Meta announced an update to its AI labeling policy, expanding its definition of “manipulated media” to go beyond AI-generated videos, to now include deceptive audio and images on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
An important feature of the new policy is it’s sensitivity on being perceived as being restrictive of freedom of expression. Rather than adopt the approach of removing problematic content Meta is instead simply labeling it. Meta introduced two labels, “Made with AI” and “Imagined with AI,” to make clear what content was created or altered with AI.
New Warning Labels
The AI-generated content will rely on identifying the signals of AI-authorship and self-reporting:
“Our ‘Made with AI’ labels on AI-generated video, audio, and images will be based on our detection of industry-shared signals of AI images or people self-disclosing that they’re uploading AI-generated content”
Content that is significantly misleading may receive more prominent labels so that users can get a better understanding.
Harmful content that violates the Community Standards, such as content that incites violence, election interference, bullying or harassments will qualify for removal, regardless if it is human or AI generated.
Reason For Meta’s Updated Policy
The original AI labeling policy was created in 2020 and because of the state of the technology it was narrowly defined confined to addressing deceptive videos (the kind that depicted public figures saying things they never did). Meta’s Oversight Board recognized that technology has progressed to the point that a new policy was needed. The new policy accordingly expands to now address AI-generated audio and images, in addition to videos.
Based On User Feedback
Meta’s process for updating their rules appear to have anticipated pushback from all sides. Their new policy is based on extensive feedback from from a wide range of stakeholder and input from the general public. The new policy also has the flexibility to bend if needed.
Meta explains:
“In Spring 2023, we began reevaluating our policies to see if we needed a new approach to keep pace with rapid advances… We completed consultations with over 120 stakeholders in 34 countries in every major region of the world. Overall, we heard broad support for labeling AI-generated content and strong support for a more prominent label in high-risk scenarios. Many stakeholders were receptive to the concept of people self-disclosing content as AI-generated.
…We also conducted public opinion research with more than 23,000 respondents in 13 countries and asked people how social media companies, such as Meta, should approach AI-generated content on their platforms. A large majority (82%) favor warning labels for AI-generated content that depicts people saying things they did not say.
…And the Oversight Board noted their recommendations were informed by consultations with civil-society organizations, academics, inter-governmental organizations and other experts.”
Collaboration And Consensus
Meta’s announcement explains that they plan for the policies to keep up with the pace of technology by revisiting it with organizations like the Partnership on AI, governments and non-governmental organizations.
Meta’s revised policy emphasizes the need for transparency and context for AI-generated content, that removal of content will be based on violations of their community standards and that the preferred response will be to label potentially problematic content.
Instagram is the third most popular social channel, with 500 million daily active users and one billion monthly active users.
That’s a lot of targeted audience to tap into; naturally, there is no shortage of brands leveraging the social platform.
Like all social media channels, with those huge numbers of users, it’s easy to fall through the cracks. Just because you put effort into your posts doesn’t mean your posts will be seen.
It’s worth knowing that Instagram’s algorithms promote recent posts alongside interest and relationship, so determinng when your users are active is crucial.
Knowing when is the best time to post can be the difference between hundreds or thousands of engagements.
To find the best time to post on Instagram, we reviewed a range of data studies from social media tools and compared the data below.
It’s worth remembering that data like this is only a starting point and you should experiment to find what works for your audience.
The Best Time To Post On Instagram
Before you look at your specific audience, having an idea of general trends when Instagram users are posting is a useful starting point for you to experiment with.
We reviewed data studies from social media tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, HubSpot, and Later to gain insight into the best posting times.
Between them, they analyzed millions of posts to find when users are most active across different days and time zones.
What stands out is that each study and social tool shows a different day and time as the best time to post on Instagram. This highlights the importance of analyzing your niche and data to find the best times and what works for you.
Never take another study as the rule when you should post.
They are a guide only; putting in the time to experiment and analyze your data will help you get the best results.
Always be testing.
Best Time To Post On Instagram, Social Tool Data Studies Compared
Source Study
Hootsuite
Later
Hubspot
Sprout Social
Time Zone
Pacific time
Local time
Local time
Local time
Monday
12 p.m.
5 a.m.
7 – 9 p.m.
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Tuesday
9 a.m.
7 a.m.
8 – 9 p.m.
9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Wednesday
11 a.m.
3 a.m.
8 – 9 p.m.
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Thursday
11 a.m.
3 a.m.
9 p.m.
Friday
2 p.m.
7 a.m.
9 p.m.
9 – 11 a.m.
Saturday
9 a.m.
1 a.m.
6 – 11 p.m.
Sunday
7 p.m.
1 a.m.
4 -9 p.m.
Sources, June 2023:
HubSpot reviewed 110M posts across 1M Instagram users.
Sprout Social analyzed 2B engagements across 400,000 profiles.
Best Time To Post On Instagram By Location
If you have a global audience, you should be considering and posting at the best time for their time zone and not the time where you are.
If you are working across multiple countries, you should consider staggering posting across different time zones or trying to find overlaps between countries.
Plot what time your Instagram users are most active (see below) and then adjust for local time.
According to Hootsuite, the worst day to post is a Sunday.
Later and Sprout agree that Wednesday is one of the best days to post on Instagram.
Later thinks Monday mornings are all about “early to rise and early to post” for the best views and engagements.
Social Tool
Day of Week
Time To Post
Later
Monday
5:00 a.m. Local
Sprout Social
Tuesday & Wednesday
9/10 a.m. – p.m. Local
Hootsuite
Wednesday
11 a.m. PT
Source – as above.
Best Times To Post Reels On Instagram?
There is no doubt that video-based content is on the rise across all online platforms, including social media. TikTok has created an increasing market for short-form videos.
If you are experimenting with Instagram Reels, then according to:
Hootsuite, the best time to post on Instagram Reels is 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., Monday to Thursday.
SocialPilot, the best time to post is between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. from Monday to Thursday.
As I mentioned, this can take trial and error – and depend on your industry and target market.
What Time Are Instagram Users Most Active?
