Is Instagram the New Facebook for Businesses?

Last year Facebook announced they have more than 60 million business pages on their platform. Compared to Instagram with 15 million business pages, it seems Facebook is still the platform to beat – or is it?

Since 2016, the number of Instagram accounts for businesses have more than doubled, and for good reason. There is one particular area where Instagram tops Facebook – user engagement.

Instagram vs. Facebook Engagement Rates

According to Simply Measured, Instagram engagement rates are 15X higher than those on Facebook.

One reason for this might be the power of visual content. According to research, 40% of people respond to better visual information over text. Visual data is processed 60X faster by the brain than text. It’s also important to note that visual appeal matters greatly to consumers. In fact, according to oursocialtimes.com, visual appeal matters in 93% of cases when people go to make a purchase.

Instagram Popularity

80% of Instagram users follow at least 1 business on the app
57% of users access the platform daily
Instagram has 200 million active users in a month
1.6 Billion Likes happen per day on the platform
Over 20 million Instagram users engaged with a business thanks to their Instagram account (as of March 2017)

What This Means for Your Business

Instagram can be a powerful marketing tool. In fact, at least 30% of Instagram users have purchased a product they discovered on the platform, and brands with over 100k followers on the platform have grown 163% in 2 years.

The most important factor in deciding to use Instagram in your marketing efforts is knowing your audience. While Instagram is quickly gaining in popularity, according to data collected by wordstream.com, the majority of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 29 years old. They also point out that female internet users are more likely to use Instagram than men, a difference of 38% vs 26%.

If you’re hoping to reach an older, predominately male audience, Instagram may not be the most effective platform for your business. However, given that the platform gained 50 million users over the last 6 months, it’s a good idea not to write it out of your marketing strategy permanently.