Simply Measured Q3 2014

Instagram Study
Introduction
Instagram is one of the fastest growing social networks
in history. The mobile photo-sharing app, which
launched in October of 2010, now boasts 200 million 1.6 billion
monthly active users, 60 million photos posted each likes per day
day, and 1.6 billion likes per day.

200 million
This incredible growth has shaken up the way social
marketers think about visual content and marketing
to mobile audiences. Today, 86% of top brands have monthly active users
Instagram accounts, up from 71% at this time last year.
This study analyzes the top brands in the world and
how they use Instagram to build their brand, engage
audiences, and promote their wares by identifying the
successful (and unsuccessful) tactics that these brands
are using, the results they’re seeing, and lessons to be
learned from them.
60 million
photos per day

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 2

Methodology
The “Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study” looks at THIS STUDY ENCOMPASSES:
the Instagram activity of the Interbrand 2013 Top 100 Brands.
At the end of each year, Interbrand ranks the top 100 global
brands based several factors, including market, brand,
competitor, and financial data.
The Interbrand 100 is an industry standard and a standard for 6,075 posts by 80 brands
Simply Measured network studies. This list is analyzed because
the companies included are the best in the world at building
and maintaining a brand, which is a prerequisite to a successful
social media strategy.
Statistics cited in this study are based on data from Q3 2014
(7/1/14 - 9/30/14). 113,030,987 likes
All data was analyzed using Simply Measured’s industry-leading
social media analytics and reporting platform.
This study also incorporates data for benchmarking from
previous Simply Measured studies, “How Top Brand Marketers
Use Instagram” (October 2013) and “Top Brands See The Big
Picture With Instagram” (October 2012). 1,314,427 comments

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 3

ADOPTION

More Top Brands See Value in Instagram

At the end of Q3 2012, only 54% of the Interbrand 100 had
Instagram accounts. Today, 86% of the Interbrand list has an
account on the mobile network.
Key Findings
More Brands Are Active and Building Large Audiences
• Active brands (brands who’ve posted at least once in Q3 2014) Q3 2012 Q3 2013 Q3 2014
100%
have almost doubled since Q3 2012.
90%
• 73% of brands post at least one photo or video per week. 80%
This is a 35 percentage point increase over 2012.

Share of Interbrand 100 Brands

70%

• The number of brands with 10,000 or more followers 60%

has grown by 34 year-over-year. 50%

• The number of brands with more than 100,000 followers 40%

has grown by 15 year-over-year. 30%

Take Away 20%

Brands are joining Instagram at a substantial rate and are 10%

dedicating resources to maintaining a brand presence on 0

the network. By doing so, many brands are finding successful Have an Account
Active Account
(Posted in Quarter)
1+ Post
per Week
10,000+
Followers
20,000+
Followers
100,000+
Followers

ways to grow their audience.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 4

ACTIVITY

Brand Activity Is Being Standardized

A year ago, posting frequency seemed to be spread across
the board, with 18-20 brands posting in each of the three most
common buckets (less than 10 posts, 10-20 posts, and 20-30
posts per quarter). This is no longer the case.
Brand Posting Frequency Is Becoming More Normalized
Key Findings
Q3 2012 Q3 2013 Q3 2014
• In Q3 2014, monthly posting dropped in both the 35

“less than 10” and “20-30” categories but grew

substantially in the “10-20” category. 30

• The number of brands posting at least once daily 25

Number of Brands
has more than tripled in the last year growing to 20
20 brands in 2014.
15
Take Away
This increasingly standardized posting cadence highlights a 10

more sophisticated and measured approach to the network.

