For a visual social network that only allows posting through your smart phone or tablet, Instagram’s usage stats are impressive: an average of 40 million photos are shared on mobile app every day.
Instagram has become the fastest-growing major social network. A recent study by Simply Measured examined how some of the leading brands are integrating Instagram into their marketing and advertising efforts. The study looked at how brands engaged with Instagram users during Q3 2013.
Top 10 Brands on Instagram (Q3 2013)
Account Name Total Engagement
mercedesbenz 9,310,286
mtv 7,384,913
bmw 4,532,206
nike 2,866,348
audi 2,451,173
starbucks 2,387,026
tiffanyandco 2,138,288
ralphlauren 2,110,820
adidasoriginals 1,537,140
louisvuitton 1,319,208
Five Insta-Lessons for Integrated Marketers
- Post consistently but carefully
Regular, consistent posting increases brand exposure, but be careful not to overdo it. More than one post a day can easily reach a point of oversaturation and diminishing returns. - Recycle visual assets
Not surprisingly, companies with visual products and marketing materials are more effective with Instagram engagement. According to the report, “the automotive, media, and luxury industries comprise only 22% of top brands, but deliver 59% of total brand posts, and account for 83% of total engagement.” Maybe you don’t have a flashy luxury product. Has your marketing team created some striking materials that might be good for Insta-sharing? - Photos beat videos
Instagram engagement comes in two flavors: likes and comments. “Likes” make up 99% of all engagement, while comments are only 1%. What kind of content generates more engagement for the top brands? Instagram videos are the hot new topic, but photos beat videos by 26%. - Use hashtags in moderation
Hashtags can be found in nearly all brand posts (97%), and are helpful for getting your post discovered and leveraging popular trends. So why would only 10% of posts by the top ten brands included five or more hashtags? Too many hashtags in one post can lower your credibility among followers. - Few top brands use filters
Many brand marketers are re-using professionally developed creative materials from existing marketing campaigns, which require no additional Instagram filtering. Only 30% of brand posts used filters (during Q3 2013), down from 42% in May.
These lessons for marketers from leading brands address the importance of presenting a socially savvy image. Take advantage of the growing influence of Instagram as one of the top social networks, but take care to use hashtags, filters, and videos in moderation.