As a starting point, consider your audience and what sort of routine and habits they might have. For example, many people check their social media as soon as they wake up and before they start work.
This can vary depending on the demographic and age, but 7 – 8 a.m. (local time) is generally a good time for a morning post.
When people wake up, they often check social media, spending a couple of minutes or more scrolling through their newsfeeds or watching Instagram Reels.
So, around 7 – 8 a.m. can be a great time to post in the morning.
Another time when people are often on their phones is when they take their lunch break. Posting around 11 – 1 p.m., when people are likely to be breaking for lunch, can help ensure your post will make it closer to the top of their feed.
People also tend to scroll through social media right after work or before bed.
Don’t forget that posting times can depend on your target audience’s age, demographic, and industry.
Understanding your audience and demographic is critical as a starting point to consider what they might be doing during the day and what time they might be active in the evening.
Best Times To NOT Post On Instagram
Weekends tend to see lower engagement levels, but don’t count them out altogether. Saturday can be a decent time to post if you post at the right time.
Brands that offer consumer goods tend to see high engagement on Sunday evenings.
But the consensus has been that Sunday is generally the worst day to post on Instagram, as people are decompressing or preparing for the week ahead.
So, typically, they will spend less time scrolling through social media.
How Often Should You Post On Instagram?
That depends on a couple of factors.
First, do you have enough product images, content, and ideas to post a couple of times per day or week? The goal here is to post consistently.
On the other hand, don’t put content out there for the sake of posting regularly. Instead, spend time conducting a thoughtful customer journey-based content strategy.
That might take more time on the front end but it will help your content strategy as the weeks go on.
That way, you can spend more time managing social media and engaging with followers and less worrying about getting enough content out there.
If you don’t have an abundance of post ideas, try posting three times a week. Then you can adjust accordingly by measuring your ongoing insights.
How To Find The Best Time For You To Post On Instagram
Studies and shared data are useful as a benchmark and a starting point for you to test with your own posts.
To find the best times to post on Instagram for you, experiment and test different times to see when you get the best response.
You will most likely find that different types of posts will get different reactions at different times, and you will also want to experiment across a range of posts relevant to your audience and brand.
As we said above, think about creating a journey, aim for posting types of messages, and try to post content consistently to encourage follower expectations.
To help inform when you should be posting, you can check the following:
Evaluate your top-performing posts, measuring when they were posted and what you posted.
Check when your audience is online to know where and when your audience is online and active.
As an extension to when your audience is online, you must be aware of the different time zones your brand operates across and post at the times relevant to those time zones.
To measure most of the above, you can use Instagram Insights to get valuable data.
Using Instagram Insights
First, set up your account as a business or creator – that’s required to view Instagram Insights.
Once you have 100 followers, you can see your audience’s demographics: including the age, gender, and location of your followers.
Instagram Insights also gives you the ability to analyze high-performing posts.
When reviewing the data, ask yourself, what worked here? Was it a high-quality image? Was it the post time? Maybe it was the copy and hashtags? Or was it a mix of all of these?
Analyze and test. Analyze and test.
The only way to learn is to just keep experimenting with different ideas. It’s worth noting that some pieces of content just won’t perform well, while others do.
Don’t get hung up on creating something perfect. Just keep trying.
Other Social Media Tools
You can also use other tools like Brandwatch or Iconosquare to view analytics and schedule posts.
If you regularly post on Facebook, you can also use Meta Business Suite to schedule and analyze posts across both platforms in one place.
Check Competitors’ Content
Another thing you can do is check out your competitor’s content.
Look when your competitors are posting. For example, are their Tuesday 2 p.m. posts performing well, or was another time working better for them?
Analyzing the competition to see when they get the most engagement can be the best insight for a new brand when you don’t have history to measure.
Keep Testing And Be Consistent
Over time, the more content you have, the more accurate your Insights will be in analyzing your Instagram post strategy.
Then, you can change up your content strategy based on your systematic analysis.
Ultimately, you and the brand must determine what success looks like.
Maybe it’s more likes, comments, follows, or general brand awareness.
While posting times are a crucial part of overall engagement, you still need to select the right hashtags, visuals, and copy for your posts – and pay attention to promoted posts, as this can impact how you look at your Insights.
Ultimately, you must balance all these variables to grow your follower base and increase engagement consistently.
The important thing is to stay consistent. Post regularly and check back often to see how your posts are doing.
More resources:
Featured Image: PixieMe/Shutterstock
FAQ
What factors influence the best times to post on Instagram?
Determining the optimal posting times on Instagram is not a one-size-fits-all process. Several dynamic factors influence this timing, such as:
User Behavior: Audience activity patterns, which vary based on demographic, habits, and routines.
Time Zones: Geographic location of the audience which dictates the local times they are most active online.
Content Type: Different types of content, like images, carousels, and videos (including Reels), may perform differently at various times.
Social Media Algorithms: Platforms like Instagram prioritize recent content but also consider user interest and relational factors.
Industry-Specific Trends: Audience engagement can vary significantly depending on the industry or niche of the content being posted.
Competitor Activity: Understanding when competitors are posting can provide insights into potential optimal posting windows.
Experimentation: Testing different posting times and analyzing performance data to see which times yield the best engagement for your specific audience.
How can Instagram Insights help in determining the best posting times?
Instagram Insights is a valuable tool for content creators and marketers to understand their audience and optimize their posting strategy. Some ways Instagram Insights can assist include:
Audience Demographics: Insights into follower demographics such as age, gender, and location can help tailor content to the audience’s preferences.
Engagement Patterns: Information on when followers are most active on the platform allows marketers to post at times when their audience is online.
Content Performance: Analyzing which posts have the highest engagement can indicate which posting times are most effective.
Historical Data: Looking at trends over time to understand when your content typically performs best.
Optimization: Using insights to tweak and test different content schedules to find the best time to post for your brand.
By interpreting this data, brands can schedule posts to align with when their audience is most likely to engage, making their content strategy more effective.
What are the recommended considerations for brands posting across multiple time zones?
