fascinating statistics and facts.
Instagram’s Influence and Evolution
Instagram was created out of a passion for photography.
Kevin Systrom, the creator of Instagram developed the app inspired by his love for photography. The initial idea was to create an app where users could feature and share photographs, specifically those taken on mobile phones.
The prototype of Instagram was called Burbn.
As well as photography, Systrom had a passion for fine whiskeys and bourbons, hence the creation of Burbn, an app which allowed users to share photos, post plans, and check in.
The Instagram app took only eight weeks to develop.
Instagram, the visually enticing social media app that we adore today took only eight weeks for software engineers to develop before it was launched.
Instagram acquired 25,000 users on its first day of launch.
Founded on 6th October 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Instagram racked up 25,000 users in just one day.
Instagram was originally only available for iPhone users.
When first launched, Instagram was only available for iPhone users. It wasn’t until two years later (April 2012), that IG was made available to Android users.
Instagram hit 1 million users just two months after launching.
Instagram garnered 1 million users by 12th December 2010.
Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion.
In April 2012, Facebook offered to buy Instagram for 1 billion dollars.
Instagram reached 1 billion users in 2018.
By June 2018, Instagram acquired 1 billion users.
User Demographics and Behavioural Trends on Instagram
Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users.
Instagram statistics show that the app is the world’s third most popular social network, with 2 billion monthly active users.
Instagram is slightly more popular with males.
As of January 2024, Instagram has more male users (50.6%) than female users (49.4%).
Instagram statistics show that it is more popular among younger males.
32.9% of males aged 18 to 34 use Instagram compared to 29.4% of females aged 18 to 34.
Almost half of teenagers use Instagram daily.
47% of teens in the US use Instagram every day.
Almost half of Instagram users are millennials.
Millennials (those aged 25 to 44) make up 46.6% of all Instagram users, making them the most active age group on the platform.
Almost one-third of Instagram users are between 18 and 24 years old.
Younger generations are more likely to be active on Instagram, with 31.7% of users aged 18 to 24.
Instagram is more popular with teenage girls than boys.
66% of teenage girls say they use Instagram compared with teenage boys at 53%.
Instagram is more popular among older teenagers.
68% of teenagers aged 15 to 17 say they use Instagram, decreasing to 45% among teens aged 13 and 14.
Instagram has 33.1 million users in the UK.
With around 67.9 million people living in the UK, almost half of the entire population uses Instagram.
India is home to the most Instagram users with 362.9 million active users.
The country with the most Instagram users is India with over 362.9 million active users, followed by the US (169.65 million) and Brazil (134.6 million).
Instagram Engagement and Performance Trends
The most engaging content type on Instagram is Reels.
Instagram Reels have an average engagement rate of 1.23%, followed by carousels with a 1.02% engagement rate and images with a 0.72% engagement rate.
Instagram Reels have seen a 57.4% year-on-year growth in usage.
Instagram Reels have seen a 57.4% surge in usage from 2022 to 2023.
Instagram Reels generate the highest number of saves for the smallest profiles.
Reels acquire 29 saves for accounts with a following from 0 to 50,000 compared to carousels which garner 24 saves for accounts with the same audience size.
Instagram carousels garner the highest number of saves for the largest profiles.
Carousels acquire 127 saves for accounts with a following from 50,000 to 100,000+ compared to Reels which garner 121 saves for accounts with the same audience size.
Instagram carousels acquire the highest amount of comments.
Instagram carousels garner the highest number of comments, with an average of 20 comments for both small and large accounts.
Reels generate 2x more reach than other content types on Instagram.
Instagram Reels have an average reach of 30.81%, followed by carousels with a 14.45% reach and images with a 13.14% reach.
Carousel reach rate on Instagram has declined by almost half.
Over 2023, reach for Instagram carousels has decreased by 45%.
Reels generate 2x more impressions than other content types on Instagram.
Instagram Reels have an average impression rate of 33.83%, followed by carousels with a 17.88% impression rate and images with a 14.32% impression rate.
Instagram users spend half of their time watching videos.
When interacting with Instagram and Facebook, users spend 50% of their time watching videos.
More than 1 million people watch Instagram Live every day.
Instagram Live is incredibly popular with users, with more than 1 million people watching it daily.
