The Best Time To Post On Instagram In 2024 via @sejournal, @theshelleywalsh

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.
  • Later analyzed over 11M posts.
  • Hootsuite analyzed over 30,000 Instagram posts.
  • 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.

Time Zone Time To Post
US Pacific Time 9 p.m. – 12 a.m.
US Central Time 10 p.m. – 12 a.m.
US Eastern Time 11 p.m. – 4 a.m.
South America 5 a.m.
UK 3 a.m. – 4 a.m.
Western Europe 4 a.m. – 6 a.m.
Eastern Europe 5 a.m. – 7 a.m.
Africa 2 a.m. – 3 a.m.
Middle East 4 a.m.
East & South East Asia 6 a.m. – 8 a.m.
Australasia 11 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Source.

Best Day To Post On Instagram

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.

Competitors’ response has been YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.

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.

The 30 Most-Subscribed YouTube Individuals (Q1 2024) via @sejournal, @theshelleywalsh

In Q1 2024, MrBeast has retained his top spot as the most-subscribed YouTube individual on the social media platform.

After MrBeast overtook PewDiePie in late 2022 to shake up the top most-subscribed on YouTube leaderboard, there has been even more movement in the last 12 months.

At the beginning of YouTube, it was a long journey for individuals to reach 100 million subscribers – but now MrBeast is the first individual YouTuber to crack 200 million subscribers.

On YouTube, way back in 2006, Judson Laipply was the first recorded individual to have the most subscribers, with mere thousands.

In the same year, Brookers was the first channel and individual to reach 10,000 subscribers – and that was a big deal.

Although MrBeast is the most-subscribed individual, just above him is T-Series – an Indian record label and film studio that remains the number one most-subscribed channel on YouTube.

T-Series was the first channel to reach 100 million subscribers in 2019 and the first to 200 million in 2021.

While T-Series held twice as many subscribers as the top individual YouTuber last year, the distance is now closing between the most popular content creators.

Being an influencer is big business.

Who Is The No. 1 Most Subscribed YouTuber?

As of February 2024, MrBeast is the most-subscribed YouTuber, with 240 million subscribers.

Kid-friendly content channel Like Nastya is now the second most-subscribed YouTube individual with 113 million subscribers.

PewDiePie has continued his decline to drop down again to third place with 110 million.

When reaching the 200-million subscriber milestone in October 2023, MrBeast took to X (Twitter) to say how stunned his 13-year-old self would be and that he planned to continue making content for decades.

In his usual philanthropic-style, he also gave away a private island for his 100-million subscriber milestone – which is probably part of the reason he originally took the top position from PewDiePie in December 2022.

The Top 50 Most-Subscribed YouTubers, February 2024

Channel Videos Language Subscribers
1 MrBeast 778 English 241,000,000
2 Like Nastya 868 English 113,000,000
3 PewDiePie 4,753 English 111,000,000
4 Justin Bieber 249 English 72,600,000
5 EminemMusic 160 English 59,000,000
6 Marshmello 470 English 56,800,000
7 Taylor Swift 226 English 56,600,000
8 Ed Sheeran 458 English 54,200,000
9 Ariana Grande 176 English 53,500,000
10 A4 874 Russian 51,700,000
11 JuegaGerman 2,105 Spanish 49,400,000
12 Billie Eilish 88 English 49,100,000
13 Mikecrack 1,994 Spanish 47,900,000
14 Bad Bunny 154 English 47,500,000
15 Fernanfloo 544 Spanish 47,000,000
16 Felipe Neto 4,690 Portuguese 46,200,000
17 Jess No Limit 2,716 Indonesian 46,100,000
18 Shakira 345 Portuguese 45,500,000
19 Alan Walker 535 English 45,000,000
20 Katy Perry 135 English 44,800,000
21 whinderssonnunes 745 Portuguese 44,500,000
22 Kimberly Loaiza 317 Spanish 44,400,000
23 Ricis Official 3,869 Indonesian 43,200,000
24 Rihanna 85 English 42,800,000
25 SHFA2 1,713 Arabic 42,600,000
26 LUCCAS NETO – LUCCAS TOON 2,581 Portuguese 42,300,000
27 Luisito Comunica 1,337 Spanish 42,100,000
28 Fede Vigevani 1,233 Spanish 42,000,000
29 CarryMinati 193 Hindi 41,400,000
30 elrubiusOMG 701 Spanish 40,300,000

*Data Sources (SocialBlade, YouTube), February 2024

Please note this is a list of the most subscribed individuals — not the most subscribed channels. It excludes “brand” channels that don’t focus on an individual personality, artist, or influencer.

Who Are The Top 12 Most-Subscribed YouTubers?

The list of the top 30 most-subscribed individuals features many successful music artists but has a majority of native YouTube influencers.

With the channel becoming an integral part of marketing and distribution for music artists, it’s no surprise that top artists feature highly.

Justin Bieber (the top individual artist) leveraged YouTube from an early age to gain mainstream attention on his terms.

MrBeast has over 167 million more subscribers than Bieber, which highlights just how much attention the channel can achieve – and that, today, being a YouTube influencer is the same as being a traditional celebrity.

To get a better understanding of who all the influencers are, we’ve included a summary of the top 12 most-subscribed YouTuber influencers below.

1. MrBeast

U.S.-based Jimmy Donaldson started MrBeast as MrBeast6000 in 2012 when he was only 13.

He also holds five other channels, including Beast Reacts, MrBeast 2, Beast Philanthropy, and MrBeast 3 (inactive). MrBeast Gaming also sits in the top 100, with just under 42 million subscribers.

MrBeast’s early videos include counting to 10,000 non-stop (a 44-hour stunt), which quickly went viral but is now best known for videos that involve elaborate stunts, charity donations, or cash giveaways.

In one video, he gave away $1 million and has done several big philanthropic stunts, such as “I Built 100 Wells in Africa” and “I Rescued 100 Abandoned Dogs.”

Jimmy Donaldson’s channel brings in between $600-700 million a year, but his mother is the person who looks after his bank accounts.

He still lives in his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, and employs many local people when producing his videos.

2. Like Nastya

Anastasia Sergeyevna Radzinskaya is the only individual child YouTuber on the list. She was born in January 2014 and is the youngest influencer with the most followers – now overtaking PewDiePie by 2 million to take the No. 2 spot.

It’s worth noting that another channel, Vlad and Niki, is very popular with 112 million subscribers – but as a duo rather than an individual, they aren’t included in this list. Despite being featured in last year’s rankings, Ryan’s World has now fallen out of the rankings.

Although Radzinskaya was born in Russia, she has since moved to the U.S., and her videos are produced in English. The channel is for children and covers educational entertainment and vlogging.

Some of her success is down to the channel being dubbed in several languages, enabling her to reach a wide audience.

Radzinskaya’s parents help her manage the Like Nastya channel, but she is the face and star of the show.

3. PewDiePie

PewDiePie, otherwise known as Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, held the most-subscribed position on YouTube for nearly 10 years until 2022. He was the original YouTube influencer who crossed over from online to be famous offline.

Swedish Kjellberg registered PewDiePie in 2010, and started out with play-by-plays of video games – a genre known as “Let’s Play.” It only took three years for him to be the most-subscribed channel on YouTube, and he was the highest-earning YouTuber in 2016.

Alongside “Let’s Play” content, PewDiePie has also experimented with comedy, commentary, music, and shows.

Following the rising success of his channel, Kjellberg also released his own game and published a book.

In 2022, his content shifted more towards lifestyle content after moving to Japan, with another shift in 2023 as he became a father. These changes to the types of videos PewDiePie produces could be the reason for his slightly waning subscriber count.

4. Justin Bieber

Canadian Justin Bieber is the musical artist with the most followers on YouTube. He joined YouTube in 2007 and, after coming second in a local singing competition, began posting himself performing song covers.

After his channel started to grow, he got the attention of his now manager and his record label. In 2008, he signed a recording contract.

Bieber continued to focus on his YouTube channel and growing his followers – known as “Beliebers.”

This most likely contributed to his early and continued success. He continues to post videos on YouTube alongside his music videos and promotional content, although his last upload was now over a year ago.

5. EminemMusic

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known as Eminem, is an American rapper who first gained success in 1996.

With a career spanning almost three decades and an impressive discography, he is one of the most successful music artists of all time.

Mathers joined YouTube in 2007 to leverage the platform and mostly posts music and promotional content.

His channel has continued to grow, and he has swapped places with Marshmello to become the fifth most-subscribed YouTube individual.

Eminem demonstrates that despite no longer being in the mainstream media spotlight, it’s still possible to maintain popularity with a dedicated audience.

6. Marshmello

American music artist and DJ Christopher Comstock, also known as Marshmello, joined YouTube in 2015.

For several years, he kept his identity hidden under a marshmallow-type helmet. In 2017, when his identity was revealed, he said on X (Twitter):

“I don’t take my helmet off because I don’t want or need fame. I’m genuinely trying to create something positive for people to connect with.”

The most popular videos on Comstock’s channel are music and lyric videos. He also posts cooking videos, how-tos, vlogs, and films.

Although he’s dropped down a position compared to 12 months ago, he’s still gained followers and released his new album “Sugar Papi.”

7. Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift is an American music artist. She pursued musical training from an early age, including acting and vocal training. She learned to play the guitar at age 12.

After moving to Nashville at age 14, Swift signed a recording contract at age 15 and quickly went on to achieve international fame. She is currently on a huge worldwide tour, which is showcasing her popularity around the globe.

She is now considered the reigning queen of pop, having recently won her fourth Grammy for Best Album, and even has her own academic conference called Swiftposium.

Swift is known for having dedicated fans, which was demonstrated when online trolls targeted her using improper use of AI technology, and her followers rushed to her defense online.

Swift uses her YouTube channel for music, but has also posted a series of videos showing her personal life backstage.

Her growing worldwide following has meant she’s now passed both Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande by millions of subscribers.

8. Ed Sheeran

Edward Christopher Sheeran MBE is a music artist from the UK. He first joined YouTube in 2006.

Sheeran began singing at age four and playing the guitar at 11. In 2004, he independently recorded and released his music. When he moved to London in 2008, he would busk on the streets.

In 2011, he began to gain traction until he became the successful and widely known artist he is today.

On YouTube, his channel started to take off in 2017 when he reached 10 million subscribers. Since then, his channel has escalated in popularity.

