Instagram the Social Channel of Choice Among Interbrand 100 — Adoption Grows 15 Percent Year Over Year

Simply Measured, the leading social analytics platform, today released their Q3 2014 Instagram Study, revealing tactics successful brands are utilizing to increase their presence on the visual platform. According to data from Simply Measured, 86 percent of the Interbrand 100 integrate Instagram into their marketing strategy, representing a 15 percent growth in activity since 2013. Instagram now boasts 200 million active users, 60 million photos posted daily and more than 1.6 billion interactions per day.

The Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study analyzed the Instagram activity of the Interbrand 2013 Top 100 Brands, ranked at the end of each year based on several factors, including market, competitive and financial data. The data showed a clear correlation between brands who maintain an active presence on the platform and increased engagement. More brands are seeing value in Instagram compared to past years – in 2012 only 54 percent of measured brands had an Instagram account versus 86 percent brand participation in 2014.

“The rapid adoption of Instagram by big brands signifies the continued expansion of social media as a cornerstone of overall marketing strategy,” said author and digital brand strategist Jeff Bullas. “In the past, brands would double-down efforts on one or two channels, but now we’re seeing an expansion of assets and better coverage on a wider range of platforms. They’re engaging with customers where they natively spend time.”

Key findings from the study include:

Active brands have doubled since 2012. Brands who posted at least once a day have doubled since 2012 and 73 percent of brands post at least one photo or video per week. Brands are joining Instagram at a substantial rate and are finding successful ways to grow their audience by maintaining a presence on the network.

Brand activity is being standardized. The increase in standardized posting cadence highlights a more sophisticated and measured approach to the network. Brands recognize an active posting strategy yields better engagement and have adjusted tactics accordingly. Brands posting at least once a day have more than tripled in the last year.

Active brands are driving more engagement. With more brands engaging larger audiences and tactics becoming more sophisticated, Instagram users are more receptive to marketing content on the network, giving brands a bigger return on their investment. Monthly engagement for the Interbrand 100 has more than doubled since Q3 2013 and grown by almost 12 times since Q3 2012. The potential for high exposure is continuing to grow substantially as audiences become more receptive to branded content.

Location tagging is tied to engagement growth. Location tagging gives Instagram users another way to find interesting content, generating more activity on posts with a specified location. Posts tagged with a location receive 79 percent higher engagement on average, providing a substantial boost for brands who utilize the function.

Caption content isn’t going unnoticed. While caption length doesn’t impact engagement, caption content does. Simply Measured data showed 56 higher engagement for posts that include another user handle in the caption. Only 36 percent of brands include at least one @mention, highlighting an area that could easily be leveraged for brands looking to increase audience size.

“Our data shows that brands are continuing to invest heavily in social media, especially the visual platforms,” said Michael Thomason, data analyst at Simply Measured. “Active brands are developing a standardized strategy for reaching their customers on Instagram, and are in turn receiving record engagement and exposure to a wider audience.”

To learn more about Simply Measured’s social analytics platform, or view additional insights from the Q3 2014 Instagram Study, visit www.simplymeasured.com or read more on the Simply Measured blog.

About Simply Measured
Simply Measured is the leading social analytics platform used by brands across the globe to quantify performance, determine impact, and derive strategic direction from social media data. With more than 40 unique reports sourced from the top social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube and Vine, Simply Measured turns social media data into beautiful, customizable reports that are easily analyzed and shared. Based in Seattle, Washington, Simply Measured supports more than 35 percent of the Interbrand 100 and has more than 100,000 users. Learn more at http://simplymeasured.com.