139 Fresh Instagram Facts: The Science of What Works [Infographic]

Bob Hutchins — March 11, 2017 Follow @Bobhutchins

Several years ago, we shared with you our top seven actionable tips for Instagram strategy. Well, that was nearly three years ago, and while we’ve touched back on Instagram many times on the BuzzPlant Blog, it’s time for a high-level revisiting of the world’s first significant mobile-first social network.

To do this, I’d like to share with you a brand new infographic from MarketingProfs, which looks into the platform’s past, present and future. (Don’t miss the suggestions on when to post to Instagram at the bottom!) We’ve shared the full infographic below.

Instagram Demographics
Instagram hit the 600 million users mark in December 2016. That’s the same number of users that Facebook had when Instagram reached its first one million back in December 2010!

By the way, Instagram users are a dedicated bunch. Half of its total users (600M) are daily active users (300M). On a daily basis, these users generate 95M photos/videos and 4.2B likes.

Worth noting: the platform skews toward more affluent demographics. While the average worker in the U.S. brings in $ 41k per year, more than half of all Instagram users have a salary over $ 50k per year (…and more than a quarter have a salary over $ 75k per year).

Instagram’s Revenue Figures
All of that income is drawing advertisers by the truckload. Instagram is estimated to have brought in $ 1.53B in global mobile ad revenue in 2016.

• Still, that’s only 8.4% of Facebook’s global mobile ad revenue.
  
• However, Instagram’s revenue share is expected to rise to 18% by 2018.

Instagram Marketing Facts
Brands, take note…

• Instagram is used by 48.8% of brands. This number is expected to increase to 70.7% by 2017.
  
• Top brands post 4.9 times per week on Instagram (an increase of more than 50% over 2015).
  
• 70% of performance campaigns generated statistically significant lifts for online conversion or mobile app installs.
  
• 50% of Instagrammers follow at least one business.
  
• There are more than 500,000 advertisers growing their business on Instagram!

When’s the Best Time to Post on Instagram?
It depends on the day. Instagram engagement hovers between 4.4 and 4.9%, with Monday being the lowest and Wednesday the highest. Here are the most strategic times to post on Instagram:

• Sunday: 5:00 p.m.
  
• Monday: 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
  
• Tuesday: 3:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
  
• Wednesday: 5:00 p.m.
  
• Thursday: 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.
  
• Friday: 1:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
  
• Saturday: 12:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m.

Some odd hours, right? Just one reason why our team at BuzzPlant uses Instagram scheduling tools and content calendars to make sure clients’ content goes out at the most effective times! For more info on the science behind Instagram, check out the infographic below. Have a question? Drop us a line in the comments section at the bottom of the page!

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