You know that Instagram marketing is supposed to be really beneficial for businesses and brands. It’s one of the absolute go-to platforms that you need to be using.
There are Instagram ads, newsfeed posts, and Stories, and all of them can help you accomplish your various marketing goals.
But have you ever caught yourself wondering how beneficial is Instagram really?
Especially with so many other platforms that are already taking up your time, it’s important to understand the potential of each one and what they’re best used for.
We can help with that.
In this post, we’re going to take a look at 30 of the most important Instagram statistics that you need to know in 2018 in order to build your strategies and create your campaigns.
Here’s the list of Instagram statistics we selected grouped by subject.
Click to go to what interests you the most, you can always come back here for more!
- Instagram Usage
- Instagram Organic Marketing
- Brand & Customer Relationships
- Instagram Content
- Instagram Hashtags
- Instagram Stories
- Instagram Ads
Instagram Statistics 2018: Usage
1. As of June 2018, there are nearly 1 billion monthly active users.
1 Billion is a big number, and it positions Instagram behind Facebook (1.4 billion) but ahead of most other social network sites, including Twitter (who has 68 million) and Pinterest (250 million).
That audience is continually and steadily growing, so there are a lot of audience members you can connect with here.
2. As of June 2018, there are nearly 500 million daily active users.
Half of the monthly active users on Instagram are logging in daily and actively engaging on the platform. Half. That’s significant, especially sine this number, too, keeps climbing.
3. The Like button is hit an average of 4.2 billion times per day.
That like button is getting hit 4.2 billion times a day, which means that the average user is going through their feed and pressing that button more than once on a daily basis. This shows a willingness to engage, which brands directly.
4. Some Instagrammers have high levels of disposable income.
As far as I’m concerned, this is the most important demographic information we have for Instagram: a good chunk of them are ready (and able) to open their wallets and bust out the credit cards and spend.
Here’s what they found:
- 31% of people who make more than 75k per year are on Instagram
- 32% of people who make between 50k-74k per year are on Instagram
- 32% of people who bring in 30k to 49k per year are on Instagram.
While there are obviously users on the platform who may have tighter budgets, the ability to connect with 30% of demographics with potentially higher disposable incomes is a huge asset.
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Instagram Statistics 2018: Organic Marketing
Instagram is a big engagement powerhouse, and that’s partially because users on Instagram are more willing to engage with brands than they are on other platforms.
These statistics prove that.
5. Instagram images get an average of 23% more engagement than their Facebook counterparts.
Higher engagement rates is the name of the game, folks, at least when it comes to Instagram. Instagram is known for its high engagement rates, partially thanks to better reach but mostly thanks to a really engaged, enthusiastic audience. This is a significant number, and it shows the value of the platform. Even if the list ended right here and there were no more statistics, you already have a reason to use it.
6. Brands on Instagram regularly see engagement from around 4% of their total followers.
This doesn’t seem like a lot on its own. I get that. But compare it to the less than 0.1% that Facebook and Twitter see, and it’s looking a whole lot better by comparison. Instagram really is an engagement powerhouse. Remember that 23%?
7. Brands see engagement rates 10x higher on Instagram than they do on Facebook.
It’s not just that brands are seeing engagement from more of their followers on Instagram, they’re also getting 10x higher engagement rates on Instagram than Facebook across the board. This takes high performing text content and video content into consideration, and it’s a powerful reminder that while Facebook will always be important, Instagram is essential, too.
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Instagram Statistics 2018: Brand & Customer Relationships
8. 70% of users look up a brand on Instagram.
You need to be on Instagram, because your followers (and potentially customers) are actively looking for you there. People want to see what your brand is doing on Instagram, and if you don’t have a profile set up, you just might lose their business.
9. 80% of users follow at least one brand on Instagram.
Most Instagram users follow at least one brand on Instagram; an enormous chunk of those users follow many more. I think I follow around 15 brands, making up around 5% of the total accounts I follow. Users like to keep up with what you’re doing, and Instagram is seen as the best way to do that by some.
10. 60% of users learn about new products through Instagram.