For brands with a global audience, considering multiple time zones is crucial to ensure consistent engagement. Some key considerations include:
Staggering Posts: Scheduling content to go live at optimal times in each target time zone to maximize visibility.
Overlap Identification: Finding time slots where multiple time zones have high engagement rates and posting during these windows.
Audience Analysis: Understanding the geographical dispersion of the audience and tailoring the posting schedule to their local peak times.
Content Localization: Customizing content to resonate with audiences in different regions, which may involve varying the content itself or the timing of posts.
Utilizing Analytics Tools: Employing advanced analytics and scheduling tools to manage and automate posting across time zones effectively.
These practices can help in creating an effective content calendar that addresses the global nature of the brand’s audience and fosters engagement from different regions.
Having trouble logging into Facebook and Instagram? It appears that both Facebook and Instagram have gone down. Users are reporting issues logging into either platforms.
Attempts to log into Facebook results in an unrecognized password.
Over Half A Million Reports Of Facebook Outages
The DownDetector website shows the outage beginning about 7:01 AM Pacific/10:01 EST, rapidly escalating to over half a million users reporting issues through the Down Detector website by a half an hour later.
Facebook Outage Reports By Users
Screenshot DownDetector
The unknown problem is affecting the ability to login and it affects both Facebook and Instagram on the web and the app.
Where Facebook Outage Affects
Screenshot Down Detector
Instagram Outage Reports
Perhaps reflecting the user base of Instagram and the likelihood of them reporting the outage, a smaller amount of users have reported the inability to use the site. By 8:40 AM PST there were only +92,000 reports of an outage at the DownDetector website.
Instagram App Outage
The statistics related to the Instagram users reporting an outage shows that most users who reported an outage reflects how they use Instagram. The clear majority of users are reporting an outage in the Instagram App.
Instagram App Affected
Sceenshot DownDetector
The reporting for Facebook shows that 75% of reports were about problems logging in, whereas that is only 12% of reports for Instagram.
Meta has announced new features for Instagram’s Direct Messaging (DM) platform to enhance user experience and foster better connections among friends and family.
The updates include editing messages, pin chats, toggling read receipts, saving favorite stickers, and personalizing chats with new themes.
Edit Messages Up To 15 Minutes After Sending
One of the most significant updates is the introduction of message editing. You can now edit their messages within a 15-minute window after sending them.
To make changes, press and hold a sent message and select “edit” from the dropdown menu.
This feature can assist with correcting typos or rephrasing messages for better clarity.
Pin Up to Three Chats For Easy Access
Instagram will soon allow you to pin up to three group or one-on-one chats to the top of your inbox for quick access.
To pin a chat, swipe left or tap and hold on a chat, then tap “pin.” You can unpin a thread at any time.
Customizable Read Receipts
Instagram now offers the flexibility to turn read receipts on or off for all chats or specific ones.
To adjust this setting, navigate to your account settings, tap “Messages and story replies,” and then toggle the “Show read receipts” option.
Enhanced Sticker & Reply Options
Instagram has introduced the ability to save favorite stickers in DMs for easy access. By pressing and holding on a desired sticker, you can save it for future use.
Additionally, when replying to a message, you can use stickers, GIFs, videos, photos, and voice messages.
To access these options, press and hold on the message you want to reply to and select “reply.”
Personalized Chat Themes
To further enhance the chat experience, Instagram has rolled out new chat themes.
You can set the mood for your conversations with a variety of themes, including the soon-to-be-animated “Love” theme, “Lollipop,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” and many more.
To change the theme for a chat, tap the chat name at the top, go into themes, and select one of the available options.
In Summary
As an Instagram user, you can now access a range of new features to enhance your messaging experience.
Take some time to explore these updates and see how they can help you better connect with people, express yourself, and organize your inbox.
FAQ
How do the Instagram DM updates improve user experience and communication?
Instagram has recently made several updates to its Direct Messaging (DM) feature, which aims to improve the user experience and facilitate more engaging communication. These updates include:
The ability to edit messages within a limited time frame
Pinning important chats for easy access
Customizable read receipt settings
Saving favorite stickers
Using various media types when replying to messages
Personalizing the appearance of chat threads with different themes
These changes provide users with more control over their messaging experience and offer new ways to express themselves while communicating with others on the platform.
What implications do the new Instagram DM features have for marketers and professional communicators?
Recent updates to Instagram’s Direct Messaging feature have several potential effects on marketing and professional communication strategies:
Easier message editing may result in more refined and professional customer interactions
The option to pin important conversations can help prioritize significant customer exchanges or collaborations
Flexible read receipt settings give brands more control over managing customer expectations for response times
Additional options for media replies can facilitate more engaging, personalized follower communications
Chat theme customization might be used to create distinctive branded environments for customer service
How can marketers leverage Instagram’s saved sticker and reply features to enhance customer engagement?
Instagram’s new features for direct messaging can be beneficial for marketers looking to enhance customer engagement:
Saved stickers can be used to maintain brand consistency and provide quick responses to customer messages.
Marketers can create more engaging and memorable interactions by incorporating various media types, such as GIFs, videos, photos, and voice messages, in their replies.
The new features can help streamline the process of responding to customer inquiries, enabling faster and more varied communication.
As one of the most popular social media networks in the world, Instagram is a crucial component of any digital marketing strategy.
Building an engaged community of followers on Instagram can go a long way in increasing awareness for your brand, establishing trust with consumers, and ultimately, boosting your bottom line.
But garnering followers on Instagram is easier said than done. And no – buying followers isn’t a great idea.
If you’re looking to gain more Instagram followers, but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we’ll uncover 24 strategies to significantly increase your Instagram following by leveraging the right tools, tactics, and trends for maximum impact.
1. Develop A Dynamic Content Strategy And Editorial Calendar
We usually focus on ideas, delivery, and optimization when we create great content.
Sharing content on a brand’s Instagram account should be no different.
Building a community of engaged followers on Instagram is almost impossible without a dedicated content strategy.