5
Brands recognize what’s working and have adjusted tactics
accordingly. While not every Instagram marketer boasts an 0

audience the size of those among the Interbrand 100, their Less Than 10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 More Than 50

tactics can act as a reference point for success. Average Number of Posts per Month

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 5

ACTIVITY AND ENGAGEMENT

Active Brands Are Driving More Engagement

As activity among top brands grows, so does engagement.
With more brands engaging larger audiences, more posts
being published, and tactics becoming more sophisticated,
users are becoming more receptive to brand content on the
network, giving large brands a bigger return on their Active Brands Are Driving More Engagement
investment in the network. No. of Active Brands Engagement

Key Findings
100 50M

90
Q3 2014 45M

• Monthly engagement (likes and comments) for the 80 40M

Interbrand 100 has more than doubled since Q3 last 70 Q3 2013 35M

No. of Active Brands

Total Engagements
year and grown by almost 12 times since Q3 2012. 60 30M

50
• Engagement with brand posts is growing at a greater Q3 2012 25M

rate than new brands are adopting the network. 40 20M

30 15M
Take Away 20 10M
Q3 2011
Now is a better time than ever before for brands to invest 10 5M
in Instagram. As audiences become more receptive to branded 0 0M
content, the potential for high engagement and exposure is

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continuing to grow substantially.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 6

ENGAGEMENT: AVERAGES
Average Engagement per Post Is Increasing Engagement and Posting Volume Are Increasing Over Time
While much of the increased overall engagement is due to 45M
Engagement Posts 2.5K

increased brand activity, more users are engaging with each 40M

post as the Instagram user base becomes more comfortable 35M 2K

Total Engagement

Number of Posts
with branded content, and brands become more effective 30M
1.5K
25M
at using the network. 20M
1K
Key Findings 15M

10M 500
• The average engagement per post has grown by 5M

416% over the same time period two years ago. 0 0

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• In Q3 2014, Interbrand 100 posts averaged 18,822 likes
and comments each.
• During this same time two years ago, Interbrand 100 Engagement per Post Is Increasing Over Time
companies averaged only 3,648 engagements per post. 25K Engagement per Post

Average Engagement Per Post

Take Away
20K

15K
The ability to make an impact with a single piece of content
is growing exponentially on the visual storytelling network. 10K

Top brands have grown per-post engagement by almost five 5K

times over the course of a year. 0

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Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 7
ENGAGEMENT: TIMING

Comments Happen Quickly on Instagram

Most comments on Instagram happen quickly, but
high-performing posts see comment volume peak later.
Key Findings
• On average, posts by top brands garner 216 comments, Posts by Top Brands Have a Long Life
with 50% of comments being posted in the first 6 hours Low Engagement Posts Average Posts High Engagement Posts
and 75% of comments being posted in the first 48 hours. 100%

90%
• Top brands have staying power. 10% of comments come

Cumulative Percentage of Total Comments Made

after 13 days. 80%

70%
• High-performing posts (posts with double the average
engagement) will peak later, taking more than 13 hours 60%

to hit 50% of total comments. 50%

• Posts with half the average engagement get 50% of 40%

their comments in less than 3 hours. 30%

Take Away 20%

High performing content on Instagram has a longer shelf 10%

life than average posts. This is an important reason to focus 0

on quality. Instagram users scroll through a single stream of 1 2 3 4 5

images, even when using the discovery tools and searching Days Since Content Was Posted

specific topics. As a post ages, it’s important to have content

that will catch their eye.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 8

INDUSTRY ACTIVITY

Media Brands Are The Most Active

The most active industry on the Interbrand list is media;
even though automotive is the most well-represented
on the Top 100 List.
Key Findings Take Away
• Only four media brands from the Interbrand list are Instagram is a playground for brands with visually-appealing
active on Instagram, but they average 62 more posts products and a unique style. Media, automotive, luxury, and
per month than the list average. apparel have all found success on the visual storytelling platform.
• The brands in the media industry average 23,906
engagements per post; 5,084 likes and comments Instagram Activity Varies by Industry
more than the list average. 100 Average Posts per Month No. of Active Brands
20

18

Number of Brands Active in Q3 2014

• Business services, financial services, and fast moving 90

Average Monthly Posts per Brand

16
80
consumer goods (FMCG) have the lowest percentage 70 13
14

of brands represented on Instagram. 60

12

10
50 9

• While the automotive industry has the highest number 40

7 7
8

6 6 6 6
of brands on Instagram (13), the luxury segment of the 30

20 4 4 4 4 4
Interbrand 100 list maintains 100% Instagram adoption 10
3
2 2 2
1 1 1
with all seven brands active on the network. 0 0

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Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 9
TACTICS: CAPTIONS Longer Captions Are Used Sparingly by Top Brands