Sheeran’s channel is mostly music.

9. Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande-Butera is an American music artist and actress who began her dream of a music career at age 8.

Grande joined YouTube in 2007 and uploaded her first YouTube video, “Ain’t No Other Man.”

In 2008, Grande began performing professionally in a Broadway musical at the age of 15, and her fame grew as a TV actress.

In 2011, her cover songs on YouTube gained the attention of her record label and resulted in her being signed as a music artist.

Grande has become a highly successful music artist and mostly posts music on YouTube.

10. A4

Belarusian content creator Vladislav Andreyevich Bumaga, known online as Vlad A4 or simply A4, holds the position of one of the most popular Russian-speaking YouTubers.

He created his channel back in 2014, with A4 being a play on his last name, Bumaga, meaning “paper.”

In 2016, he released a video called “24 Hours in a Trampoline Centre,” which took his subscriber count from 200,000 to his first 1 million.

Now, with just over 51 million subscribers, he continues to upload a wide variety of challenges and vlog content featuring his friends, as well as promoting his branded products.

11. JuegaGerman

Chilean Germán Alejandro Garmendia Aranis, also known as JuegaGerman, produces comedy videos about everyday life and Let’s Play videos in Spanish.

Garmendia peaked in 2015-2017 when he had the second most-subscribed channel behind PewDiePie.

Garmendia has three channels on YouTube:

  • HolaSoyGerman, which he started first in 2011 and focused on comedy videos about everyday life.
  • HolaSoyGerman2.
  • JuegaGerman, which he started in 2013 as a Let’s Play video gaming channel.

12. Billie Eilish

American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell started her music career at age 14.

She wrote songs with her brother Finneas O’Connell for fun and uploaded them to SoundCloud.

Finneas wrote the song “Ocean Eyes” for his band but thought it would suit Billie’s voice better.

It drew the attention of music industry professionals, and within a year, she was signed to her record label.

The “Ocean Eyes” music video was posted to her YouTube channel in 2016 and started to grow her subscribers.

She has gone on to win a number of awards, including the Song of the Year at the 2024 Grammy Awards for “What Was I Made For?” which was written for the Barbie movie.

Despite not featuring in the top 30 most-subscribed YouTube individuals list, her aesthetic and lyrics have resonated with Gen Z – potentially helping to fuel her meteoric rise in popularity both online and offline.

Why YouTubers Are Significantly Influential For Online Marketers

Achieving a most-subscribed status on YouTube cements you as an influencer and enables you to make serious income.

Not only can YouTubers earn from ads on the videos, but they are also in demand as brand ambassadors for product placements, product reviews, and product collaborations.

Mere mentions of products and brands by an influencer can drive traffic and sales for brands.

Smart influencers use the exposure to diversify into many mainstream areas of collaboration and business to supplement their income and ensure longevity.

Much like top-level sports stars have always been in demand as brand ambassadors, influencers can be used for brand alignment.

This doesn’t just apply to YouTube, either. TikTok has risen in terms of popularity, with 65% of users relying on content creators to inform their purchasing decisions.

Influencers who can dominate one or even both of the platforms will be the ones to watch in the coming years.

Billie Eilish cracked the top 12 YouTube individuals in the last year, but her TikTok account is also featured in the top 30 most followed TikTok accounts, making her dominant across both platforms.

Influencer marketing is useful for online marketers to spread a message and reach a target audience. Influencers can be leveraged as part of specific campaigns, or to create hype around a product or brand.

Influencer marketing doesn’t have to be just for the big brands; influencers with only a few thousand engaged followers can help spread messages.

And for smaller brands, elevated exposure on social media can be a major benefit.

More resources:


Featured Image: Arsenii Palivoda/Shutterstock

20 Awesome Examples Of Social Media Marketing via @sejournal, @anna_bredava

Technology makes the world seem a lot smaller.

Keeping up with friends and family on the other side of the country or across the globe no longer requires an expensive telephone call or slow, one-way snail mail.

Instead, thanks to the power of social media, we can bridge distances in the blink of an eye. In just seconds, you can share updates about your life or check in with anyone with internet access.

Social media has changed how we communicate and how we consume information and entertainment.

These platforms unlock a treasure trove of opportunities for savvy marketers, transforming how brands engage with their audience and share their stories on a global stage.

Why Is Social Media Marketing Important For Brands?

Social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), and Facebook – among others – present businesses with an opportunity to engage with a massive audience.

They are not just digital spaces for socializing; they are vibrant marketplaces.

As of 2024, the global social media user base had soared to over 4.8 billion people, representing an ever-expanding audience for brands – and a whole lot of potential customers.

Social media provides the opportunity for marketers to humanize their brand through compelling storytelling that showcases their identity and values.

With social media marketing, brands can weave their narratives, engage vast audiences without hefty budgets, and raise awareness and consideration for their company with a broader audience.

It’s also a powerful tool for building authentic relationships with your target consumer.

You can conduct real-time customer service, gather feedback (both positive and negative), and build brand trust over time by interacting and engaging with your social community across specific platforms.

In addition:

  • 68% of consumers follow brands on social media to stay updated about products and services.
  • The average time spent on social media daily is 2 hours and 24 minutes.

The landscape of social media marketing is also shifting towards more engaging content formats such as short videos, live streams, and interactive stories.

From viral organic posts to paid display ads that allow you to target a highly specific demographic, social media presents an unrivaled opportunity to boost your brand visibility and find new customers.

That said, these platforms are not just about placing ads in front of consumers; they’re about creating conversations, building communities, and driving genuine brand engagement through content that resonates with audiences.

So, what separates the companies who are killing it on social media from the thousands of others who never quite seem to gain any traction?

In this piece, we’ll look at some outstanding ways brands have leveraged popular social platforms to inspire your campaigns.

How To Measure Social Media Marketing Effectiveness

Before we dive into the fun stuff, let’s take a moment to discuss how you can gauge the impact of your social media marketing efforts.

The key to assessing the effectiveness of your social media activities lies in measuring your key performance indicators (KPIs).

Some KPIs you might want to consider tracking include:

  • Reach: The number of unique users who see your content. This helps you understand the overall scale of content distribution.
  • Impressions: How many times your content was viewed (regardless of clicks or engagements). This can help you gauge how frequently people are looking at your content.
  • Engagements: Interactions with your content (e.g., how many likes, shares, comments, saves, etc., it received). This helps you understand how engaging users are finding your content.
  • Conversions: How effective your content is at driving actions (e.g., link clicks, follows, form fills, sales, sign-ups, etc.) This helps you understand whether your content is driving towards your goal-related activity.

The KPIs you choose should closely align with your strategic goals.

If you’re looking to boost awareness, reach, impressions, and engagement, offer valuable insights into how widely your message is seen and whether it’s resonating with users.

If you’re focused on lead generation or direct sales, focusing on conversion rates will provide a clearer measure of success.

Each brand is different, which means they will not only measure success differently but will also vary in which platforms are most effective for their social media marketing efforts.

With this in mind, we’ve broken down our examples and inspiration by platform. So, with no further ado, let’s jump in.


YouTube

1. Dove: Project #ShowUs

When: 2019

Campaign Outline:

To highlight that beauty comes in many forms, Dove launched Project #ShowUs, a campaign intended to challenge stereotypes of what is and isn’t considered beautiful.

In collaboration with Getty Images and Girlgaze Photographers, Project #ShowUs created the largest stock photo library in the world created by women – featuring all female-identifying and non-binary individuals.

The library featured over 5,000 photographs of women from around the globe. Dove took to social media to introduce it to the world, creating video content for YouTube and partnering with influencers to gain traction.

The Numbers:

  • The YouTube video has generated over 33.5 million views.
  • More than 100,000 women pledged to create a more inclusive vision of beauty.
  • 900+ companies in 40 countries downloaded 7,500+ images from the collection
  • The hashtag #ShowUs saw thousands of engagements across YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

Why Did It Work?

For generations, media and advertising have presented an image of what beauty is. However, this has left so many women feeling like they are not represented by media and advertising.

Dove spoke directly to the feelings of its target audience, engaging with them about the brand’s value and encouraging them to take pride in being themselves.

Strategic delivery helped reach women worldwide.

2. BuzzFeed x Friskies: Dear Kitten

When: 2016

Campaign Outline:

If there’s one thing the internet loves, it’s cat videos.

Buzzfeed and Friskies tapped into this sentiment with their “Dear Kitten” videos, in which an older house cat teaches a kitten how to be a cat.

The Numbers:

  • The launch video has been viewed on YouTube more than 34 million times.
  • Twelve follow-up videos have been viewed millions of times each.
  • The campaign led to viral TikTok parodies, with the hashtag #DearKitten receiving more than 3.6 million views.

Why Did It Work?

You don’t have to have genius-level insight into the human psyche to understand why this campaign was so successful.

It has cute cats and a funny script.

3. Apple: “Study With Me”

20 Awesome Examples Of Social Media MarketingScreenshot from YouTube, Study With Me feat. Storm Reid x Apple, Apple, February 2024

When: 2023

Campaign Outline:

Apple tried its hand at the popular “Study With Me” video trend in 2023 by creating a 90-minute feature starring actress and college junior Storm Reid.

In the video, Reid uses the Pomodoro Technique – which focuses on 25-minute study sessions followed by 5-minute breaks – to showcase a productive study routine.

The video serves as a virtual study companion for viewers who are looking for that type of content while also highlighting the capabilities of Apple’s MacBook Air product.

The Numbers:

  • The video has generated over 18 million views on YouTube.

Why Did It Work:

Apple did what great social media marketing often does: It tapped into a trending format to reach its ideal audience.

By tapping into a burgeoning trend among students seeking virtual companionship and motivation – and pairing that with Storm Reid, a recognizable figure who is also relatable for the target audience – the campaign struck a chord of being both authentic and helpful to viewers.

On top of that, incorporating a tried-and-true study technique gave the audience a practical takeaway to enhance their own study habits.

4. eBay: Modathon

When: 2023

Campaign Outline:

eBay wanted to shift perceptions of its brand and drive excitement with an audience of auto enthusiasts.

So, the brand created a social media campaign to tap into the subculture of offroading by leveraging the huge inventory of eBay Motors.

In a YouTube series called “Modathon,” the company partnered with YouTube creators on a mission to transform a 1979 Bronco into an offroading powerhouse using only parts and accessories from eBay Motors.