This will help you understand what your goals are, who your audience is, what topics your posts will cover, and much more – which will then allow you to build a robust calendar of content.
It’s important to take time to brainstorm engaging content ideas that align with seasonal moments, cultural holidays, and tentpole events for your business or industry, as well as your overall traffic and company goals.
Having a library of ideas and a tentative schedule will keep you ahead of the game, so you don’t find yourself scrambling for what to post.
Your strategy should be flexible and responsible, allowing you to adapt to trends and audience feedback while still maintaining a consistent posting schedule.
Depending on your business and audience, it’s ideal for you to post at least several times a week.
While Instagram has undergone plenty of changes and evolutions over the years – and continues to do so – it remains, at its heart, a platform focused on visual content.
For brands, success on Instagram relies on capturing peoples’ attention – and the best way to do so is through high-quality, thumb-stopping visuals.
Remember that you only have a few seconds at best to pique someone’s curiosity in the Explore tab or on their feed.
Focus on posting high-quality content. This includes:
High-resolution, well-composed images, videos, and Reels.
Crisp audio that is easy for audiences to understand.
Accessible and legible text (in terms of sizing and color contrast).
Content that fits within Instagram’s recommended dimensions.
And more.
Avoid pixelation or cropping issues in your content; your brand should not be sharing images or videos that are blurry or have part of the content cut off.
This isn’t to say your content needs to be at the standard of National Geographic; it should just be of a high enough quality to compete on Instagram.
It’s not about spending lots of money or getting professional photographers, but making authentic and engaging content.
Low-quality content will not drive engagement and might even cost you followers.
Screenshot from about.instagram.com, February 2024
By now, we’re all aware: Social media users love video content.
The explosion of TikTok in recent years, as well as the continued dominance of YouTube, has proven the power that video wields in the social media space – and Instagram is no different.
The company has focused its attention on building out Instagram Reels, its competitor to TikTok – and thus, it often gives preference to Reels content when serving new content to users. By creating your own Reels, you’ll not just capture the attention of users, but appeal to Instagram’s algorithm.
Utilizing Instagram Reels and other videos on Instagram can significantly boost your impressions and engagement and, ultimately, attract new followers.
Just make sure your videos are interesting, concise, tell a compelling story, and that they are visually optimized for the platform and its dimensions.
On that note, do your best to stay on top of Instagram’s evolving features.
Right now, Instagram is more dynamic than ever, and the platform is continually introducing new features to enhance user engagement – and staying abreast of these can set you apart from the crowd.
Just like it pays to create Reels – as that’s a content format that the company is actively investing in – you will often find an increase in performance when you use the latest features and tools.
Keep an eye out for new functionalities such as enhanced or advanced Reels editing tools and options, new interactive stickers or features for Stories, new filters, and more.
Then, find fresh ways to adapt this to your target audience and content strategy – and get ready to welcome some new followers to the fold.
6. Leverage Instagram Analytics For Deeper Insights
An Instagram Business account is free; it gives you access to insights and analytics that tell you more about how your content performs with your Instagram audiences.
Within Instagram insights, you can track things like the number of accounts you’ve reached and engaged, your follower growth over time, and detailed metrics on the engagement generated by your different pieces of content.
You can even see things like metrics for individual Instagram Stories slides.
This data can all be incredibly useful in gaining insights into your audience’s behavior and content preferences, as well as the formats, topics, and types of content that drive the highest performance for you.
Use this to optimize your content calendar and posting schedule – and maximize your chances of expanding the size of your community.
Just like video has taken the social media world by storm over the past few years, so has ephemeral content.
After Snapchat burst onto the scene in 2011, ephemeral (or “disappearing”) content experienced a sudden surge of popularity – and it never really died down. In fact, it led to the creation of Instagram Stories, which are now an integral part of how people use Instagram.
For businesses, Instagram Stories offer a way to garner user attention and get your brands in front of your target audience.
Supercharge your Instagram Stories by making them interactive.
Leveraging features like polls, questions, quizzes, link stickers, and other interactive stickers in Stories can help you increase engagement and make your account more visible to a broader audience.
The more people who interact with your content, the more the algorithm will serve it to others, and so on.
In the past few years, Instagram SEO has become its own standalone strategy.
Where once social media platforms focused almost exclusively on the “newsfeed” for content discovery, they have now evolved to promote discoverability, in alignment with shifting user behaviors.
Instagram SEO refers to the strategy of optimizing your content on Instagram to make it easier for users to discover you on the social platform.
This means including keywords in your relevant content areas so that you’re more visible in Instagram search.
Areas where Instagram SEO applies include:
Bio: You should strive to include strong keywords, search terms, and hashtags here.
Profile name and Handle: Choose a name that includes keywords people might search for when looking for a brand or product like yours.
Alt text: These are text descriptions of visual content that help enhance accessibility and searchability on Instagram. From an SEO standpoint, it helps the platform “read” your visual content and potentially serve it to users who are searching.
Optimizing your profile and content for Instagram’s search function can help new users discover your account more easily, and boost your follower count.
On a similar note, you should optimize your profile so that users who do land on your account can quickly decide whether to follow you.
Your Instagram bio lets users discover who your brand is and whether they will follow you – so it typically features a description of your business (or tagline), a link to your website, any branded hashtags, and/or any calls-to-action (CTAs) you might want to include.
You might also want to include a link to a Linktree or something similar, which allows you to share multiple links to articles, webpages, etc., over time.
Let users know what you’re all about, but try not to sound desperate or come across as spammy.
Update this section as frequently as needed with new information.
Outside of your bio, you should focus on choosing a compelling and recognizable profile picture that will generate interest and excitement from users. If you’re not sure what to feature here, choose a high-resolution logo.
Another feature launched on Instagram recently is the collaborative post, which can be an excellent tool for garnering new followers.
Collaborative posts – or “Instagram Collabs” – allow two or more accounts to co-author content. One Instagram creator can post a piece of content, whether image or video, and invite another account as a collaborator.