Brands Avoid Lengthy Captions… 1,200

But Should They? 1,000

Number of Posts
800
Brands on Instagram are focused on keeping captions short.
This isn’t surprising, since the network is made for visual 600

sharing. But, it turns out engagement doesn’t drop when 400

longer-captioned posts are shared. 200

Key Findings 0

• The average caption is 138 characters long,

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≥6
including hashtags. Number of Characters in Post Caption

• There is no statistically significant correlation Caption Length Does Not Significantly Affect Engagement
between caption length and engagement.
30K

Take Away

Average Engagement per Post

25K
While it may seem intuitive to keep post captions short,
this isn’t necessarily integral to finding success on Instagram. 20K

Don’t be afraid to use the space needed to convey your 15K

message, as long as it adds to the visual focus of your post, 10K

as opposed to detracting from it.
5K

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Number of Characters in Post Caption

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 10

TACTICS: @MENTIONS

Caption Content Isn’t Going Unnoticed

While caption length doesn’t impact engagement, @Mentions Increase Engagement per Post
caption content certainly does. 24,400
25K

Key Findings
20K
• On average, posts that include another user handle in the
15,600
caption net 56% more engagement.
15K

• Only 36% of all brand posts include at least one @mention.

Take Away
10K

Not every brand is taking advantage of @mentions as a way of

5K
reaching and interacting with a wider audience, but the tactic
has proven successful for those that have done so authentically, 0
relevantly, and without spamming users. It’s important to note that Posts with Posts with at Least
users who employ this tactic in an abusive and inauthentic way will No @Mention One @Mention
be deactivated, so be cautious and measured in your approach.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 11

TACTICS: HASHTAGS

Hashtags Are the Norm on Instagram

Instagram limits hashtagging to 30 tags per post. Top brands
may not use all 30 allotted tags, but they aren’t shying away
from the technique either. Most Posts by Top Brands Have Few Hashtags
Key Findings 1.8K

1.6K
• 88% of brand posts include at least one hashtag.

Number of Instagram Posts

1.4K

• 91% of posts by top brands have seven or fewer hashtags. 1.2K

1K
• Posts with at least one hashtag average 12.6% more
800
engagement.
600

Take Away 400

Hashtags are an important part of discovery on Instagram, 200

allowing brands to gain exposure to niche groups and specific 0

areas of interest. While they may not drive exponential 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Number of Hashtags Used

engagement growth, they give audiences an organic way
to discover branded content through the topics and forums
that interest them.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 12

TACTICS: LOCATION TAGGING
Location Tagging Tied to Engagement Growth
Location tagging gives Instagram users another way to find content. Location Tagging Increases Engagement per Post
Several third party apps exist that allow users to search by location,
leading to increased engagement. 35K 32,400

Key Findings 30K

25,200
• Of the 6,075 Instagram posts, 307 had a location tagged. 25K

• Posts tagged with a location receive 79% higher engagement. 20K

• No brand on the Interbrand list uses location tags on all posts. 15K

Take Away 10K

Only some brands ever tag with a location, and these brands have
higher engagement overall, which suggests a generally higher level 5K

of Instagram sophistication pays off for these brands. When these

0
brands tag a location, their posts average 29% higher engagement. Engagement When Engagement When No
No brand in this sample uses location tags on all their posts. Location Tagged (307 posts) Location Tagged (2,994 posts)

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 13

Conclusion
Instagram has taken great care to enable quality brand
storytelling. With an active ad network and analytics being
slowly rolled out to enterprise partners, a highly engaged
audience, and updated features, the focus of brand marketers
is on implementing the best tactics for driving engagement
on the network. These top brands have already recognized the
opportunity with Instagram’s 200 million users by increasing their
activity and working to refine their tactics.
The example from the leading companies speaks to the
importance of a sophisticated presence.
1. Maintain a balanced posting cadence.
2. Don’t second guess caption length.
3. Test location tagging.
4. Use hashtags to reach targeted audiences.
5. Mention influential and relevant users in captions
to engage new audiences. Keep in mind that you
don’t want to come across as spam.
By following the example of these brands, and developing
a practical and sophisticated measurement strategy, you can
make Instagram work for your brand as well.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 14

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