5 Lessons For Marketing On Instagram

Hubspot recently posted an article containing some interesting statistics about Instagram. We thought we’d take those figures and turn them into actionable insights for businesses trying to market themselves on Instagram right now. So read on to discover 5 important statistics you should know about and our corresponding Instagram marketing tips.

1. People miss around 70% of their Instagram feeds.

 
Last year, Instagram moved away from a chronological feed to try and combat this. Now, Instagram shows users what it thinks they want to see. Instagram’s algorithm determines this by taking into account the photos a user likes or engages with. So depending on how you play it, this could mean better or worse visibility.

When determining your ranking, Instagram will take into account whether a user has interacted with your content in the past, the number of likes and comments your post already has, and how recently you posted.

 
The lesson?

 
In order to rank well and improve your visibility, you need to encourage users to engage with your photos more. Ways to do this include ensuring your account is public, hosting giveaways or contests, collaborating with other accounts and social media influencers or – quite simply – asking them to engage.

2. Unlike Facebook, photos see more engagement than videos on Instagram.

 
While Instagram’s partner in crime is all about video content right now, Instagram is all about beautiful images, beautifully presented. Sometimes, the key is simplicity. And that seems to be the case here. In fact, research also suggests that images with a single dominant colour generate 17% more likes than images with multiple colours. Beautiful content that users consider ‘inspiring’ will increase your user’s engagement.

 
The Lesson?

 
Be thoughtful about the images you’re posting. Will your target audience find your content insightful, inspiring or amusing in any way? One of our best Instagram marketing tips is to create an editorial calendar for your business’s Instagram account. This way, you can take the time to really strategise.

3. Photos with faces get 38% more likes.

 
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and Yahoo Labs studied 1.1 million photos on Instagram. They found that posts with human faces are 38 percent more likely to receive likes than those without faces in the picture. They were also 32 percent more likely to attract comments from users, and remember what we said about the relationship between likes, comments and ranking?

 
The lesson?

 
So force your team to take awkward group photos. Just kidding… It’s probably not going to look great if you post pictures of people who clearly aren’t happy about having their photo taken. But putting a friendly face to your company name allows users and potential clients to engage with your brand on a more personal level. This is still social media, after all, not business media. And if you really can’t bare to post photos with faces, cute animals are probably the next best thing…

4. 50% of comments and captions on Instagram contain at least one emoji.

You might find emojis somewhat baffling, but emojis are becoming serious business. Even Google’s getting on board with emojis, apparently now anticipating the rise of emoji SEO. No, seriously, they are. Instagram has even produced a whole study on emojis – “Emojineering” – observing what they call the exciting “rise of a new language”.

 
The lesson?

 
If you want to get on the same page as your users, it’s time to get fluent in the language of social media. After all, would you expect much success trying to engage a French market in the English language? Probably not. And hey, at least emoji is a universal language so if you end up expanding to foreign markets, you’ll be just fine.

5. On average, brands on Instagram post 11–20 times per month.

 
So it turns out brands aren’t quite posting every day, but it’s close. Rather than spamming users with 5 posts a day, the best brands are prioritising great content that’s well thought-out, user-oriented and optimised for the times their audience is online.

 
The Lesson?

 
Even with the best intentions, businesses can find it difficult to keep on top of their Instagram if there’s no one in-house dedicated to the task. An easy way to ensure you’re posting frequently enough is to create an editorial calendar, as already advised, and schedule posts on an app like Hootsuite. Although Hootsuite won’t automatically posts on Instagram, you’ll get a notification reminding you to send the post you’ve scheduled at the allotted time.

Bear in mind that while statistics suggest that Instagram audiences are the most engaged on Mondays and Thursdays, at 2 a.m., 8–9 a.m. and 5 p.m, it’s a good idea to check your own analytics. The same may not be true for your target audience. Once you’ve got an idea of when your users are online, make sure your best posts are scheduled around those times.

Big thanks to Hubspot for the figures that inspired these Instagram marketing tips! You can also read the latest social media user statistics announced by Facebook on our blog. And if you’re looking for more help with social media management, get in touch today.