Once that person accepts the invite, the post will be automatically shared with both accounts’ followers and show up on their profile, which essentially doubles the visibility of the post.
In this way, it’s a clever strategy to partner with other brands or individual influencers whose followings align with your target audience.
By sharing a collaborative post with them, you’ll get your brand in front of those followers, and hopefully convince them to follow you as well.
Speaking of influencers – it’s always worth considering influencer partnerships as part of your strategy to generate new followers.
Partnering with influencers is a popular tactic for a reason; it can be an effective way to gain visibility, tap into their established trust and loyalty, and reach new people.
While influencer partnerships aren’t new to Instagram, there has been a noted shift towards “micro-influencers” – smaller influencers with highly engaged communities – over macro-influencers with massive, but less active, audiences.
This is great news for brands, as it means they don’t necessarily need to have huge budgets in order to work with influencers.
Focus on finding the right influencers for you, whose values, messaging, and audience align with yours – and then put together creative partnerships to be successful on Instagram.
Screenshot from business.instagram.com, February 2024
Instagram Shopping, the platform’s ecommerce offering, is useful not just for driving sales but also for attracting new followers interested in your brand and products.
With Instagram Shopping, businesses can set up a digital storefront of sorts, and enable users to shop your brand’s photos and videos right in the platform.
If you’re a business with products that can easily be sold direct to consumers, this could be a great option for you.
And there’s plenty of potential here, given that nearly half of people say they use Instagram to shop weekly.
Once your Instagram Shop is set up, you can have plenty of options to customize it by adding new items, creating collections, and more. You also have the ability to tag products in your posts so that people can learn more and make purchases.
Tagging, in all its forms, is a great way to expand your reach on Instagram and drive new followers.
Below are a few ways you can use tagging strategically to broaden your exposure.
Tag People Or Brands In Your Posts
You can tag other brands or individuals in your content where it makes sense to drive engagement in a few ways.
Firstly, you might benefit from the authority or trust your audience has in said brand or individual if they are already familiar with them.
Additionally, whoever you tag might go out of their way to engage with that content, which could lead to a boost by the algorithm.
And lastly, tagging relevant accounts means you show up in their tagged feed.
Let’s say you own a fitness studio, and you take a group shot after a fitness class and tag every person in the photo. That post will then populate in the “Tagged” feeds of every person tagged – meaning their followers have the opportunity to see the post and discover your studio.
Use Location Tags To Reach Local Audiences
Another way to be discovered by users who aren’t already following you is to geotag your content.
You could use your actual physical location, so people can find you and see what you’re all about.
Alternatively, try using your city or a nearby (relevant) landmark that gets many searches. When people are searching for that nearby location, they can now come across your content.
If your content is doing exceptionally well, it can even be featured at the top of the search.
Tags improve searchability, as people are looking at locations for things to do and what’s going on in the area
This is also true for events. If you have a presence at a big event or simply want to reach people interested in that event, try geotagging your post with that location.
Another best practice for how to get followers on Instagram is to look at what your competitors are doing and learn from it.
Researching their accounts might reveal hashtags you didn’t think of, influencers you have yet to reach out to, or other strategies that can inform your own.
Also, note which of their posts are performing the best – that can serve as another clue as to what can work on your account.
Regularly analyze your competitors’ strategies to identify effective tactics and trends. Adapt these insights to your unique style and audience.
Screenshot from about.instagram.com, February 2024
As with any other social media platform, it pays to pay attention to what’s trending on Instagram.
From content formats to trending topics and even the most popular audio tracks, you should stay on top of what users are engaging with the most and see if there are ways to adapt it for your own content.
For example, is there a particular meme format that’s taking Instagram by storm right now? Are you seeing the same photo of Taylor Swift adapted for different jokes or brands?
Think about whether it makes sense for you to jump into the conversation and perhaps reach people that are already part of it.
Similarly, engage with content in your Explore tab to see what’s performing well. Are there specific types of Reels that seem to be very popular? Or a type of creator that you’re seeing more of?
Staying on top of this will help guide you in the right direction to make your content pop.
If you want people to engage with you and your content, start by doing so yourself.
Make an effort to authentically engage with your community. This includes following, liking, and commenting on the content of your followers and others, but it’s more than that.
You should be focusing on having genuine interactions with people, not just clicking “like” and moving on.
Strategically engage with users who might be interested in your brand. This could be potential customers, brand allies, current followers, or even people who are posting similar content and using the same hashtags as you.
The more you engage, the more you’ll show up in other people’s feeds and get noticed.
Plus, it shows you’re an authentic, real account who believes in reciprocity!
Accessibility is a non-negotiable when it comes to Instagram content – and ensuring your content is accessible could mean the difference between someone following you, or just continuing on with their day.
To make your content accessible, focus on ensuring that all text is legible (even on a mobile phone screen), that you’re considering color contrast, and that you provide captions for any video or audio content.
Try to steer away from packing a ton of text into an image post. Not only will it be hard to read on a small screen – especially for those with vision challenges – but it can also just be a visual eyesore.
Use text sparingly and strategically in your images to add context or highlight key points. Everything else you need to say can go in the caption!
Nobody wants to open up Instagram and be confronted with a bunch of brand logos and not much else.
Stamping your logo on your Instagram posts can disrupt your content and your users’ experience – and doesn’t always provide much incentive to follow you.
While it’s totally okay (and often recommended) to include your branding or logo on a post, be thoughtful about how you do it and how often.
Always lean towards subtle branding. Rather than overt logos, opt for branded colors, themes, or background elements to create brand recognition.
The more you can make your content feel authentic and organic, the more likely it is that people will want to follow you – as they won’t be worried about having their experience disrupted.
21. Use The Right Hashtags To Capture New Audiences
Using hashtags on Instagram will get you in front of new audiences searching for the type of content you’re posting, whether they’re following you or not.
If you have a local business, make sure to include local hashtags, as well.
Take the time to research hashtags and find the best ones for your particular content, as well as those that get the most traction.
You can manually search hashtags within Instagram and see how many posts have been made around that word.