Across several longform episodes, creators customized the Bronco with parts for challenging trails.

The Numbers:

The series generated:

  • 35,000 new YouTube channel subscribers.
  • Over 8.4 million views on YouTube to date.
  • More than 100 million minutes watched.
  • 6:28 minute average episode watch time.

Why Did It Work:

The Modathon challenge succeeded by tapping into what drives the offroading community: a passion for adventure, customization, and modification.

By partnering with YouTube creators who embody the spirit and enthusiasm of its target audience, eBay positioned itself as not just a marketplace but a hub for inspiration and community.

The narrative series format catered to the audience’s preference for immersive, detailed content, which then helped foster a stronger connection with the brand.


Instagram

5. Apple: The Shot on iPhone Challenge

When: Ongoing (Launched in 2015)

Campaign Outline:

The world’s most popular smartphone manufacturer, Apple, takes great pride in the quality of images that can be captured on its devices.

To highlight the great photos that it can take, it launched a competition in 2015 that asked iPhone users to “capture the little things in a big way.”

Photographers were then invited to share their images on Instagram and other social media sites using the hashtag #ShotOniPhone.

A panel of judges then selected 10 winners from tens of thousands of entries, which were then featured on Apple’s website, the company’s Instagram, and on 10,000+ billboards in 25 countries.

It has since become an annual campaign for the brand.

The Numbers:

  • The first round of the campaign had more than 6.5 billion impressions.
  • It was mentioned by 24,000 influencers, with a 95% positive comment rating.

Why Did It Work?

User-generated content (UGC) is a low-investment way for companies to promote their brand on social media, but this isn’t the reason for this campaign’s success.

Instead, Shot on iPhone encourages people to discuss the campaign, which closely aligns with Apple’s reputation for creativity, lifestyle, and innovation.

It encouraged existing users to participate in product launches and builds a sense of excitement about being part of the iPhone community.

Additionally, it gives iPhone users a sense of being part of something cool, which everyone likes.

6. Spotify: Spotify Wrapped

Spotify WrappedScreenshot from newsroom.spotify.com, February 2024

When: Ongoing (Launched in 2019)

Campaign Outline:

In 2019, Spotify launched a campaign where users received a year-end round-up of their listening habits on the platform.

Using personalized in-app data, Spotify Wrapped gives you access to an exclusive, interactive story (or, in the past, a webpage) that shows you details like:

  • Your most listened to artists, genres, and songs.
  • Your top podcasts.
  • The total time you spent listening for the year.
  • New artists you discovered.
  • And more.

The data is presented in a visually appealing way that is formatted specifically for sharing to Instagram Stories (and elsewhere) – and Spotify encourages users to share far and wide.

Now, several years later, Spotify Wrapped has become an event that users anticipate and talk about even ahead of time.

It has evolved to serve users with new tidbits of information – such as what international city you’re aligned with based on your listening habits – and has succeeded at creating a tentpole social media marketing moment.

The Numbers:

  • In 2022, 156 million users engaged with Wrapped.
  • In 2021, that number was reportedly 120 million.
  • There were 425 million Tweets about Spotify Wrapped in the first three days after its launch in 2022.

Why Did It Work?

Spotify combines two big psychological triggers in this campaign: personalization and fear of missing out (FOMO).

The app provides a personalized story for each user. You can see how your music taste developed through the years and what songs accompanied you in your life. The visualizations and gamification make it super engaging and capture people’s attention.

By enabling and encouraging sharing on social media, Spotify amplifies the campaign’s reach. It creates a sense of community in which users want to share their results with others – and see where they differ from their friends.

People naturally wanted to show off their highlights to their friends, thus making more people eager to try this experience.

7.  Freeform: Cruel Summer Influencer Nostalgia Campaign

When: 2023

Campaign Outline:

After record-breaking viewership of season one of “Cruel Summer,” Freeform needed to reignite interest in the show’s second season.

So, the brand put together a social media campaign built around a classic tactic: nostalgia.

Collaborating with six popular Instagram meme accounts and throwback influencers like Lance Bass and Mario Lopez, the network leveraged ’90s nostalgia to create buzz around the new anthology format of Cruel Summer.

The Numbers:

  • The campaign garnered a total reach of over 22 million and 3.7 million organic impressions.
  • A top post by ThirtyAF achieved a 6.5% engagement rate.
  • The brand saw a unanimously positive sentiment from fans who expressed excitement for the new season.

Why Did It Work?

Nostalgia has proven itself to be an extremely powerful marketing tactic – and that’s especially true on social media.

Freeform’s campaign leveraged the power of nostalgia marketing – and its audience’s love for the ’90s – to drive impressive social media engagement.

Additionally, partnering with trusted social media influencers further amplified the impact of the campaign.

This innovative approach – combined with the excitement for new stories – led to a universally positive reception, proving that a well-curated throwback theme can effectively drum up anticipation and broaden viewer interest.

8. Hulu Originals: Only Murders In The Building

When: 2021

Campaign Outline:

In a strategic move to captivate audiences and announce the first season of “Only Murders in the Building,” Hulu partnered with Home Brew Agency to craft an Instagram campaign that reflected the mysterious tones of the show itself.

The strategy centered around transforming the Instagram feed into an extension of the show’s universe, complete with a detailed mosaic of the fictional Arconia building.

The campaign also highlighted the star-studded cast of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez through character spotlights that introduced and teased the evolving dynamics between the main characters to interactively immerse followers in the series’ murder mystery.

Original videos and games were designed to spark curiosity and speculation among fans without revealing too much, maintaining the suspense that is the lifeblood of any whodunit.

The Numbers:

  • The @onlymurdershulu Instagram account quickly grew to 116,000 followers.
  • As a result, the show launched as Hulu’s “Most-Watched Comedy Premiere in Hulu History” and the most-watched Hulu Original comedy on premiere day.

Why Did It Work?

Hulu Originals did a number of things right here.

Firstly, it leveraged Instagram to extend the story world of the series and engage fans on a platform where they’re already active and invested.

The brand made use of the show’s considerable star power to activate a broad fan base across different demographics and generate excitement and curiosity.

By introducing an immersive social media experience that focused on mystery and teasing elements of the show piece-by-piece, Hulu Originals expanded the show’s narrative beyond the screen, heightened anticipation, and invited social media fans to join in on the fun.

This holistic approach not only solidified the show’s online presence but also played a crucial role in driving its record-breaking viewership on Hulu, demonstrating the power of social media in amplifying television narratives

9.  Bobbie: @Bobbie Instagram Handle

When: 2023

Campaign Outline:

Bobbie, a baby formula brand, is on a mission to reshape societal perceptions around infant nutrition.

In 2023, the brand set out with an objective to leverage Instagram to cultivate a supportive, diverse community for modern parents.

Central to the brand’s mission was to make the tumultuous first year of parenting less daunting by using Instagram to bond over shared experiences within the first year of parenthood and help parents feel less alone.

To do so, the brand focused on showing the real, parent-driven team behind the scenes at Bobbie, telling the powerful stories of challenges real Bobbie parents face (such as infertility and systemic injustices in maternal care). It even responded with real-time support, such as Uber-delivered formula to Instagram followers experiencing emergencies.

The Numbers:

  • Total engagements increased to 307,000 – a 338% jump from the previous year.
  • Increased total impressions to 162 million – a 334% jump from the previous year.
  • Followers grew to 113,000 – a 37% rise from the year beforehand.

Why Did It Work?

Bobbie’s strategy resonated deeply with its audience by focusing on authenticity.

By openly addressing the complexities of parenting, offering tangible support, and spotlighting real stories, Bobbie not only fostered a community but also positioned itself as a brand that truly understands and advocates for its customers’ needs.

In addition to enhancing its social metrics, the hands-on approach and commitment to addressing systemic challenges in parenthood – coupled with strategic storytelling and community engagement – also solidified the brand as a leader in championing the well-being of parents and children alike.


Facebook

10. BuzzFeed: Tasty

When: 2016

Campaign Outline:

You’ve probably seen these quick and easy recipe videos popping up all over your Facebook news feed.

BuzzFeed’s Tasty videos are essentially cooking shows for the social media generation.

These videos, typically lasting less than two minutes, deliver on-trend recipes to a highly engaged audience.

The Numbers:

  • Nearly 15 months after launching, Tasty published 2,000 recipe videos, giving the brand a steady stream of new content.
  • Videos reached around 500 million users monthly.
  • The brand has over 105 million Facebook fans.

Why Did It Work?

For starters, there’s the content.

Tasty tapped into the inherent shareability of food content and the fact that almost everyone can relate to food – it has a place in all of our lives.

But more importantly, Tasty and Proper Tasty have exploded on Facebook because the content is tailor-made for that platform.

The team at BuzzFeed clearly observed video trends on Facebook and jumped while the time was ripe.

By producing high-quality, visually appealing videos that users could easily replicate at home, Tasty not only entertained but also provided value, making it a go-to resource for culinary inspiration.

The videos are optimized for Facebook’s autoplay feature, which starts playing videos without the sound on.

You don’t need sound to see, for example, a 45-second guide to making a cheese-stuffed pizza pretzel.

11.  Planet Fitness: Home Work-Ins

When: 2020

Campaign Outline:

In 2020, with the world grappling with lockdowns and gym closures, Planet Fitness set out to leverage Facebook to revolutionize home fitness.

As many of us scaled back our physical activity in order to shelter in place, Planet Fitness launched “The Home Work-In” series.

This innovative campaign transformed Facebook Live into a virtual gym, offering free, daily live workouts to motivate people globally.

To make it happen, the company equipped trainers across the country with the necessary tech to broadcast from their homes. These sessions featured professional trainers, celebrities, and athletes, ensuring variety and broad appeal.

The Numbers:

  • Over 373 million total campaign impressions.
  • Viewed by over 208 million people across 37 countries.
  • Increase the average watch time of Planet Fitness video content by 200%.
  • Drove over 4.3 million new Facebook followers.

Why Did It Work?

Planet Fitness’s Home Work-In campaign brilliantly tapped into the needs of a global audience confined to their homes, craving movement and community.

By leveraging Facebook Live, it provided real-time, interactive fitness solutions that were accessible and free, breaking down barriers to exercise.

The strategic use of celebrities and athletes added star power, while the quick launch just days after widespread closures highlighted the brand’s agility and commitment to its members.