More than of of Instagram’s users have discovered new products while on the platform, and they’ve been open to learning more and even purchasing. This is exactly what you want to hear, because all brands want to know that a platform can actually result in direct sales over time. Here’s proof that it can.
11. More than 200 million users visit a business profile at least once daily.
Again, this is showing a willingness to engage with business profiles on the platform, along with the fact that people are now using Instagram to potentially get vital information about a business, like location, store hours, or to communicate with them directly. Don’t neglect this, and make sure that your profile’s bio is optimized to get results.
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Instagram Statistics 2018: Content
Wondering how often you should be posting content and what types of content users want to see? This will help clear things up.
12. Brands post an average of 27.9x per month.
This means that you should be posting almost every day, potentially skipping out on the days that seem to yield the lowest amounts of reach and engagement. You have to post consistently to stay relevant, after all.
13. Posts containing or featuring UGC has a 4.5% higher conversion rate than non-UGC posts.
User-generated content should be an essential part of your marketing plan. It’s well-trusted by other users, and now we can see what that trust can lead to: a higher conversion rate. Create campaigns designed to inspire UGC, and then ask if you can share it. 
14-18. Images Matter.
Certain types of images will get more results than others. If you’re wondering where you should get started, there’s an exceptional case study from Curalate that found the general best practices to follow. The case study is older now, dated at 2013, but the findings still apply and the infographic they created is worth a peek (look at the snippets below).
Note that these are best practices, and you don’t have to create every image in accordance with every rule.
Here are the individual stats:
14. Images with a single dominant hue had best results.
Source: Curalate
15. Images with texture had higher engagement rates, with 79% more likes than low texture.
Source: Curalate
16. Images with more background space (or “negative” or “white” space) get 29% more likes than those without it.
Source: Curalate
17. Images that have blue as the dominant color get 24% more likes than images with red as the dominant color.
Source: Curalate
18. Lower saturated images get 18% more likes.
Source: Curalate
19. Posts with locations get 79% more engagement.
Location tagging doesn’t just help you put your business on the map (literally); it also can be a powerful engagement building tool. It can help with geotagging, improving your reach, and it also will ensure that your post is in the feed when users browse to look at a certain location at any given time on Instagram.
20. 60% of the top brands use the same filter for every post.
Consistency, as it turns out, doesn’t just go for how often you post; it should also apparently include what types of content you post.
A study by Simply Measured found that the top brands on Instagram, such as MTV, Starbucks, and Burberry, are posting at least once a week. Sixty percent of the photos these brands post have filters applied, with Lo-Fi being the most popular, and Valencia garnering the most engagement.
With more than half of the top brands using the same filter for every post, consider doing the same.
It will create a more distinct look that will improve brand recognition, which will help you in the long run.
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Instagram Statistics 2018: Hashtags
21. 7 out of 10 Instagram hashtags are branded hashtags.
Branded hashtags are created by businesses to help raise brand awareness and encourage easily-trackable UGC. Examples include #loveloft and #worldsstrongestcoffee. There are a lot of branded hashtags out there, so make sure yours is one of them.
22. 11 is the magic number for hashtag usage.
If you Google this one, there’s a lot of minority conflicting data, telling people that the idea hashtag usage is somewhere from 8 to 14. Several case studies, however, point to 11 as the magic number, showing engagement increasing with each hashtag as you go up to 11 in number, but then declining afterwards.
23. Longer hashtags get more results.
Hashtags that contain an average of 21-24 characters perform better than shorter hashtags. This is likely because they’re more specific, and therefore more engaging and even potentially successful at connecting you with a niche audience. Hashtags like #ilovemydogsomuch, for example, still get a lot of hits, but you’ll be able to stand a chance in the feed instead of drowning in a feed like #puppylove.
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Instagram Statistics 2018: Stories
There’s no way around it; you need to be using Stories. Here’s why.
24. Instagram Stories is attracting big advertising budgets to the platform.
The global marketing agency Merkle, noticed that their own clients’ ad spend on Instagram accounted for 23 percent as much spend as Facebook in the second quarter of 2018, and this thanks to the rise of Instagram Stories.
Jay Sethi, VP of Smirnoff in the US, revealed that the brand increased advertising on Instagram Stories in 2018, is funded by incremental growth of its social media budget, even though Facebook’s viewability issues are an ongoing concern.
25. Instagram (46%) and Facebook Stories (42%) users like a good giggle.
The stats VidMob shares in its 2018 US State of Social Video are really interesting.
Source: VidMob 2018 US State of Social Video
First of all, they discovered that over 70% of Instagram and Snapchat users watch Stories on both platforms daily.
Then VidMob noticed that half of the consumers of Stories (on every social platform) have a preference for videos that make them laugh.
They also found that 1 in 4 Gen Z and Millennials actively seek stories of products and services they are considering buying.
Source: VidMob 2018 US State of Social Video
And there’s more, to download the study you can click here!
26. Story Ads increase ad recall, purchase intent, message association, and CTR.
When Stories ads first came out, I remember thinking “eh, how much will they actually work?” I was a previous Snapchat hater, so I wasn’t a Story fan. I’m a convert.
Two different case studies (both linked below) immediately showed the value of Stories Ads, which reflects on the value of Stories themselves.
Here’s what they found:
- A DiGiorno campaign yielded a reach of 20 million, a 6 point lift in purchase intent, and an 8 point lift in ad recall.
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- A Gap campaign resulted in a 17 point lift in ad recall, a 4 point lift in message association, and a 73% higher CTR than previous Instagram feed campaigns.
Source: Instagram
27. There are 400 million users watching Stories on a daily basis.
Imagine all of those benefits, and then apply it to 400 million daily users.
80% of all daily active Instagram users are watching Stories just as often as they’re checking their feed, so you need to be posting to connect with them.
Statista has data to prove it:
Bonus Infographic: How Your Competitors Use Instagram Stories
According to Instagram, 1 in 3 of the most viewed Stories are from businesses. So, not using Stories is a “No-No” scenario, unless you don’t want to be left behind your competition.
To help you spy learn more 😎 about how other businesses use Stories to give voice and personality to their brand, 99firms created a great infographic that you can download here (or clicking on the image below).
It’s packed with data, tips and smart insights from 30 case studies!
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Instagram Statistics 2018: Instagram Ads
Facebook Ads still gets all the attention, but Instagram placements can clearly hold their own (and more).
28. 30% of users say they’ve bought a product they discovered on Instagram.
One out of every three Instagram users has made a purchase after discovering a new product on Instagram. And there are 1 billion monthly active users. You can do the math on that one.
Use Instagram Ads to make the most of this, connecting with new users, gaining new followers, and then hopefully nurturing leads that weren’t ready to convert at the beginning until they’re ready to purchase in the future.
29. Instagram Ads typically cost more than Facebook Ads… but are still worth it
A lot of people shy away from Instagram Ads because the average CPC is higher than it is on Facebook, pretty consistently. You still shouldn’t write them off, though, because engagement rates on Instagram are through the roof. As long as your audience is on Instagram, you get what you pay for.
30. Sponsored videos get 3x more comments than sponsored photos.
If you aren’t using video yet, you need to. Especially when it comes to Instagram Ads. With video ads getting a total of 3x more comments than ads with single images, you’re leaving a lot on the table if you don’t branch out. Videos are automatically engaging and can convey more information in a shorter period of time, so it’s no surprise they’re getting the results we’re seeing here.
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Final Thoughts
After seeing all of these statistics, you really can’t deny the incredible marketing and selling power that Instagram has.
Aided by the fact that business profiles still get significantly better reach than Facebook considering the algorithm doesn’t actively punish Pages in terms of reach, this is a platform that you can’t afford to skip out on.
Now that you know the importance of it, it’s time to learn how to leverage Instagram for your business.
And the first step we suggest is our Beginners guide. Can you resist clicking on the image below? Go ahead then!
What do you think? Which statistics surprised you the most? Which were you most excited to see? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!
“Imagine all of those benefits, and then apply it to 400 billion daily users.”
You mean MILLION. To be 400 ‘billion’ every Instagrammer would have to be watching 400 stories every day.
fixed! thanks for spotting it 🙂