Instagram saw a 70% rise in Live video streams during the pandemic.
In March 2020, Instagram garnered a 70% increase in live video streaming.
Almost seven in ten Instagram users say live video content quality is the most important.
67% of Instagram users say content quality is the most important element of a Live video.
The most-liked picture on Instagram was posted by Lionel Messi.
With more than 61 million likes, the most popular post on Instagram is Lionel Messi and his teammates after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Instagram for Business: Key Marketing and Sales Stats
Instagram is the second most popular social media platform for marketers.
Eight in ten (80%) social media marketers use Instagram to promote their businesses.
More than three-quarters of marketers retarget Instagram ads.
According to Instagram statistics, 77% of marketers retarget Instagram and Facebook ads to increase their reach.
More than one in ten marketers use Instagram Live.
13% of marketers use Instagram Live to boost their business and increase sales.
Instagram ad reach has increased by a quarter of a billion over the past 12 months.
The number of Instagram users who see IG ads every month has grown by 251 million over the past year.
Instagram’s ad reach grew by 12.2% over the past year.
Instagram’s advertising reach increased by 12.2% over the past 12 months.
Businesses spend $0 – $500 per month on Instagram ads.
Businesses spend, on average, between $0 and $500 per month on Instagram ads.
The average cost-per-click (CPC) of Instagram ads is $0.00 – $0.25.
30.34% of marketers spend between $0.00 and $0.25 on Instagram ads followed by 19.10% of marketers at $0.26 – $0.50.
The average cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM) on Instagram is $0.00 – $4.00.
Almost half of marketers (46.8%) spend between $0.00 and $4.00 per 1,000 impressions on Instagram.
Three in four marketers are satisfied with Instagram’s advertising ROI.
76% of marketers say they’re satisfied with the return or investment (ROI) gained via Instagram advertising.
70% of shoppers look to Instagram for their next purchase.
According to Instagram statistics and internal data, 70% of shoppers look to Instagram for their next purchase.
Nano influencers dominate Instagram.
Nano influencers (those with a following from 1,000 to 10,000) make up 76.86% of Instagram’s influencer landscape.
Instagram vs Other Visual Platforms: A Comparative View
Instagram statistics show that this is the third most popular social network.
With 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram is the third most popular social media platform after YouTube with 2.504 billion users and Facebook with 3.065 billion users.
Instagram is the fourth favourite platform for teens.
Out of all social media platforms, US teens visit YouTube most often, followed by TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook.
Live video viewers like Instagram but prefer Facebook.
13% of live video viewers are interested in Instagram and Twitter while 26% prefer Facebook for live videos.
Instagram generates the highest ROI out of all social platforms.
Thanks to low CPC and high conversion rates, Instagram yields the highest ROI, tied only with Facebook at 29%.
Instagram is the second most popular social platform for influencer marketing.
Almost half of brands (46.7%) use Instagram for influencer marketing while 68.8% of brands use TikTok for influencer activity.
Instagram users spend less time watching videos than TikTok users.
Collectively, all Instagram users spend 17.6 million hours a day watching Reels while TikTok users spend a whopping 197.8 million hours a day watching TikTok videos.
Instagram users are more likely to make in-app purchases than TikTok users.
35% of Instagram users made a purchase on the platform in 2023 while 33.3% of TikTok users did the same.
TikTok is slightly more influential than Instagram when it comes to shopping.
Comparing Instagram statistics to TikTok,72% of Instagram users say Instagram influences their buying decisions, while 78% of TikTok users purchase a product after seeing it featured on TikTok.
Future Trends: Predicting Instagram’s Evolution
Out of all content types on Instagram, Reels have the highest engagement rate, garner the most reach and receive the most impressions and this isn’t likely to change. Instagram Reels will still rule while carousels will either plateau or continue to decline. Could we see the death of carousels? With people buying more products on Instagram, it looks like in-app purchases could become even more popular, especially as the platform is highly influential when it comes to users purchasing decisions.
Insights for Brands and Influencers
As a beautifully visual platform with a diverse audience, brands and influencers looking to boost awareness or drive sales should definitely include Instagram in their social strategies. Still a little unsure? No problem! Drop us a line and we can work together to elevate your social presence.