X (Formerly Twitter)

12. Nickelodeon: A Message From Steve – Blue’s Clues 25th Anniversary

Message from SteveScreenshot from X (Twitter), February 2024

When: 2021

Campaign Outline:

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of “Blue’s Clues,” Nickelodeon decided to use X (Twitter) to reconnect with the now-adult audience who had cherished the show as children.

The strategy was to evoke nostalgia and warmth by reminding them of the timeless bond they shared with the show, using a special message from the original host, Steve.

The centerpiece of the celebration was a “Message From Steve,” a video where Steve directly addressed the audience after decades.

The script, developed in close collaboration with Steve, touched on universal themes of adulthood, such as jobs, families, and student loans, while also acknowledging the growth and journeys of the audience since they last met Steve.

By using X (Twitter) as the distribution platform, Nickelodeon strategically featured Steve’s message in an area where it knew the conversation would flourish.

The Numbers:

  • Steve’s messaging became a viral sensation, garnering:
    • Over 40 million views.
    • Close to 800,000 retweets.
    • 2 million likes.
    • Over 222 million impressions and 18 million engagements.
  • It was the most engaging tweet of all time for any ViacomCBS account.
  • Blue’s Clues and Steve were a trending topic on social media for several days, with fans sharing their emotional reactions, memories, and more.
  • Celebrities, such as Seth Rogen and Blake Lively, and brands like XBOX and JCPenney engaged with the tweet.

Why Did It Work?

Steve’s return tapped into a deep well of nostalgia, which (as we’ve discussed above) is a powerful tool for engaging social media content.

It encouraged and allowed people to reconnect with childhood memories, and the sincerity of the message resonated with social media audiences all over the world.

By addressing the shared experiences of growing up and acknowledging the challenges of adulthood, the campaign fostered a powerful sense of community among viewers.

13. Busch: #PassMeABusch

When: 2022

Campaign Outline:

Busch Light had an ambitious goal: to dominate social media conversations on National Beer Day by making Busch Light the most talked-about beer brand.

In order to do that, it mobilized its passionate fanbase on X (Twitter) by turning April 7, 2022 into a celebration of beer, which was fueled by generous beer money giveaways.

The brand asked fans to share why they deserved to celebrate National Beer Day with Busch Light, promising $10,000 in beer money via CashApp for the most compelling reasons.

Throughout the day, it offered various giveaway amounts and “power hours” to maintain excitement and participation.

This led to fans sharing their unique, humorous, and sometimes poignant reasons for deserving a share of the beer money, generating widespread buzz and engagement.

The Numbers:

  • Bush Light became the No. 1 topic on X (Twitter) for National Beer Day.
  • The brand achieved:
    • Over 40,000 social mentions.
    • 1.7 million impressions.
    • Nearly 3,000 new followers.
  • The #PassMeABusch hashtag gained the company thousands of new followers.
  • One of the biggest growth days Anheuser-Busch ever saw on Twitter.

Why Did It Work?

The campaign’s genius lay in its simplicity and direct appeal to the audience’s love for beer and the brand.

By offering tangible rewards to fans, Busch Light created a sense of excitement that resonated across X (Twitter), and provided strong incentive for engagement.

After all, people are much more likely to engage if they believe they might get something out of it!

The mix of humor, relatability, and the thrill of potentially winning beer money incentivized people to celebrate and engage, propelling Busch Light to unprecedented social media prominence on National Beer Day.

14. Planters: The Death Of Mr. Peanut – #RIPPeanut

When: 2020

Campaign Outline:

Perhaps one of the most bizarre social media campaigns: the beloved mascot of Planters snack food company died at the beginning of January 2020.

His death was announced with a tweet and later explained in a video ad posted to YouTube. The brand explained that Mr. Peanut had sacrificed his life to save his commercial co-stars, Matt Walsh and Wesley Snipes.

Planters invited fans to mourn the loss using the #RIPPeanut hashtag (which could also win them snacks).

The brands and regular social media users alike played along with the campaign, and it even got a mention on SNL.

The campaign was inspired by the reaction to celebrity deaths on social media. It aimed to repeat the same level of engagement that Tony Stark’s death caused in “Avengers: Endgame.”

Later, Mr. Peanut was reborn as a Baby Nut and now happily tweets from the Peanut Jr. account.

The Numbers:

  • The tweet announcing the death of Mr. Peanut has gathered 42,000 retweets.
  • It generated an increase of 24,000 followers for the @MrPeanut Twitter account.

Why Did It Work?

The campaign’s success hinged on its sheer audacity and the playful engagement with a topic as somber as death, presented in a way that was both humorous and captivating.

The premise was so unexpected and so wild that it immediately piqued the interest of users across X (Twitter) and quickly became a meme.

By tapping into meme culture and encouraging the participation of other users and brands, Planters created a viral phenomenon that transcended traditional marketing campaigns.

Many comedians and funny Twitter personalities jumped into the conversation, making jokes about Mr Peanut’s death – and other brands like Snickers, Crocs, and more joined in.

Planters did an exceptional job of taking the strange humor of the platform at the time, and putting that to use in an interactive and emotional rollercoaster that demonstrated the power of creative storytelling and community engagement.


TikTok

15. P&G: #DistanceDance

When: 2020

Campaign Outline:

Created during the pandemic (seeing a trend here?), Proctor and Gamble took to TikTok with a campaign designed to encourage social distancing.

Under the hashtag #DistanceDance, the company teamed up with social media and former competitive dancer Charli D’Amelio to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

For the first 3 million videos posted to the short-form video apps, P&G donated to Feeding America and Matthew 25 Ministries.

The Numbers:

  • The hashtag has inspired more than 2.3 million posts to date.
  • Charli D’Amelio’s video received almost 7 million likes and had more than 135,000 comments.

Why Did It Work?

Recognizing that to reach a younger audience, it needed to reach them on their platform of choice, P&G jumped fully into this TikTok campaign.

Partnering with an established influencer helped the company reach an audience it would otherwise have struggled to connect with.

The give-back component also created a feel-good reason to participate in the hashtag challenge.

16. Chipotle Mexican Grill: Chipotle x Corn Kid

When: 2023

Campaign Outline:

When an interview featuring 7-year-old Tariq (a.k.a. Corn Kid) expressing his love for corn captured TikTok’s heart and went viral, Chipotle saw an opportunity to jump into the conversation – and highlight its roasted chili-corn salsa.

Seemingly overnight, Chipotle jumped on the trend and orchestrated a collaboration with Corn Kid, creating a video of him enjoying his favorite corn salsa burrito bowl at Chipotle.

The Numbers:

  • The TikTok generated:
    • Over 59.6 million views.
    • Over 266,500 shares.
    • Over 9.3 million likes.
  • Nearly 13 million engagements across platforms.
  • Over 110 million video views across platforms.
  • Over 1.1 billion PR impressions from 768 stories.

Why Did It Work?

The partnership allowed Chipotle to enter a cultural TikTok conversation as it was unfolding in a way that felt authentic and memorable.

By being the first brand to partner with Corn Kid, Chipotle set itself apart from the competition and found a unique way to highlight its product.

The campaign’s success also stemmed from its rapid response to a fleeting cultural moment, showcasing Chipotle’s agility in content creation and ability to authentically engage with Gen Z.

The clever use of real-time culture mixed with Chipotle’s narrative around fresh ingredients resonated well with audiences, as it showed the brand really walks the walk.

17.  State Farm: Jake Gets Social

When: 2022

Campaign Outline:

In order to reach the next generation of consumers, State Farm launched a TikTok campaign around its iconic “Jake from State Farm” character.

To do so, it made Jake a content creator on TikTok, having him participate in popular challenges and trends, and partner with recognizable influencers and celebrities on the platform.

The Numbers:

  • Grew the Jake from State Farm TikTok page to 640,000 followers in 2022.
  • The profile generated 1.75 million likes and 11.7 million organic views.
  • Achieved a 14.5% average engagement rate on owned videos.

Why Did It Work?

State Farm successfully integrated Jake into the TikTok environment in an authentic way by creating engaging, community-driven content.

By focusing on creative challenges, partnerships with popular TikTok creators and celebrities, and genuine interactions with other TikTok users, State Farm went beyond the typical corporate presence on social and built real connections with people.

On a platform that values novelty and authenticity, State Farm’s adaptability and attention to trends enabled it to lay a solid foundation for future engagement with Gen Z consumers.

18.  FOX Entertainment: Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test TikTok Challenge

When: 2022

Campaign Outline:

Here’s a fun one.

In this example, FOX Entertainment introduced a brand new augmented reality (AR) obstacle course challenge on TikTok to promote the upcoming season of “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.”

Designed to reflect the show’s focus on overcoming physical and mental barriers, users participated in the challenge by trying to complete a 2-minute AR course using push-ups and planks.

The Numbers:

  • The AR experience collected over half a billion views.
  • It also generated 42 million likes and 2 million shares, putting FOX Entertainment in the top 1% of effect creators on TikTok.

Why Did It Work?

The AR challenge leveraged a unique capability of the TikTok platform to create something that was both interactive and immersive for users.

It also made sense for the brand to produce, as it aligned closely with the show’s themes.

Whether or not you knew about the show beforehand, you could enjoy the exciting AR challenge – and develop an awareness of the show in the meantime.

The success of this campaign underscores the power of creative content strategies that leverage emerging technologies to connect with audiences in meaningful and memorable ways.


LinkedIn

19. Harvard Business Review: Special Coverage: Coronavirus

When: 2020

Campaign Outline:

Because it’s so commonly used as a professional networking site, it’s easy to forget that LinkedIn is a social media platform just like Facebook or YouTube.

Harvard Business Review recognized it could fill a valuable role during the height of the pandemic by offering resources about the coronavirus.

Gathering many resources in one convenient place, it provided a credible source of information at a time when misinformation was running rampant.

The special coverage included information about developing work-from-home policies, responding to new variants, and helping find a new normal.

The Numbers

  • The HBR has over 14 million followers, many of whom benefited from this information.

Why Did It Work?

From fears of microchipping to governmental conspiracies, the sheer amount of outright false information about COVID-19 was staggering.

On top of this, this was uncharted territory for businesses of all types.

Leveraging the credibility of its parent institution, HBR provided quality, factual advice for dealing with a wide variety of pandemic-related issues.

