Since its release more than a decade ago, Instagram has not only become one of the most popular social media platforms but one of the top ten websites in the WORLD. Instagram rings in at a cool 7th place for most visited website in the world. How’s that for a fun Instagram fact?
A quarter of the global population and 37 percent of all Internet users are on Instagram, and once they get to the platform, a third of them stay on the platform, often doing the digital equivalent of sightseeing. Let that just sink in for a sec.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is plenty of info on Instagram that can help marketers like you tailor your influencer marketing campaigns. So here are 13 Instagram stats and facts that can really help move the needle for marketers… or curious randos. Whoever you are, this is for you.
Instagram Facts on User Stats
First, let’s talk users. Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. It’s no surprise it’s a favorite among marketers. So who exactly uses the platform?
1. Instagram has 2B+ Users, most of them under the age of 35.
According to Statista, as of January 2024, Instagram has over 2 billion active users monthly. That’s 25 percent more users than TikTok and, like, two-thirds the number of users on Facebook. Many of these users are ages 18-34, so Gen Z and Millenials make up about 60 percent of Instagram’s user base.
2. Most Instagram Users are OUTSIDE the US
Of the 2B folks who are dropping by Instagram for fun and shenanigans, 87 percent of them live outside the United States. In fact, India has as many Instagram users as the US has people – 360 million users. So… that part.
The US sits in second with about 169 million. And Brazil brings in a close third with a little over 134 million users.
3. Daily Usage Averages 33 Minutes
About 20 percent of Instagram’s users check in daily. And on average adult Instagram users spend about 33 minutes on the app each check-in. However, Gen Zers spend about 5 hours per week on the app. Now, as a Gen Zer, I felt it was necessary to do the math because there’s no way we spend that much time on the app … right? Sure enough, in the last 4 weeks, my average came out to 5.5 hours per week. Mind your business.
4. The Gram has 95M bots… give or take.
Instagram is CRAWLING with bots. If you don’t know, bots are pretty much just fake profiles. They’ll tag you in a bunch of random posts and comment weird stuff, like “Hey I sent you a DM it’s probably in your private messages wink wink.” There are an estimated 95 MILLION bots on Instagram and it’s costing marketers over 1 billion dollars. That said, be careful who you reply to in random private messages. Be especially wary of accounts without a profile pic. If it seems like a bot, it probably is.
Instagram Facts on Consumption
Okay, so there are a ton of users on the platform (including some fake ones). But how exactly do they use Instagram? We’ve got stats for that.
5. 70% of users watch Stories daily.
Instagram stories are the new Snapchat stories. You can post photos or videos up to 60 seconds. And the content is shared with all of your followers for 24 hours. You can also post Stories to your Close Friends, so it is only visible to a certain subset of your followers. One cool thing about Insta stories is that you can add them to your highlights. A highlight circumvents the 24-hour time restraint and saves the story to your page so it’s visible, well, forever.
It’s said that about 70 percent of Instagram users watch stories daily. If you really want people to see your content, use Stories. Most of us repost grid posts to our Stories because everyone watches them. It is estimated that Stories could have a reach of 996 million people.
6. Videos get 3x engagement.
Video posts have TRIPLE the engagement of a single image post. You probably know, but in your feed, you can make posts as videos, single photos, or a carousel of up to 10 photos and/or videos. When you post videos alone you also have the option to share them as Reels.
Reels account for this high engagement. In fact, Reels get watched about 17 hours per day. The average engagement for a reel is 1.23 percent. On top of all this, Gen Zers ages 18-24 make up the largest population of users. And most say that they use Reels the same as they use TikTok, which is saying a lot. As your resident Gen Zer, I probably spend as much, if not more, time on Reels as I do TikTok. 🤷🏽♀️
7. 130M users click on shopping posts monthly.
Typically scrolling through Instagram you’ll see quite a few ads. I literally just opened Instagram and the second post I saw was an ad. For the most part, I just get annoyed but sometimes Instagram just knows me too well. All of a sudden I’m on Bloch’s website looking at their new leotard collection thinking, “I mean… I can always make the money back that’s why I write these articles anyway.”
A lot of users are just like me. Every month, about 130 million people click on shopping posts. Seriously though, how could you not? There are ads everywhere — Stories, feed, Reels, everywhere. And it seems to work. 50 percent of users say they’ve gone to a website, not just to look, but to buy a product or a service after seeing an ad on Instagram Stories.
