In January 2019, photo sharing platform Instagram reported 500 million daily active Stories users worldwide, up from 400 million global DAU in June 2018. Stories is a feature of the app allowing users post photo and video sequences that disappear 24 hours after being posted. Instagram usage Instagram has over one billion monthly active users and is one of the most popular social networks worldwide. The app allows users to edit and share photos with other users, either publicly or with pre-approved followers. In 2018, the number of Instagram users in the United States was almost 105 million users, with U.S. Instagram audiences set to grow to 131 million users by 2022. As of April 2019, it was found that the United States, Brazil and India had the largest Instagram audiences with the United States heading the ranking by a wide margin. Users between the ages of 25 and 34 years constituted the biggest demographic group, followed by users aged 18 to 24 years. Overall, over two thirds of global Instagram audiences were aged 34 and younger. Advertising and marketing on Instagram Due to the visual nature of the platform, Instagram is a perfect opportunity for brands and retailers to display their products in a flattering way. Many celebrities and influencers generate a sizable income by posting ads in the form of sponsored posts on Instagram. In 2018, there were approximately 3.7 million sponsored influencer posts on the platform. The most popular content type of Instagram posts by influencers worldwide were photos – videos accounted for just 13.56 percent of influencer posts.

In 2019, brands with over 200 thousand followers had an Instagram post reach rate of 13.8 percent and an Instagram stories reach rate of just 2.3 percent. In comparison, smaller brands with under 10 thousand followers had a post reach rate of 26.6 percent and a stories reach rate of 8.4 percent.

As of April 2024, almost 32 percent of global Instagram audiences were aged between 18 and 24 years, and 30.6 percent of users were aged between 25 and 34 years. Overall, 16 percent of users belonged to the 35 to 44 year age group.

              Instagram users

              With roughly one billion monthly active users, Instagram belongs to the most popular social networks worldwide. The social photo sharing app is especially popular in India and in the United States, which have respectively 362.9 million and 169.7 million Instagram users each.

              Instagram features

              One of the most popular features of Instagram is Stories. Users can post photos and videos to their Stories stream and the content is live for others to view for 24 hours before it disappears. In January 2019, the company reported that there were 500 million daily active Instagram Stories users. Instagram Stories directly competes with Snapchat, another photo sharing app that initially became famous due to it’s “vanishing photos” feature.
              As of the second quarter of 2021, Snapchat had 293 million daily active users.

Introduction

Surprising Instagram Marketing Statistics: Instagram has solidified its position as a pivotal platform for digital marketing, boasting over 2.4 billion monthly active users globally as of 2024. India leads with approximately 362.9 million users, followed by the United States with around 158.4 million. The platform's visual-centric features, including Stories and Reels, have significantly contributed to its widespread adoption. Notably, over 400 million users engage with Instagram Stories daily

In terms of advertising, Instagram's influence is substantial. Brands are projected to invest over USD 10 billion in Instagram ads in 2024. This surge is attributed to the platform's high engagement rates and its ability to connect businesses with a diverse audience. Furthermore, Instagram is anticipated to generate more than half of Meta Platforms' advertising revenue in the U.S. by 2025, driven by improved monetization strategies and the growing popularity of short-form videos like Reels.

User engagement on Instagram remains robust. U.S. adults spend an average of 33.1 minutes per day on the platform, reflecting its integral role in daily digital consumption. Additionally, 60% of users discover new products through Instagram, underscoring its effectiveness as a tool for brand discovery and consumer influence.

Given these Instagram Marketing statistics, Instagram continues to be an essential platform for businesses aiming to enhance their online presence and engage with a global audience.

The net advertising revenue of Instagram Stories worldwide was expected to amount to ***** billion U.S. dollars in 2021, marking an increase from the previous year's value of *** billion. Instagram Stories ad revenue was expected to further increase over the following two years, reaching a projected ***** billion dollars in 2023.

Watching other people's Instagram Stories was the most popular Instagram activity among Instagram users in the United States. During the March 2020 survey, 42 percent of respondents stated that they had watched other people's Instagram Stories in the past month. A further 39 percent of respondents indicated that they had browsed their feeds for posts from Instagram friends or accounts they were following.

Auto-generated structured data of Instagram Field Reference from table Fields

In 2019, the top 25 percent of brands on Instagram had a tap back rate of *** percent on their stories, up from *** percent in the previous year. Additionally, brands in the bottom ** percent had a tap back rate of *** percent in 2019, up from *** percent in 2018. A tap backward on an Instagram stories post indicates that the viewer wanted to return to the previous image for another look.

As of March 2024, huge Instagram accounts, accounts which had over 50,001 followers, saw posts reach over 45,000 Instagram users. Additionally, stories and reels of huge accounts reached 5,100 and 67,973 people, respectively.

According to a study conducted between 2023 and 2024, Instagram posts from accounts with between ****** and ****** followers reached an average of ***** Instagram users. Overall, stories reached *** Instagram users, and reels reached ***** users.

In 2024, Instagram Stories were the most used format on the social media platform. Huge accounts, those with over ****** followers, posted an average of ** Stories per week. Big and Medium accounts posted an average of **** and **** Stories every week on Instagram, respectively.

Between April 2019 to September 2020, brands with over 100 thousand followers on Instagram posted 44.95 percent image stories and 55.05 percent video stories. Brand IG accounts with under 5 thousand followers posted 50.08 percent image stories and 49.92 percent video stories.

From April 2019 to September 2020, brands with over 100 thousand followers on Instagram posted an average 14.46 stories per month. Additionally, brands fewer than 5k followers posted only posted approximately three stories per month.

In 2019, brands with over 200 thousand followers on Instagram had an Instagram story reach rate of 2.3 percent, down from 4.2 percent in the previous year. Additionally, Instagram accounts with under 10 thousand followers had a reach rate of 8.4 percent in 2019, a decline from 11.3 percent in 2018.

From April 2019 to September 2020, there was a 100 percent retention rate among Instagram users worldwide when brands posted *** story per day. In comparison, there was only a **** percent retention rate among IG users when brands posted ** Stories per day.

In 2019, a survey revealed that ** percent of Italian Millennials preferred to watch Instagram stories, while only ** percent of them did it on Facebook. On the contrary, respondents from the Generation Z showed a striking preference for the Instagram stories (** percent). Users between 45 and 54 years were not much attracted by the stories' videos, as ** percent of them stated they did not watch Facebook or Instagram stories.

In 2019, a survey revealed that the Italian user base of influencers watched stories mostly on Instagram. Data show that ** percent of users buying products suggested by influencers watched Instagram stories exclusively, while ** percent of them stated they used both Instagram and Facebook platforms.

In 2023, ***************** were by far the most common type of content posted on the social media platform. Overall, accounts with ** thousand to ** million followers posted an average of *** Instagram Stories per week, as well as ** posts, and ** Reels.

According to a survey carried out in Chile in April 2022, ** percent of Instagram users in the country claimed to upload Stories on the platform at least once a week. Altogether, **** percent of the respondents claimed to upload this type of content more frequently or on a daily basis. Additionally, **** percent of the interviewees claimed that photos were their preferred content to post on the platform.

In 2019, a study was conducted on the sates of Instagram influencer marketing. It revealed that in October of 2019, there were *** thousand sponsored stories and *** thousand sponsored posts on Instagram. In contrast, in February 2019 there were only *** thousand sponsored stories and *** thousand sponsored posts on the social app.