20.  Verizon: #NotDone

Verizon #NotDone CampaignScreenshot from YouTube, #NotDone, Verizon, February 2024

When: 2020

Campaign Outline:

In 2020, we saw the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote.

To mark the occasion, Verizon launched the Future Fund, dedicating $5 million to nurture emerging female talent in technology and entertainment.

Then, the brand leveraged LinkedIn to creatively start a conversation about the historical underrepresentation of women and the roots of gender bias by creating posthumous LinkedIn profiles for pioneering women from history – such as Ada Lovelace, Dorothy Lavinia Brown, Chien-Shiung Wu, and more.

The campaign was designed to remind others that – until there are more women in tech and entertainment – we are #NotDone.

The Numbers:

  • Created posthumous LinkedIn profiles for the first time ever.
  • Engaged over 7 million users without any paid promotion.

Why Did It Work?

By leveraging LinkedIn to reintroduce historical figures to the modern job market, Verizon not only paid homage to their contributions but also starkly highlighted the brand’s messaging and values around the ongoing struggle for gender equality.

The platform was an effective choice for reaching professionals in decision-making roles within tech and entertainment, and the format Verizon chose was inherently buzzy, engaging, and never seen before.


Key Takeaway

Reflecting on the examples we’ve covered here, it’s worth noting how different they all are; they run the gamut of platforms, audiences, tactics, and messaging.

But one thing that does tie these brands together is this: They all found innovative ways to appeal to their targets and provide real value to people.

From Instagram to TikTok, these campaigns demonstrate the power of connecting with audiences in meaningful and unexpected ways.

The lesson for brands is to keep pushing the boundaries of engagement by offering value and relevance that resonates with their audience.

Embrace the challenge, and perhaps your campaign will be the next to inspire and captivate – and next year, you might even be featured on this list.

More Resources:


Featured Image: metamorworks/Shutterstock

How To Get More Followers On Instagram: 24 Tips To Try via @sejournal, @theshelleywalsh

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.

So, make an Instagram content plan and stick to it.

Read more: How To Create A Social Media Content Plan

2. Define Your Target Audience

As we mentioned above, it’s important to understand your audience when creating content for Instagram.

You want to get more Instagram followers? Great. Who are those people, and how do you plan to reach them?

Spend some time thinking about the types of people you want to engage and then research how they use the platform.

This will help you exponentially when creating your content – and will increase the likelihood of successfully boosting your followers.

Read more: What Is A Target Audience And How Do You Find It

3. Prioritize High-Quality Content

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.

Read more: 7 Reasons Why Content Needs Amazing Images, Videos & Visuals

4. Create Instagram Reels And Video Content

Create Instagram Reels And Video ContentScreenshot 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.

Here’s an example reel on Instagram.

Read more: How To Use Instagram Reels: A Step-By-Step Guide

5. Embrace Instagram’s Latest Features

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.

Read more: Instagram Adds New Ways To Create Content

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.

Read more: Social Media Analytics: A Guide To Get Started

7. Use Instagram Stories

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.

Read more: How The Instagram Algorithm Works For Stories, Feed, Reels, And Explore

8. Focus On Instagram SEO For Discoverability

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.

Read more: The Best Time To Post On Instagram

9. Optimize Your Profile

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.

Here’s an example of an optimized logo.

Read more: 5 Excellent Brand Instagram Bios To Inspire Your Own

10. Experiment With Collaborative Posts

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.

Here’s an example of a collaborative post.

Read more: How To Collaborate With Local Influencers To Drive Global B2B Content Marketing Success

11. Utilize Influencer Partnerships Strategically

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.

Read more: 4 Ways To Find The Best Instagram Influencers For Your Business

12. Use Instagram Shopping (If Applicable)

Use Instagram Shopping (If Applicable)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.

To get started with Instagram Shopping, head to Commerce Manager and follow the steps.

Here’s an example of utilizing Instagram Shopping.

Read more: How To Sell On Instagram: 11 Tips & Social Commerce Examples

13. Use Tagging To Gain More Exposure

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.

Read more: 11 Tips For Promoting Your Local Business On Instagram

14. Link To Your Instagram From Your Website & Email

Make sure existing clients and customers find your Instagram by adding an icon to your social links or embedding Instagram content on your site.

You can also link to your brand’s Instagram account from your email signature.

Use a plugin to feed your latest Instagram posts directly to your website.

This can be a great way to promote your new account to people who regularly visit your site, building your following of clients.

Read more: 130 Social Sharing Sites That Boost SEO & Drive Traffic

15. Run Contests & Campaigns To Increase Brand Reach

Once you’ve started growing a follower base, you can hold contests and campaigns that can attract more users to your page.

Focus on contests that encourage user-generated content or at least interaction with your content.

For example, you can drive traffic to your website or sell your product by running an inspiring Instagram contest.

You can either ask users to like, comment, use a specific hashtag, or ask your followers to tag a friend.

When you ask users to tag a friend, it exposes your brand and page to more Instagram users online.

It is an effective way to increase your brand awareness and reach and a key hack to get more Instagram followers.

Read more: 10 Inspiring Examples of Instagram Contests That Caught Our Attention

16. Keep An Eye On Your Competitors

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.

Read more: SEO Competitive Analysis: The Definitive Guide

17. Pay Attention To Trends

Pay Attention To TrendsScreenshot 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.

Read more: 12 Social Media Experts Offer Their Predictions For 2024

18. Engage Authentically Across The Platform

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!

Read more: How To Create Engaging Social Media Content: 12 Tips To Drive Results

19. Prioritize Accessibility

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!

Read more: Social Media Image Size Guide For All Platforms

20. Employ Subtle Branding

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.

Read more: Social Media Branding: How To Get It Right

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.

According to the Instagram Creators account, you should stick to between three and five hashtags.

Where Should I Add The Hashtags On An Instagram Post?

Add your hashtags within the caption of your post, or in your Instagram Story.

Some users prefer to add single periods separated by line breaks after their caption and then add hashtags, so they’re somewhat buried.

Whatever you choose to do is fine, but keep it consistent across posts so you have a streamlined, professional look.

Read more: 10 Best Social Media Interaction Posts

22. Create A Branded Hashtag For Your Events

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.

Read more: Adapting Your Digital Marketing Strategy To Local Events And Seasons

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.

Read more: 7 Tips for Creating Eye-Catching Instagram Ads

24. Get Your Account Verified

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.

To request verification, follow these steps:

  • Tap the hamburger (three lines) in the top right corner of your profile.
  • Tap Settings and privacy.
  • Click on Account and then Request verification.
  • Fill out the form, tap Submit, and then wait.

Read more: How To Identify Fake News From Real News Online

Final Takeaways

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.

Good luck!

More Resources:


Featured Image: SPF/Shutterstock

6 Ways To Humanize Your Content In The AI Era via @sejournal, @LidiaInfanteM

In a world where anyone can create any content using AI without being an actual expert, it has become difficult for users to trust online content.

This trend is evident in the increasing preference for sourcing real human experiences and opinions on social media platforms – such as adding [reddit] at the end of search queries or using TikTok or Instagram as a search tool – despite skepticism towards influencer content.

People are seeking to connect with other people more than ever.

While some companies will make the mistake of pivoting entirely to AI-generated content to reduce costs, others can use this as an opportunity to become more human and connect deeply with their audiences.

A Human Touch Is Key In The AI Era

Generative AI is significantly influencing SEO and content trends. Being able to generate content at scale is no longer a competitive advantage.

Brands are going to have to pivot their strategy towards a more customer-centric approach by:

  • Getting to know their audience better and start creating content that focuses on real customer needs and pain points rather than on search volume or product features.
  • Leveraging real experts as their content creators, elevating their first-hand experience to create truly helpful content from a trustworthy source.
  • Using their internal experts as brand ambassadors for their company and including them in their content distribution strategies.

You can absolutely use AI to take some work off your plate, increase your productivity, and humanize your content strategy as a brand differentiator.

1. Focus On Content That Supports The User Journey, Rather Than Search Volume

Before generative AI changed the economics of content marketing by making content generation cheap and easy for all, the smartest approach to content marketing for brands was creating content at scale.

Brands would write about any and every keyword that was even remotely related to their product. Now that anyone can do this, we need a new strategy.

It’s time to pivot away from search volume and towards content that resonates deeply with the audience and offers unique insights.

Brands need to rely on audience research and user insights to create content that’s much more tailored to the actual user journey.

Working at Sanity, I realized that simply creating content that our audience was looking for was not enough. We had to meet them during their buying journey.

The issue was that buying a headless CMS takes several months and many different people.

After tons of research, once we identified our main decision-maker, we decided to focus on creating content for that specific persona that helped them with their task at hand.

A good way to do this is by applying the Jobs To Be Done framework and mapping the typical user journey of your ideal customer.

Create a committee of experts to brainstorm ideas of content that could help your ideal customer with their task.

For example, imagine you work for a survey tool.

During your user research, you realize that a key use case for your product is employee feedback surveys, and HR teams are looking for providers they can partner with. This is what the content ideation could look like:

Picture of a template for journey-based content ideation.Image from Miro, January 2024

You can use this Miro template to guide you in your content ideation meeting.

2. Use Sales And Support Conversations In Your Audience Research

Understanding your audience will help you create content that enables you to connect with them more deeply.

Your company probably has a wealth of information about how your users interact with its products that you can tap into as part of your audience research.

Companies often interact with their customers in sales conversations, support tickets, online communities, or market research interviews.

You can use these interactions to identify the pain points your product solves, common support questions, how you compare to your competitors, and where your target audience finds you.

Working in product categories that are fairly new or vaguely defined, I’ve used this strategy to identify the keyphrases that real customers were using to talk about our product.

Targeting these keywords in our SEO strategy helped us reach a wider audience. Talking to them using their own words communicated something very powerful: “We get it, we understand you.”

You can use meeting transcripts and an AI tool of your choice to find the pain points your audience cares about, how you compare to competitors, common points of friction using your product, or extract the keyphrases your audience uses most often when talking about your product.

Different paid tools do this at scale, like the Google Natural Language API or MonkeyLearn. They vary widely in price, from free APIs to expensive enterprise tools.

You can also do this yourself with some beginner coding skills using KeyBERT, a free keyword extraction system, or follow this guide to entity and sentiment analysis for SEO by Lazarina Stoy.

Some user research tools like Chorus or Dovetail already incorporate some AI capabilities to identify these.