8. 64% of users scroll for entertainment.
People get on Instagram for a bunch of different reasons (and stay on for others). There’s no surprise there. But most say they use it to share photos or videos. And it makes sense, it’s Instagram. You can post in so many different ways, which you can learn more about in our Instagram Features Series.
The majority of users search for specific content. 64 percent scroll for entertainment. (I’m specifically looking for funny cat videos.) And 62 percent are researching a product or brand. Of course, people also scroll to keep up with their social circle. And others use Instagram to see the news.
Instagram Facts for Businesses
Okay, now you’ve got the skinny on Instagram users, who they are, and how they behave on the app. But if you’re reading this, I’m willing to bet you’re interested in how Instagram works for businesses. You likely have a brand to market for. I totally get it, and I’ve got you.
9. Reels get 2X the impressions of other types of IG posts.
Reels have consistently become more and more popular. Between 2022 and 2023, Instagram Reels usage increased by 57.4 percent. If you have a business account on Instagram, you should be using Reels. And I’ll tell you why: Reels boast twice the impression rate of other Instagram posts. Impressions refer to how many times your content was shown. They do not necessarily indicate how many people actually watched it. Instagram also offers insights into your Reel’s performance so you determine reach and conversions for each post.
10. Posts about brand values get high engagement nad high ROI.
Often, businesses share content about their brand, employees, and products. But my personal favorite types of business posts are sneak peeks into the company, like “day in the life” posts.
According to Hubspot, 18 percent of marketers say they got the best return on investment on IG Stories that included their brand’s values. One company that does this A LOT is Ben & Jerry’s. It’s honestly one of the main reasons I follow them (other than the fact that their ice cream is fire). They frequently post their values in their Stories, highlights, and feed. This transparency and reiteration of their brand values makes the company more trustworthy. And trust begets sales.
11. Two-thirds of users value brand interaction
A very important part of building your brand following is interaction with your target audience. As a user, it’s so cool when you tag a brand and they respond. And I’m not the only one who feels this way. In fact, 2 out of 3 people feel like Instagram gives them a great opportunity to interact with brands they like or are curious about. They aren’t quite celebrities but sometimes when you get that DM back or they like your post it feels like it may as well be.
12. Brand partnerships MUST Be Disclosed, Bro!
Instagram has integrated a paid partnership program where personal and professional accounts are required to tag the businesses or brands they work with. If any form of compensation is involved (money, free product, service, etc) it must be disclosed.
All creators have to get permission to tag a brand as a paid partnership. However, you do have to maintain a certain follower count to be eligible to be a brand partner. So keep that in mind when choosing who will represent your brand. Instagram has even created a separate messaging tab for partnerships. There, you can keep things nice and organized. You can even send projects through Instagram so that brands can offer opportunities with their requirements and the pay in the app.
13. Instagram offers performance insights.
This is honestly one of the greatest improvements to come to Instagram. Insights allow you to check out the performance of your posts, Reels, Stories, and live videos, and you don’t have to be some big company to take a look at your analytics (7-point word, pay up). Insights are available to all creator and business accounts. So, your average Jo can learn more about engagement and audience based on location, gender, and even the ages of the different unique accounts you reach.
Of course, you can also see your post interactions (likes, saves, comments, shares). The coolest things to me are seeing how long people typically watched Reels, and seeing the impressions on feed posts. You can see how many people were shown your post from hashtags, your profile, their home page, and any other sources.
That’s a Wrap on our 2024 Instagram Stats and Facts
So that’s that. Do with this information what you must (she says in her, “I just gave y’all some top secret information” voice) and remember who made your brand Insta famous when you make it big✌🏽.
If you’d like assistance going Insta famous, might I suggest you schedule a strategy call with one of our experts? Believe it or not, we’ve got even more Instagram intel than what we shared above. We’d love to use our expertise to help you run your next campaign.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KIRA SOPHIA | Trendspotting Gen Z Content Creator
Meet Kira Sophia, a multi-talented Content Creator from Covington, GA (home of The Vampire Diaries). In addition to being a professional choreographer, Ballet teacher, certified personal trainer, and avid foodie, Kira’s also an aspiring country music singer/songwriter. Oh, and she’s our resident Gen Z content creator, spreading joy through her writing and video content! 🎶📝🎥
Follow Kira on IG @kirabsophia