Hashtagify.me is also an excellent tool for finding hashtags that are getting a lot of attention. You can type in your primary hashtag, which will show you its reach, related hashtags and their reach, all the hashtags related to those, and so on.
Bear in mind that you want to use popular hashtags, but you should also consider how much competition you’ll have for any given post.
How Many Hashtags Should I Add To An Instagram Post?
While you can add as many as 30 hashtags to a post, that can quickly look spammy.
And while we’re on the topic, try creating a branded hashtag for your next event.
It will give your brand exposure, curate a unique stream of all the content from your event, and allow others to connect and engage with your brand and other people at the event.
Leading up to the event, you can use your branded hashtag to promote the event, and after that, you can use it to post follow-up content.
23. Use Instagram Ads To Get In Front Of Your Audience
If you really want to increase your follower count, consider devoting ad spend to running Instagram ads.
With Instagram ads, you can turn any of your existing Instagram content into paid ads easily. Beyond that, you can target your ads to specific audiences so the right people see them and track ad performance.
With various ad formats available, you’re able to tailor your ads to meet your marketing goals – whether that’s driving website traffic, generating brand awareness, or, of course, boosting followers – and reach new audiences.
Instagram ads are managed within Ads Manager. To get started, you’ll need a Facebook Business Page, which will give you automatic access to an Ads Manager account.
Then, you can begin creating Instagram ads directly in the Ads Manager platform.
Getting verified on Instagram (or any other social media platform) is a great way to boost engagement.
The little blue tick gives your brand credibility, trust, and authenticity. While only some will qualify for Instagram verification, it’s worth submitting a request.
Getting verified is one more way to stand out from your competition and deliver a trust signal that your business is real.
While there’s no surefire way to gain followers on Instagram (without buying them, which we don’t recommend), these tips are your best path forward.
By posting high-quality content, making use of the latest trends and features, and prioritizing the value you can provide to Instagram users, you will expand your reach, drive exposure for your brand, and entice new audiences to follow you.
Try leveraging as many of these tips as you can, and you’ll set yourself up for success on one of the world’s most popular social media platforms.
Meta has launched new tools and services to help brands protect their intellectual property and prevent unauthorized use.
This includes an updated Brand Rights Protection suite to identify and take action against infringing content and a new Intellectual Property Reporting Center where brands can submit complaints.
Brand Rights Protection Receives a Facelift
The newly updated Brand Rights Protection service provides brand owners with enhanced tools to monitor and respond to misuse of their trademarks. It includes improved capabilities such as more sophisticated matching algorithms, saved searches, and an expanded reference library, enabling brands to identify and report infringements and impersonations readily.
“Saved searches are unique to each user and do not sync across everyone with access to a business account,” Meta stated, emphasizing the personalized nature of the new tools.
A key new feature is cross-surface searching, which allows simultaneous searches across multiple platform areas, including advertisements, commerce, accounts, and posts. This eliminates the need to enter search terms repeatedly, significantly streamlining the process.
Meta Introduces The Intellectual Property Reporting Center
Meta has introduced a new Intellectual Property Reporting Center to improve the process for reporting intellectual property rights violations.
The center allows rights holders to save account information and reporting history to streamline the reporting process and track and manage cases more efficiently.
Users log in with their Facebook, Instagram, or Business Manager credentials for a personalized and secure experience.
“Multiple users who are logged in under the same Business Manager account will be able to see reporting history for the entire business,” Meta explained, highlighting the collaborative potential of the platform.
Rights Manager Empowers Image Protection
Meta has updated Rights Manager with new features to help rights holders better manage and protect image content.
The update introduces capabilities such as automatic blocking of unauthorized image use, adding ownership information and calls-to-action directly on images, and enabling actions on multiple images simultaneously.
According to Meta, these additions will allow those who own rights to images to enforce their rights across a broader range of content more proactively.
New Resources For Business Protection
Accompanying these tool upgrades, Meta is rolling out new resources to help businesses protect their brands on Meta’s platforms. This includes upgrades to existing tools and a new “Protecting Businesses” section on the Meta for Business website.
The new website section offers guidance for companies to develop strategies for brand protection, including prevention of misuse, monitoring for violations, and resolution of issues.
In Summary
Meta has introduced several new and upgraded tools to help brands better protect their intellectual property on Meta’s platforms.
Key highlights include enhanced search and detection capabilities, simplified reporting processes, expanded image rights protection, and new online resources to guide brand protection strategies.
While vigilance is still required, brands now have more robust options to defend their trademarks, copyrights, and other IP assets across Facebook, Instagram, and Meta’s advertising services.
Instagram is one of the top social media platforms in the world and continues to captivate users worldwide with its unique blend of visual storytelling and interactive features.
Today, it’s not just a place to connect with friends and share your life moments; it’s a crucial tool for business growth and brand awareness.
As such, it’s important to stay informed of the latest trends, user behaviors, and insights that define this platform.
In this article, you’ll find the latest and greatest Instagram facts and statistics, including details on demographics, company background, top influencers, and much more.
Instagram Facts
1. Instagram is currently the fourth most-used social media platform in the world (behind Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp). (Source)
2. Instagram is the 12th most visited website in the US, with an estimated 1.47 billion monthly visits in October 2023. (Source)
3. Instagram is the 10th most searched query globally, with a 338 million monthly search volume. (Source)
4. In 2022, Instagram was the second most downloaded app worldwide. (Source)
24. The Instagram account with the most followers is actually the Instagram account with 664 million followers.
25. The top influencer on Instagram is the ultra-dedicated Cristiano Ronaldo. He has 613 million followers compared to Lionel Messi’s follower count of 494 million.
26. Seven out of 10 of the top Instagram influencers are American.
27. Removing brands from the list to reveal accounts from individuals, the top 10 influencers across Instagram are:
*Instagram followers as of December 2023
How Much Can You Earn On Instagram?
Over the last decade, Instagram and YouTube have significantly contributed to the creator economy, giving rise to the career choice of “influencer.”