Meeting recorders like Descript, TL;DV, or Fathom can be used for this purpose, too.

3. Help Your Internal Experts Create Content

Working with your internal experts will help you communicate the real expertise of your brand and enable you to create unique high-quality content faster.

You can find incredible subject matter experts within your own team, but they’re usually too busy doing their jobs to write content for the marketing department.

Instead of missing out on their knowledge, you can work with a ghostwriter to interview your internal experts.

The ghostwriter should act not just as a writer but as a facilitator who translates your experts’ knowledge into engaging content.

They should conduct interviews that delve into the expert’s insights, ensuring the content truly reflects their expertise and tone, ask informed questions, and capture the nuances of their explanations.

One interview can turn into a series of blog posts, or be repurposed into social media clips or even a podcast.

Invite your subject matter expert to give feedback along the way. Start by creating a comprehensive content brief based on what your audience will want to know about the topic.

Then have the expert review the brief and add any missing elements or correct inaccuracies.

Once the content has been created, your internal expert should provide a final review before the content goes live.

In my experience, this collaboration requires very little time from your internal experts; five to 10 minutes for the initial review of the brief, 30 to 60 minutes for the interview, and 10 to 20 minutes for the final review.

4. Offer An Authentic Point Of View

While maintaining a brand voice is important, letting your authors’ voices and personalities shine through will make your content more colorful and engaging to an audience seeking human connection.

There is a real appetite for these unique perspectives and voices.

Google recently launched a new SERP feature, “Discussions and Forums,” to highlight real user experiences in review searches.

In 2023, it launched Perspectives, a new type of SERP that brings out personal experiences by combining videos, social media posts, and news.

In the past year, Google has been testing adding author names to articles and top stories in different ways.

Here are some tactics that will help you provide an authentic point of view:

  • Establish a clear and unique brand voice that reflects your company’s values and personality. This voice should be consistent across all content but flexible enough to allow individual authors’ personalities to shine through.
  • Develop content guidelines that encourage authors to infuse their own voices and personalities into their writing. This could mean allowing them to share personal anecdotes, express their opinions, or write in a style that reflects their unique way of communicating. These guidelines should balance maintaining the overall brand voice with the freedom to express individual perspectives.
  • Actively seek out and include personal stories and experiences from your team and clients in your content. This could be in the form of case studies, interviews, guest posts, or featured quotes that add a human touch to your content.
  • Provide training or resources to your team on effective storytelling. Teach them how to weave personal experiences and anecdotes into content in a way that enhances the message without detracting from the professionalism and goals of the piece.

An easy way to stand out from the rest of the pack is to offer a strong, unique, and authentic point of view.

Don’t be afraid to be prescriptive in your content or incorporate personal stories from your team or your clients.

5. Add A Personal Video To Your Top-Performing Articles

People love people. That’s one of the many reasons for TikTok’s resounding success: being told a story is much more engaging than reading an article.

You don’t need a brand-new content strategy; you can repurpose your top-performing articles into a video format.

To try this out, identify your top-performing articles and create a script that summarizes the main points of the piece.

You can ask the author of the piece to film the video from their laptop, do it yourself, or work with your company’s brand ambassador if you have one.

Add the video to your page, and don’t forget to test if your users like this new experience. If they do, you can invest in rolling it out to other pages.

This can enrich your existing articles and give you the opportunity to rank with your videos by using structured data for video on your page or posting your video on third-party sites like YouTube or TikTok.

A big point of friction that comes up in this process can be creating the script.

AI can actually be an excellent ally for this! You can paste your article into ChatGPT or other tools and ask it to provide a script for a video summary. Edit it to match your brand voice, and now all that’s left is finding someone in your team who isn’t camera-shy!

Editing the video can be another big hurdle. And again, AI can help.

There are a few AI video editors in the market that automatically remove awkward silences and filler words, create engaging thumbnails, and can help you add in the intro and outro scenes.

6. Establish Your Employees As Influencers

Before I get into this recommendation, let me get something out of the way: Unless it’s in their contract or you’re paying them for it, employees are under no obligation to share your brand’s content.

Another huge advantage of working with your internal experts to create content is that they will want to share content on their own platform.

It makes them look good, it helps them build their personal brand, and they are probably proud of their latest article.

If they love the content under their name, they will want to share it with the world.

But your subject matter experts might not be social media. Here are some tips to make this strategy work.

  • Help your internal experts distribute their content by offering to write an X (Twitter) thread or LinkedIn post that they can edit and publish on their social profiles.
  • Use generative AI here, too, to help you transform longform articles into engaging summaries that leave you wanting more and get your audience to click through.
  • Make sure to reward the employees who participate in this program by re-sharing their content and publicly recognizing their efforts. Measure the impact of their contributions and thank them for it in public company channels like Slack or an all-hands meeting.
  • Offer an optional social media workshop that participating employees can join to learn how to grow and expand their personal brand.
  • Establish clear guidelines on what is appropriate to share and what isn’t, putting emphasis on inclusive language and protecting client information.
  • Use social media analytics to monitor the reach and impact of shared content. This data can help you understand the type of content that connects with your audience the most and refine your strategy.

In Summary

The increasing presence of AI is accelerating a growing skepticism among users toward content that misses a human element.

Why do users gravitate towards platforms like Reddit, Instagram, and TikTok? Because of their deep-seated desire for real human connections and content that genuinely resonates.

The real challenge for brands isn’t just keeping pace with AI’s relentless march forward, it’s embracing the human elements that lead to genuine connections and earn trust.

Brands should prioritize authenticity, center strategies around the user, and harness the rich, unique perspectives and experiences of real individuals.

That’s how they can create content that doesn’t just capture the audience’s attention but resonates deeply and has a lasting impact.

In the AI era, the human touch isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential.

More resources:


Featured Image: Prostock-studio/Shutterstock

Social Media Should Not Fall Under “Other Duties As Assigned” via @sejournal, @TheJennyLi

The landscape of social media constantly changes, along with the functionality of individual platforms.

Early in my social media career, Google+, Periscope, and Storify were all part of a social media manager’s vernacular.

And as I look at the myriad of new platforms that have come out in the past year I wonder if I’ll be creating brand accounts for any of them in the near future.

Change is omnipresent in the industry – social media managers are always learning how to use new platforms, digital tools, and technologies.

Social media is no longer a hobby or a pastime, it’s a growing industry. It has become much more sophisticated and complex as time passes and technology advances.

Maintaining social media channels for an organization requires, at the very least, a full-time position dedicated to the organization’s social media presence.

I would even argue one full-time position is not enough, and that it takes a team. It certainly should not fall onto the list of duties of a junior member of a department as an afterthought, not if you want to see results.

In its simplest form, maintaining social media channels involves posting content regularly, which requires having content to post and publishing the content to the platforms.

This is time-consuming.

If your organization is adopting social media as a vital part of its communications or marketing strategy it necessitates much more work – creating content, posting content, engaging with content, listening and monitoring channels, keeping up with new functions and practices – and that’s for existing platforms.

Although there are new platforms that are constantly being introduced, there are still only nine hours in a workday.

No one should expect one person to maintain the organization’s social media presence.

An organization’s social media presence is its public presence and brand voice; there is no un-coupling the organization’s social media identity from the brand identity.

If you wouldn’t leave it up to a junior staff member to manage the organization’s public-facing content and communications, you should probably rethink it if you have a junior staff member managing all the social media channels in addition to the regular duties they were hired to do.

In addition to all the social media related responsibilities, those who are full-time social media managers often serve as their own audio-visual team and information technology support.

In the past few years crisis communications has also become a large of portion of a social media manager’s daily responsibilities and it continues to grow.

This fundamentally shifts how the position functions and serves the organization.

Social media managers are the first people to receive feedback and criticism from their audience, as well as often being the first to hear of breaking events, because they are on the front line of public-facing communications.

Therefore, a key part of a social media manager’s job is to relay information and make recommendations to senior officials on the back of this.

They should also be one of the first to know when decisions are made in regard to the situation. If there’s anything 2020 taught us, it’s that no two crises are the same.

While we were becoming better equipped to respond to each new dilemma, there was no creating a template. Every crisis had its own challenges and constraints.

For example, sometimes a crisis would break on a weekend or a holiday, sometimes it would be cut short by an even bigger story, sometimes it was strictly internal, and at other times a global calamity.

And while our responsibilities grew and our work hours extended, you wouldn’t know it by reading our job descriptions.

We need to start thinking about social media as a team sport. Each position on the team would serve a unique and necessary function and there should be bench players available to complete the team.

To be successful at it, it requires the full-time attention of a number of people. Before considering a new platform, here is the necessary makeup of a social media team:

  • Director of strategy.
  • [X, formerly Twitter]–Facebook–LinkedIn specialist.
  • Vertical video specialist.
  • Gaming specialist.
  • Live streaming specialist.
  • Writer.
  • Photographer.
  • Videographer/editor.
  • Graphic designer.
  • Animator.
  • Data scientist.

Of course, there are various ways to build your team, and I’m certain new specializations will arise.

Larger organizations should consider a creative director, and if you do paid social you will definitely need a marketing director or an ad specialist.

A common problem, though, is that the job descriptions for social media managers are antiquated.

While social media might have been manageable as an additional duty in 2004, that’s no longer the case today.

However, a major oversight in the profession is that the job descriptions remain the same.

That’s why they don’t reflect the breadth of responsibilities social media managers handle on a daily basis, which has led to many social media managers being underpaid and overworked.

Many social media positions remain entry-level, even though they now require more senior-level experience.

It’s unreasonable for one person to handle all these skills, which are full-time positions in and of themselves, and they should absolutely not fall under “other duties as assigned.”

There is something social media managers can do about it—we can take the initiative and help to rewrite our job descriptions.

I realize there is a bit of bureaucracy involved, and this is no easy task, but if we don’t do this, who will?

Working with your manager and human resources to rewrite your job description may be the best way to educate them on just how much you do and initiate conversations that could lead to positive change.

It’s an eye-opening exercise when you write down everything you’re doing and are responsible for, and while the process might be arduous the benefits may include a promotion and salary increase.

If people who aren’t familiar with social media and social media job roles continue to write the job descriptions, the chances are they will not fully represent the scope of the position.

For example, they may ask for a social media “whiz,” “guru” or some other label that sounds complimentary but does not come close to representing the profession accurately.

