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35 Instagram Statistics & Fun Facts

Instagram is one of the most popular, if not the most popular social media platform today. Casual Instagrammers and businesses flock to the site to connect with friends and followers, kill time, and advertise their brand.

 

Instagram’s Beginning

When was Instagram Created?

Instagram was launched on October 6th, 2010.

Who Created Instagram?

Instagram was created by two Stanford students, Kevin Systrom and Mike Kreiger. The app surpassed 10,000 users in the first few hours after its launch.

First Instagram Photo

The first photo ever posted on Instagram was shared by creator Kevin Systrom. It was a picture of a dog in Mexico (with a guest appearance by his girlfriend’s foot). The photo was filtered with the Instagram X-Pro II filter, an original that still remains on the app.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by Kevin Systrom (@kevin) on

Why Is It Called Instagram?

The name Instagram was meant to be a combination of “instant” and “telegram”, accentuating the speed of the app in sharing images and information. Instagram was developed to share location and pictures on the go.

Facebook Buys Instagram

After less than two years, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion dollars in 2012.

Instagram User Statistics

How Many People Use Instagram?

As of 2019, Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users. 500 million of those users are active daily on the app.

Globally, 63% of internet users have an Instagram account according to a study by Global Web Index.

How Often Do People Check Instagram?

If 500 million users log in daily, how often does the average person check Instagram? A study from the Pew Research Center confirms that roughly half of all users log in at least once daily, with 38% checking in multiple times a day.

instagram user statistics
Source: Pew Research Center

Most Followed Instagram Accounts

The most followed account on Instagram is, well, Instagram. The platform’s account has 284 million followers. Check out our list of the top 10 accounts on Instagram to see the runners up!

The Most Liked Picture on Instagram

Currently, the most liked picture on Instagram is a picture of an egg. This egg became the top post on Instagram in an effort to surpass Kylie Jenner’s record. The egg currently has more than 53 million likes.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this 🙌 #LikeTheEgg #EggSoldiers #EggGang

A post shared by EGG GANG 🌍 (@world_record_egg) on

When Is Instagram Most Active?

Instagram users are constantly debating the best time to post to improve engagement and visibility. The truth is that there isn’t one time: Instagram is a global app, so not only does your time zone matter, but it really depends when your specific followers are online.

Average Amount of Instagram Followers

According to a 2015 study, teens had an average of about 150 followers. This average has surely increased since then: monthly Instagram users has more than doubled since this survey, which also only looks at teenagers on the platform. Until a new study is released, it’s impossible to know the true average number of followers for Instagram users.

Social Media Use

As far as social media in general, 98% of digital consumers worldwide have used a social media platform according to GWI. Learn more about social media usage and how much time people spend on social media.

Engagement on Instagram

Average Instagram Engagement Rate

Instagram experiences significantly higher levels of engagement compared to social networks like Facebook and Twitter. While Facebook and Twitter engagement rates hover around 0.5-1%, Instagram sees an average engagement of around 3%. A good engagement rate on Instagram is between 3 to 6%.

Calculate your engagement rate on Instagram and learn how to boost Instagram engagement.

Hashtags

Hashtags improve engagement on Instagram; using just one hashtag increases engagement by 12.6% on average.

Social media gurus agree that 11 is the magic number for hashtags on Instagram. Engagement increases with each hashtag, dropping off once more than 11 are used.

Location

Instagram posts with the location tagged saw 79% more engagement. Tagging your location improves your reach as well, and can help grow your local following.

Instagram Story Engagement

Instagram stories have taken over the platform. In 2017, less than a year after Instagram stories launched, Instagram story usage surpassed Snapchat story daily use, the original story-sharing social media. Now, 500 million users engage with Instagram stories daily.

instagram stats
Source: Statista

Instagram Demographics

Age on Instagram

71% of users are under 35 according to Statista. Instagram is more popular among younger generations, with the largest demographic being 18-34 year olds.

Instagram is the top social media platform for teens, with 72% of teenagers reported to be Instagram users.

Gender on Instagram

Gender is generally pretty evenly split on Instagram. Some reports show that there are more female users than male, but for the most part it’s 50/50. It should be noted that Instagram only offers three options for gender: male, female, or not specified. Currently, no other non-binary gender options are available.

Income on Instagram

A study from We Are Flint reveals some demographics of US Instagram users. As you can see in the graphic, more women than men use Instagram, and usage decreases with age. A high percentage of  Instagram users make a higher income, which is good news for brands that advertise on the app. Affluent Instagram users will be more likely to spend their money on products they find online.

instagram statistics
Source: We Are Flint

Instagram Business Statistics

Businesses on Instagram

Instagram reports that there are over 25 million business profiles on Instagram as of 2017. The number has surely increased since then. Over 200 million users visit at least one of those business profiles daily.

Brands on Instagram post roughly 20 times per month according to Statista.

Purchasing Trends on Instagram

Over 60% of users have discovered a product on the app, according to Instagram. 80% of all users follow at least one business account, making Instagram the perfect place to advertise and engage with customers.

Over 30% of users have bought an item they discovered on Instagram, making Instagram ads an effective marketing strategy to reach new customers.

User-Generated Content

Brands that share user-generated content have a higher rate of customer conversion. One report states that consumers who see a user-generated photo have a 4.5% higher chance of conversion, 9.6% if they interact with the photo.

Instagram Fun Facts

The “Like” button is hit roughly 4.2 million times daily, based on a statistic from 2017. The number has probably gone up since then!

As of June 2016, roughly 95 million posts were shared daily according to Instagram.

Pizza is the most commonly Instagrammed food, followed by sushi.

Written by Erin

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