14 Eye-Opening Instagram Statistics

In less than five years, photo-sharing app Instagram has
grown from Internet infant to social media star.
New data from the Pew Research Center shows that
among social media networks, Instagram has surpassed
Twitter in popularity among U.S. adults. Pew's report
states that 26 percent of online adults in the U.S. used
Instagram in 2014. That’s up from 17 percent in 2013
and 13 percent in 2012. By comparison, 23 percent of
online adults in the U.S. used Twitter in 2014.
Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin
Systrom told TechCrunch that “what began as two
friends with a dream has grown into a global
community.”
In light of Instagram’s status as a global community,
here are 14 statistics you need to know about the social
media app:
1. Instagram counts 300 million monthly active
users ( Instagram ).
2. Instagram executives think the network
eventually will hit 1 billion monthly active
users ( Business Insider ).
3. Instagram is the eighth most popular mobile
app in the U.S. ( comScore).
4. Instagram is projected to reach 45.8 million
U.S. users in 2015 and 50.6 million in 2016
( Statista ).
5. More than 30 billion photos have been shared
on Instagram since it was launched in 2010
( Instagram ).
6. An average of 70 million photos are shared
through the app each day (Instagram ).
7. Engagement on Instagram is 15 times that of
Facebook’s (Fast Company ).
8. 53 percent of Internet-using adults age 18 to
29 are on Instagram (Pew Research Center ).
That’s up from 37 percent in 2013.
9. 76 percent of American teenagers use
Instagram, making it their favorite social
media network ( CBS News ).
10. 49 percent of all Instagram users use the app
each day (Pew Research Center ).
11. 94 percent of Instagram users are on
Facebook (Pew Research Center ). Facebook
owns Instagram.
12. 58 percent of Twitter users also use
Instagram ( Pew Research Center ).
13. 52 percent of Instagram users also use
Twitter ( Pew Research Center ).
14. Nike is the most popular brand on Instagram
( Totems List ).
“One of the most interesting aspects of Instagram is that
it’s not really a ‘site,’ but lives almost purely on mobile,”
Jeff Peters, social media specialist at The Halo
Group, said in a news release .
“While it’s possible for just about any brand to use
Instagram, the platform itself is most appealing to
brands and industries that are more visually oriented,”
Peters adds. “Instagram helps create a visual connection
between a brand and a consumer or potential customer.”
PR executive Natasha Koifman says pretty much any
brand can capitalize on Instagram, as long as it’s
“creative and authentic.”
“The key is how you leverage it. For us, being authentic
is the number one rule,” Koifman wrote on the Cision
blog .