This could lead to them seeking a new intern every semester when what they actually need is a seasoned professional.

Many communication professionals and administrative assistants who have social media as one of their (many) responsibilities start to find it’s taking up more and more of their day.

If this is you, it’s time to separate social media from your duties and help to make it its own position.

If social media channels are truly an integral part of your organization, it’s necessary to allocate more resources toward managing social.

If we don’t do this, then it’s likely nothing will change. This means that even if you move on to a new role, the person hired to do your job after you will have to endure the same growing and unsustainable workload.

I, for one, want future social media managers to have the respect and salary they deserve walking in the door of an organization, and I believe it’s up to each of us to advocate to move the needle on advancing our profession.


This extract is from Organic Social Media by Jenny Li Fowler ©2023 and is reproduced and adapted with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.

To purchase the book, SEJ readers get an exclusive 20% discount and complimentary shipping for all US and UK addresses. Use code: OSM20 here to redeem your offer.

There are three articles in this series, find the other two here:

More resources: 


Featured Image: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

Setting Goals For Social Media And Making Them SMART via @sejournal, @TheJennyLi

In some cases, you might be consulting or advising a client and they’re having trouble determining what their goals are for social media.

When you know you’re going to have a goal-setting session or conversation with a client it’s a good idea to come with three goals in hand.

Basically, tell them what their goals should be.

You’ve done the research, you know the industry, you’ve done a competitive analysis, you understand what their social media needs are, so just go ahead and make recommendations on what you believe their goals should be based off their needs and your knowledge.

It’s like writing versus editing. Writing something from scratch starting with a blank document is hard. But for some reason, everyone is an editor.

If you give them something to work with, people always have edit suggestions and revisions for you.

So, make it easy for them, and for you frankly, and come to the table with goals in mind. That gives the clients something to work with or “edit” and you can have a much more productive conversation.

Again, you can always pivot or change them later. The idea is to not overthink this step or get stuck on goal setting, keeping you from moving on with the process.

After you’ve determined your goals – I think it’s ideal to have anywhere between three and five goals – you want to build on them.

A popular practice for goal setting is to make them SMART.

SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, developed by George Doran, Arthur Miller and James Cunningham in 1981. This framework is widely used to create goals.

Here’s a quick summary in case you’re not familiar or need a recap.

  • Specific – It helps to be as specific as possible when defining a goal. Being specific about what you’re trying to achieve helps to keep it clearly in focus.
  • Measurable – If your goal is measurable you can track your progress. How else will you know whether you are on your way to achieving your objective?
  • Achievable – In Doran et al’s 1981 paper, A stood for Assignable. I like the old version because it requires you to specify the person or persons accountable for meeting the goal. But I suppose it makes little sense if the goal only applies to one person. The A has evolved into attainable or achievable. It’s good to have high aspirations but you want your goals to be reachable, especially if it has to do with your job performance. You want to make it challenging but not impossible.
  • Relevant – The R has also changed over the years. Originally, it was realistic, and it became relevant in later versions. You want the goals to be pertinent to the organization and aligned with its mission and values.
  • Time-bound – The T also had a face-lift over the years. Initially, it was time-related. You’re more apt to hear people use timely or time-bound these days. No matter which version you use, the concept is the same. You want to identify a timeframe for when the results can be achieved or give yourself a due date. When you hit your goals, you want to create new ones.

These are important characteristics for your goals to have, and you want your social media goals to be SMART. But it can be an intimidating place to start.

When you’re looking at a blank sheet and you’re trying to include all the SMART elements (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) to your goals, and your goals are qualitative or centered around messaging, it feels impossible to make them completely SMART.

I had trouble wrapping my brain around this for a long time until I reframed the practice. I propose you set your goals, like mentioned earlier, and build on them.

Here’s what I mean by that.

Let’s take a previous example, launching a selection of savory cupcakes. Then list some tactics you plan to employ to support the goal and how long you plan to continue the tactics.

Company goal = Launch a selection of savory cupcakes this calendar year.

Tactic #1 = Publish an Instagram story once a week about the new cupcakes.

Tactic #2 = Publish an Instagram Reel about the new cupcakes every two weeks.

Tactic #3 = Publish a TikTok about the new cupcakes once a week.

Length = Until the new cupcakes are launched.

Then write this into one complete thought from the perspective of the social media manager or team:

One of our main objectives is to support the launch of the cupcake store’s new savory line of cupcakes. Our goals are to publish an Instagram story and a TikTok once a week about the launch of the new cupcakes and post an Instagram Reel about the new cupcakes every two weeks.

Our plan is to continue at this pace until the launch date of x/x/xxxx at which time we will reassess our posting schedule regarding the new cupcakes.

When you approach your goals this way, you will notice you naturally end up with a SMART goal. Let’s break it down:

  • Specific – The objective is to support the launch of the new savory line of cupcakes. (This is much more specific than “Make the world a better place.”)
  • Measurable – You can track whether you’re publishing an Instagram story and a TikTok once a week and an Instagram Reel every two weeks.
  • Achievable – If you have the right resources to maintain this level of content creation, this is an achievable goal.
  • Relevant – The content is relevant to the company’s goal.
  • Time-bound – You stated that you will do this until the launch date, at which point you will reassess the schedule.

Let’s try it again with another previously mentioned example.

Let’s use one of the vague company goals, “We want to continue to be a leader in our field.”

After you’ve done your listening tour let’s say you’ve chosen to support this goal by promoting the company’s in-house daycare and pre-school services for employees’ children, provided at a low cost and with scholarships available for those in need.

Company goal = We want to continue to be a leader in our field.

Tactic #1 = Tweet once a week about the in-house day care and preschool.

Tactic #2 = Publish an Instagram Story every two weeks about the day care and pre-school.

Tactic #3 = Post in LinkedIn every two weeks about the childcare services.

Length = Until the end of the calendar year.

Then write it in one complete thought, which will serve as one of your goals:

One of our company’s goals is to maintain our reputation as being a leader in our field. We feel the in-house childcare service available to all employees demonstrates the company’s leadership in the industry. We will promote this fact on social media by tweeting about it once a week and posting an Instagram Story and on LinkedIn every two weeks until the end of the calendar year.

Now let’s break it down into the SMART elements:

  • Specific –While the overarching company goal is vague, you’ve identified a specific way to support the goal.
  • Measurable – You can track your posts to identify whether you’re hitting your goals of one tweet a week and an Instagram Story and LinkedIn post every two weeks.
  • Achievable – If you’re finding you don’t have enough content to maintain this pace, adjust the goal to make it achievable or add more resources. It’s okay to make adjustments as you go.
  • Relevant – The content supports the company’s goals and reinforces the stories you’re trying to tell.
  • Time-bound – You stated that you will continue this posting schedule until the end of the calendar year, at which point you will reassess the schedule and the goal.

Let’s do one more example so you’re confident in the process and feel you can repeat it yourself.

Company goal = Sell 10,000 units of product Beta in the first quarter of this year.

Tactic #1 = Publish an Instagram Reel once a week with a fan of the product talking about it, sharing their stories of how they discovered it and why they like it.

Tactic #2 = Share user generated content about product Beta on all platforms.

Tactic #3 = Work with micro-influencers on collaborations.

Rewrite these ideas in one complete thought:

The company is aiming to sell 10,000 units of product Beta in Q1. After doing some research, we discovered the product is starting to amass a small but loyal following. Our strategy to support this goal will be tofeature the fans in our content.

We’re going to publish an Instagram Reel with a fan once a week and share user generated content about the product on all of our active platforms. We’re also going to identify some micro-influencers who have given the product positive reviews, and recruit them for possible collaborations.

And now transform it into SMART elements:

  • Specific – Selling 10,000 units of a product is super specific.
  • Measurable – There are ways of tracking whether a purchase was made from a social media post or by using a promo code specific to a micro-influencer. You can also document whether you’re posting an Instagram Reel with a fan once and week and record how many pieces of user-generated content you’ve shared.
  • Achievable –Make sure you can maintain your tactics for the first quarter of the year.
  • Relevant –Fan stories and testimonies are relevant to the product and the goal.
  • Time-bound –The goal states the target dates of Q1.

Notes

3 G Doran. There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management goals and objectives, Management Review, 1981, 70, 35–36.


This extract is from Organic Social Media by Jenny Li Fowler ©2023 and is reproduced and adapted with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.

To purchase the book, SEJ readers get an exclusive 20% discount and complimentary shipping for all US and UK addresses. Use code: OSM20 here to redeem your offer.

More resources:


Featured Image: dizain/Shutterstock

55 Instagram Statistics And Facts For 2024 via @sejournal, @theshelleywalsh

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)

5. Instagram was co-founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in 2010.

6. The current head of Instagram is Adam Mosseri.

7. Instagram HQ is located in Menlo Park, California.

8. In 2017, Instagram was reported to have 450 employees – though, in 2023, that number is well over 16,000.


When Was Instagram Released?

9. Instagram was launched on October 6, 2010, but the very first post was made on July 16, 2010.


How Much Is Instagram Worth?

10. In 2012, Facebook paid $1 billion for Instagram.

11. In 2018, Instagram was estimated to be worth $100 billion.

12. In 2022, Meta’s “Family of Apps,” which includes Instagram, generated $114.45 billion in revenue.

(Source) (Source) (Source)


How Many Instagram Users Are There?

13. Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users.

14. Advertisers can reach 1.6 billion users on Instagram in 2023.

15. That number is equal to 30.9% of all internet users.

16. Data suggests that 25.9% of all people 13 and older globally use Instagram.

(Source) (Source)


Instagram Account Growth Statistics

17. In September 2011, Instagram had 10 million users.

18. In February 2013, Instagram had 100 million monthly users.

19. By June 2016, Instagram had 500 million users.

20. In June 2018, Instagram had 1 billion monthly users.

21. By October 2021, Instagram had 1.16 billion users estimated.

22. In October 2023, Instagram has over 2 billion users.

23. Advertisers can reach 176 million more users on Instagram in 2023 than they could at the same time in 2022.

(Source) (Source) (Source)


Instagram Top Influencers

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 earn up 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.

(Source)


Top Brands On Instagram

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.

(Source) (Source)


Instagram Posts With Most Likes

40. The post with the most likes is a photograph of footballer Lionel Messi holding the 2022 FIFA World Cup, posted in December 2022.