Today, content creators are able to earn a considerable income from their posts and videos.
Even a micro-influencer can earn significant income with only a modest amount of followers:
28. A nano-influencer with between 1,000 and 9,999 followers can earn up to $1,105 per post.
29. A micro-influencer with 10,000-49,999 followers can earn up to $1,674 per post.
30. A mid-level influencer with 50,000-199,999 followers can earn up to $3,396 per post.
31. A macro-influencer with 200,000-499,999 followers can earnup to $4,992 per post.
32. A mega-influencer with 500,000-999,999 followers can earn up to $5,497 per post.
33. A web celebrity with 1 million or more followers can earn up to $5,865 per post.
34. As mentioned above, the top account with the most followers on Instagram is the company itself, with 664 million followers. Removing Instagram’s own account from the list, Nike is the top-followed brand with 307 million followers.
By removing the individual influencer’s accounts, we can reveal the brands with the most followers on the platform.
Sports, especially football, are the predominant niche heavily investing in their Instagram presence.
35. The top brands on Instagram are as follows:
*Instagram followers as of December 2023
36. Business accounts on Instagram publish an average of 1.55 posts on main feed per day.
37. 62.4% of Instagram users follow or research brands and products on the platform.
38. 90% of users follow at least one business.
39. According to Instagram data, 70% of people either like or don’t mind seeing ads when they’re watching videos on the platform.
45. Hashtags were introduced to Instagram in January 2011 and have long been an integral way of building follower counts and navigating content on the platform. In December 2017, users could follow specific hashtags to keep track of trends and show relevant content in their feed.
46. Today, you can no longer see “recent” posts from hashtags. Instead, you can use them to view curated posts from “top” users that leverage the specific hashtag.
As social media has become such an integral part of our lives, user statistics reflect how essential the platform is for the younger demographic.
Social platforms are now the most important channel for consuming news, media, and entertainment.
51. As of April 2023, 50.6% of Instagram’s global users identify are male, and 49.4% are female.
52. Unlike Facebook, Instagram is dominated by a younger demographic; users aged 18 to 24 make up the majority of Instagram’s advertising audience, at 517.7 million users.
These facts and statistics are just a small snapshot of the current state of Instagram – but they provide a glimpse at the power of this social media platform.
We hope you can use some of what you’ve learned here to better understand Instagram and its users, so that you can craft more effective marketing strategies, connect authentically with your target audience, and harness Instagram’s full potential to grow your business.
Instagram is one of the top social media platforms in the world and continues to captivate users worldwide with its unique blend of visual storytelling and interactive features.
Today, it’s not just a place to connect with friends and share your life moments; it’s a crucial tool for business growth and brand awareness.
As such, it’s important to stay informed of the latest trends, user behaviors, and insights that define this platform.
In this article, you’ll find the latest and greatest Instagram facts and statistics, including details on demographics, company background, top influencers, and much more.
Instagram Facts
1. Instagram is currently the fourth most-used social media platform in the world (behind Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp). (Source)
2. Instagram is the 12th most visited website in the US, with an estimated 1.47 billion monthly visits in October 2023. (Source)
3. Instagram is the 10th most searched query globally, with a 338 million monthly search volume. (Source)
4. In 2022, Instagram was the second most downloaded app worldwide. (Source)
24. The Instagram account with the most followers is actually the Instagram account with 664 million followers.
25. The top influencer on Instagram is the ultra-dedicated Cristiano Ronaldo. He has 613 million followers compared to Lionel Messi’s follower count of 494 million.
26. Seven out of 10 of the top Instagram influencers are American.
27. Removing brands from the list to reveal accounts from individuals, the top 10 influencers across Instagram are:
*Instagram followers as of December 2023
How Much Can You Earn On Instagram?
Over the last decade, Instagram and YouTube have significantly contributed to the creator economy, giving rise to the career choice of “influencer.”
Today, content creators are able to earn a considerable income from their posts and videos.
Even a micro-influencer can earn significant income with only a modest amount of followers:
28. A nano-influencer with between 1,000 and 9,999 followers can earn up to $1,105 per post.
29. A micro-influencer with 10,000-49,999 followers can earn up to $1,674 per post.
30. A mid-level influencer with 50,000-199,999 followers can earn up to $3,396 per post.
31. A macro-influencer with 200,000-499,999 followers can earnup to $4,992 per post.
32. A mega-influencer with 500,000-999,999 followers can earn up to $5,497 per post.
33. A web celebrity with 1 million or more followers can earn up to $5,865 per post.
34. As mentioned above, the top account with the most followers on Instagram is the company itself, with 664 million followers. Removing Instagram’s own account from the list, Nike is the top-followed brand with 307 million followers.
By removing the individual influencer’s accounts, we can reveal the brands with the most followers on the platform.
Sports, especially football, are the predominant niche heavily investing in their Instagram presence.
35. The top brands on Instagram are as follows:
*Instagram followers as of December 2023
36. Business accounts on Instagram publish an average of 1.55 posts on main feed per day.
37. 62.4% of Instagram users follow or research brands and products on the platform.
38. 90% of users follow at least one business.
39. According to Instagram data, 70% of people either like or don’t mind seeing ads when they’re watching videos on the platform.
45. Hashtags were introduced to Instagram in January 2011 and have long been an integral way of building follower counts and navigating content on the platform. In December 2017, users could follow specific hashtags to keep track of trends and show relevant content in their feed.
46. Today, you can no longer see “recent” posts from hashtags. Instead, you can use them to view curated posts from “top” users that leverage the specific hashtag.
As social media has become such an integral part of our lives, user statistics reflect how essential the platform is for the younger demographic.
Social platforms are now the most important channel for consuming news, media, and entertainment.
51. As of April 2023, 50.6% of Instagram’s global users identify are male, and 49.4% are female.
52. Unlike Facebook, Instagram is dominated by a younger demographic; users aged 18 to 24 make up the majority of Instagram’s advertising audience, at 517.7 million users.
These facts and statistics are just a small snapshot of the current state of Instagram – but they provide a glimpse at the power of this social media platform.
We hope you can use some of what you’ve learned here to better understand Instagram and its users, so that you can craft more effective marketing strategies, connect authentically with your target audience, and harness Instagram’s full potential to grow your business.
Instagram added new ways to share content with reels, feed photos, carousels and stories plus added a new for content creators to gain insights into content performance.
Instagram added the following new ways to create content:
Streamlined Video Editing New undo and redo functions enhance video editing, saving users time.
Dedicated Media Clip Hub for Memes A media clip hub facilitates the creation of engaging memes by incorporating audio into reels.
Text-to-Speech and Font Style Updates Updated voices, fonts, and text styles offer users enhanced creative expression.
Custom Stickers for Personalization Instagram users can now turn any part of a photo into a custom sticker to personalize reels and stories.
Mood-Capturing Photo Filters New photo filters allow users to express different moods in their photos and carousels.
Update To Creating Content With Reels
Instagram is testing new flexibility and creative options to content creation with new ways to scale, crop and rotate individual clips, plus the new undo and redo functions.
Users will be able to create memeable content by incorporating audio clips from the platform’s clip hub into their reels.
Instagram is also adding ten new English language text-to-speech voices, which will be available to a limited group of countries.
New features for fonts and text styles are rolling out to hundreds of languages. The new features are six new fonts and styles, including the ability to add outlines to fonts.
More Creative Options For Reels
Instagram is also testing new ways to add audio to reels.
According to the announcement:
“And when you’re looking to find the right audio for your reel, we’re testing new ways to access the audio browser or trending audio.
You can now quickly jump to the audio page from the top of the camera roll and find what inspires you.”
Another new experimental feature is the ability to create custom stickers from user photos and videos, as well as eligible content on Instagram.
This new feature is powered by Meta’s ‘Segment Anything’ AI model.”
Lastly a better editing experience is coming with a better functionality for drafts.
The announcement explains:
“We’re making it easier to edit your in-progress reels by giving you a streamlined view of all your saved drafts.
Not sure which draft you were editing? Soon you’ll be able to preview your drafts, rename them, and schedule them in advance.”
New Filters And Better Editing
Instagram unveiled new filters that make it easy to express moods in photos and videos.
Users can now find and preview images and photos in their camera with updated preview feature, and zoom and search.
Improved Content Performance Analytics
Lastly, Instagram announced improvements to their performance analytics that will help users better understand how other users are engaging with their content.
Instagram explained:
“We introduced a new Reels metric on Facebook and Instagram called Replays and we updated the definition of Reels Plays to also include Replays in addition to Initial Plays.
You may notice an increase in your Reels Plays as a result of this.”
Takeaways
Instagram’s latest updates offer a more streamlined user experience that makes it easier for them to be creative and gives them new ways to express themselves.
From enhanced editing tools to experimental features like custom stickers plus the improved analytics, Instagram is making improvements that keeps the platform fresh and will probably keep their users happy.
A lawsuit accusing social media companies of intentionally harming children through addictive platform designs is allowed to advance, a federal court ruled today.
Brought on behalf of hundreds of minors across the U.S., the consolidated lawsuit alleges companies including Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube specifically designed their platforms to “hook” young users, leading to mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
The case consolidates over 100 individual lawsuits filed beginning in early 2022, soon after Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal research about Instagram’s adverse effects on teen mental health.
Judge Allows Bulk Of Lawsuit to Proceed
“Defendants are alleged to target children as a core market and designed their platforms to appeal to and addict them,” wrote Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the order issued in California.
The companies sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing they are shielded from liability under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Known simply as Section 230, this 1996 law protects online platforms from lawsuits over user-generated content.
But after a detailed analysis, Rogers wrote, “the parties’ ‘all or nothing’ approach to the motions to dismiss does not sufficiently address the complexity of the issues facing this litigation.”
At the center of the lawsuit are allegations around the platforms’ never-ending feeds, push notifications, algorithmic recommendations, and other design features that make them addictive. The plaintiffs say these intentional design choices are to blame for mental health harms, not the content itself.
Rogers agreed. Section 230 does not prohibit product liability claims focused on design defects like ineffective parental controls, age verification, time limits, and barriers to account deletion. However, claims about using algorithms to recommend accounts and some notification features were dismissed.
“The same applies here. The Court must consider the specific conduct through which the defendants allegedly violated their duties to plaintiffs,” Rogers wrote. “It is these detailed, conduct-specific allegations that require analysis.”
Potentially Damaging Discovery Ahead
With the case moving into discovery, internal documents and data from the tech companies related to their knowledge of potential harms could come to light. The plaintiffs argue the companies were aware of the mental health effects on children but did little to address safety concerns.
“The parties’ all or nothing approach does not fairly or accurately represent the Ninth Circuit’s application of Section 230 immunity,” wrote Rogers. “Rather, the Court has conducted an analysis of the actual functionality defects alleged in the complaint.”
Lawsuit Seeks Design Changes, Damages
The lawsuit seeks to apply product liability law to social media, treating platforms as defective products that require improved designs and warnings.
Tech companies have long maintained legal immunity for user content alone. Still, this case and others signal a new threat focused on algorithms, recommendation systems, and other operational choices embedded in platforms.
Attorneys for the companies have not indicated if they will appeal the decision, allowing significant parts of the lawsuit to advance. With billions of dollars and the future design of social media at stake, the case is being closely watched in tech and legal circles.
If the class action is certified, the plaintiffs will seek damages and force platform changes like default time limits, age verification, algorithmic transparency, etc. However, the case still faces hurdles like proving the platforms directly caused mental health harm suffered by individual minors.
Ultimately, the lawsuit takes aim at the core advertising business model of social media companies that depends on maximizing user engagement time through design choices like endless scrolling feeds. Any changes forced upon the companies could impact their profits.
Looking Ahead
While still at an early stage, the mixed ruling keeps the lawsuit alive and paves the way for internal documents to potentially expose how far Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube may have gone to hook in young users at the expense of their well-being.