41. Second to that is a photograph of an egg that previously held the world record since January 2019.

42. Of the top 10 most-liked Instagram posts, five are from footballer Lionel Messi.

43. Another four posts are from footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

44. The top most-liked Instagram posts in 2023 are:

Influencer Description Likes* Date of post
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi holding the FIFA World Cup 75.6 million December 18, 2022
World Record Egg Photo of an egg 60.2 million January 4, 2019
Lionel Messi Messi sleeping with FIFA trophy 54.7 million December 20, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi playing chess 42.8 million November 19, 2022
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi on a plane with the FIFA World Cup trophy 42 million December 19, 2022
Liz 6 Reel of a sunset 34.6 million August 5, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr FC Announcement of Cristiano Ronaldo joining Al Nassr FC  34.4 million December 30, 2022
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi and team celebrating the 2022 FIFA World Cup win 34.4 million December 21, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo On elimination from 2022 FIFA World Cup 34.2 million December 11, 2022
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing chess 32.8 million November 19, 2022

*Instagram likes as of December 2023


Top Instagram Hashtags Of 2023

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.

47. The top Instagram hashtags of 2023 are:

*Instagram posts as of December 2023

(Source)


Instagram Statistics By Country

48. India is the most prominent global audience for Instagram, with more than 326.6 million users.

49. The US has the second biggest user base, with more than 168.6 million users.

Aside from the dominant countries, the platform has a worldwide reach and spread of users globally.

50. Instagram global audience size, April 2023:

Country Active Instagram Users
India 326.6 million
US 168.6 million
Brazil 132.6 million
Indonesia 106 million
Turkey 56.4 million
Japan 54.7 million
Mexico 43.8 million
Germany 33.8 million
UK 33.5 million
Italy 30.3 million

(Source)


Instagram Demographic Statistics

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.

53. Instagram users worldwide by age group:

Age group % of total ad audience
13-17 8.2%
18-24 32%
25-34 29.6%
35-44 15.3%
45-54 8.2%
55-64 4.2%
65+ 2.6%

(Source)


Instagram As A News Source

54. 16% of US adults regularly use Instagram as a news source, compared to 30% who use Facebook and 26% who use YouTube.

55. Women account for 59% of regular news consumers on Instagram.

(Source)


In Summary

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.

More resources: 


Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

Reddit Is a Marketing Goldmine

Reddit is a growing source of leads and insights for seemingly any business. Reddit posts rank organically for many Google queries and appear frequently in the “Discussions and forums” search result section.

The posts — all user-generated — reveal brand awareness, sentiment, and much more.

Here are four AI tools to search, analyze, and summarize content on Reddit.

1. GummySearch

GummySearch analyzes Reddit to:

  • Locate and connect with customers,
  • Search with advanced filters,
  • Track keywords related to a business,
  • Summarize and extract insights from posts.

To start, search Reddit using one or more keywords and select Subreddits to engage with. GummySearch will then create a dashboard and assign categories to the active discussions, enabling further discovery.

Filtering by keyword also provides a quick summary of every thread and a link.

Screenshot of a GummySearch dashboard.Screenshot of a GummySearch dashboard.

GummySearch creates dashboards based on the query and assigns categories to the active discussions. Click image to enlarge.

GummySearch helps monitor Subreddits and engage with discussions relevant to your company or product. It’s handy for learning customers’ pain points, brainstorming content ideas, and generating sales leads.

The free plan is limited to 50 searches. Paid plans start at $29 a month and include keyword alerts, content insights, Subreddit analysis, and more.

2. Marketing Blocks

Marketing Blocks is an AI-powered content-generation suite that integrates with Reddit. Input a keyword, and the tool will pull related discussion titles from Reddit and add them to an on-platform content brief. It then generates an AI response to those titles.

Screenshot of output from Marketing BlocksScreenshot of output from Marketing Blocks

Marketing Blocks pulls related Reddit discussions based on the inputted keyword. Click image to enlarge.

Marketing Blocks is helpful for addressing prospects’ concerns and suggestions, unavailable via traditional keyword research.

Paid plans start at $47 per month with a free five-day trial (credit card required).

3. GigaBrain

GigaBrain searches Reddit by keyword and summarizes the findings using generative AI. Clicking on any listed Subreddit enables additional filtering. Further down is the list of threads and comments based on the query, to analyze and condense.

GigaBrain searches Reddit by keyword (“What is Godaddy”) and summarizes the findings using generative AI. Click image to enlarge.

GigaBrain reveals discussions on Reddit for a brand, products, and competitors. It’s also helpful for discovering the words and phrases of consumers to include in your own content.

GigaBrain is a cloud-based platform with a companion Chrome extension. Both are free.

4. Profiler

Profiler is a free AI-powered Chrome extension to analyze the activity of any Reddit user, streamlining outreach and audience research.

I ran the tool on a user profile. Here are the results:

  • Interests: The user is interested in podcasts (specifically “LightsCameraPodcast”), movie and television discussions, sports commentary (e.g., “PardonMyTake,” “barstoolsports”), and seems to have a particular focus on “KingOfTheHill,” “LOTR_on_Prime,” and local Connecticut topics.
  • Profession: Indicated being a former teacher in 2018; current profession unknown.
  • Sentiment analysis: Overall mixed sentiment, with many negative comments (“hate,” “stupid,” “worry,” “bad”) balanced with some positive expressions (“thanks,” “great,” “love,” “awesome”). This user expresses strong opinions with a sense of humor.
  • Political leanings: No explicit political stance observed, but does not shy from harsh criticism, which may imply skepticism toward various subjects.
  • Psychological traits: Critical, candid, possibly dealing with a past of loneliness or dissatisfaction (e.g., from the heartfelt post about the podcast). Uses humor as a coping mechanism. Opinionated.
  • Gender: Likely a male given the use of “brother” and other context clues within the comments.
  • Religion: No direct information provided.
  • Origin/ethnicity: Likely American, specifically from or has lived in Connecticut, as evidenced by repeated references.
  • Behavior patterns: Engages frequently with entertainment-related content, is critical of media content, and often interacts in community discussions with humor and sarcasm.
  • Bot or human: Human user based on the diversity and personal nature of posts and comments.
  • Other: Engages predominantly in communities associated with popular culture and entertainment. Seems to appreciate humor but also has moments of serious reflection. Formerly engaged in a long-distance relationship and faced personal struggles, which he overcame with support from his podcast community.
55 Instagram Statistics And Facts For 2023 via @sejournal, @theshelleywalsh

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)

5. Instagram was co-founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in 2010.

6. The current head of Instagram is Adam Mosseri.

7. Instagram HQ is located in Menlo Park, California.

8. In 2017, Instagram was reported to have 450 employees – though, in 2023, that number is well over 16,000.


When Was Instagram Released?

9. Instagram was launched on October 6, 2010, but the very first post was made on July 16, 2010.


How Much Is Instagram Worth?

10. In 2012, Facebook paid $1 billion for Instagram.

11. In 2018, Instagram was estimated to be worth $100 billion.

12. In 2022, Meta’s “Family of Apps,” which includes Instagram, generated $114.45 billion in revenue.

(Source) (Source) (Source)


How Many Instagram Users Are There?

13. Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users.

14. Advertisers can reach 1.6 billion users on Instagram in 2023.

15. That number is equal to 30.9% of all internet users.

16. Data suggests that 25.9% of all people 13 and older globally use Instagram.

(Source) (Source)


Instagram Account Growth Statistics

17. In September 2011, Instagram had 10 million users.

18. In February 2013, Instagram had 100 million monthly users.

19. By June 2016, Instagram had 500 million users.

20. In June 2018, Instagram had 1 billion monthly users.

21. By October 2021, Instagram had 1.16 billion users estimated.

22. In October 2023, Instagram has over 2 billion users.

23. Advertisers can reach 176 million more users on Instagram in 2023 than they could at the same time in 2022.

(Source) (Source) (Source)


Instagram Top Influencers

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 earn up 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.

(Source)


Top Brands On Instagram

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.

(Source) (Source)


Instagram Posts With Most Likes

40. The post with the most likes is a photograph of footballer Lionel Messi holding the 2022 FIFA World Cup, posted in December 2022.

41. Second to that is a photograph of an egg that previously held the world record since January 2019.

42. Of the top 10 most-liked Instagram posts, five are from footballer Lionel Messi.

43. Another four posts are from footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

44. The top most-liked Instagram posts in 2023 are:

Influencer Description Likes* Date of post
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi holding the FIFA World Cup 75.6 million December 18, 2022
World Record Egg Photo of an egg 60.2 million January 4, 2019
Lionel Messi Messi sleeping with FIFA trophy 54.7 million December 20, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi playing chess 42.8 million November 19, 2022
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi on a plane with the FIFA World Cup trophy 42 million December 19, 2022
Liz 6 Reel of a sunset 34.6 million August 5, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr FC Announcement of Cristiano Ronaldo joining Al Nassr FC  34.4 million December 30, 2022
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi and team celebrating the 2022 FIFA World Cup win 34.4 million December 21, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo On elimination from 2022 FIFA World Cup 34.2 million December 11, 2022
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing chess 32.8 million November 19, 2022

*Instagram likes as of December 2023


Top Instagram Hashtags Of 2023

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.

47. The top Instagram hashtags of 2023 are:

*Instagram posts as of December 2023

(Source)


Instagram Statistics By Country

48. India is the most prominent global audience for Instagram, with more than 326.6 million users.

49. The US has the second biggest user base, with more than 168.6 million users.

Aside from the dominant countries, the platform has a worldwide reach and spread of users globally.

50. Instagram global audience size, April 2023:

Country Active Instagram Users
India 326.6 million
US 168.6 million
Brazil 132.6 million
Indonesia 106 million
Turkey 56.4 million
Japan 54.7 million
Mexico 43.8 million
Germany 33.8 million
UK 33.5 million
Italy 30.3 million

(Source)


Instagram Demographic Statistics

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.

53. Instagram users worldwide by age group:

Age group % of total ad audience
13-17 8.2%
18-24 32%
25-34 29.6%
35-44 15.3%
45-54 8.2%
55-64 4.2%
65+ 2.6%

(Source)


Instagram As A News Source

54. 16% of US adults regularly use Instagram as a news source, compared to 30% who use Facebook and 26% who use YouTube.

55. Women account for 59% of regular news consumers on Instagram.

(Source)


In Summary

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.

More resources: 


Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock