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Instagram is counted among the fourth most visited websites after Google, YouTube, and Facebook, with two billion monthly active users. That's why Instagram has become a great platform to build a personal or company brand.
I have spent days reading detailed reports to gather these important insights on content trends and monetization options! If you’re someone who sees Instagram as just another social media app, these Instagram statistics might change your perspective.
There are more than 1.4 billion monthly users globally on Instagram, of which 32% are between 18 and 24 years old.
India records the highest number of users, at 360 million, followed by the US, Brazil, Indonesia, and Turkey.
Photo posts record the highest level of engagement (2.69%) than other content types, but reels have a better reach.
Influencer marketing is the most popular, with around half (46.7%) of the brands choosing it to connect with their audience.
The Instagram ad revenues are expected to hit the $71 billion mark by the end of 2024
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms out there, and with unique features, it continues to expand its reach around the globe.
As of 2024, Instagram has more than 1.4 billion monthly active users worldwide, which makes up around 30% of internet users worldwide. It is expected to reach the 1.44 billion mark by the end of 2025, which accounts for around 31.2% of internet users worldwide.
Nearly 32% of global Instagram users are between 18 and 24 years old, while 30.6% of users are between 25 and 34 years old. The age-wise user distribution on Instagram is as follows:
18-24 years old: 31.7%
25-34 years old: 30.6%
35-44 years old: 16%
45-54 years old: 8.7%
55-64 years old: 4.6%
65+ years old: 2.9%
In the US, people aged between 25 and 34 make up the largest Instagram audience (28.3%), followed by people between 18 and 24 years with 26.5% users. This shows that Generation Z and millennials connect with Instagram more than older users.
Instagram user demographics are almost evenly split by gender, with men accounting for 50.6% of global users and around 49.4% of female users worldwide. The numbers are a bit different in the US, as women (55.4%) tend to be more active on Instagram than men (44.6%).
Instagram users come from all over the world, with India having the highest number, around 362.9 million as of January 2024. The US and Brazil are in second and third place, with 169 million and 134 million users, respectively. Indonesia, Turkey, and Japan are in fourth, fifth, and sixth place, with 100.9, 57.1, and 55.45 million users, respectively.
With increasing internet reach, the number of Instagram users is on the rise, whether in the US, India, or Brazil. For example, the number of Instagram users in the US increased by 10% in 2024 compared to the previous year. In India, the growth rate has been around 47% from 2023.
Sources: Statista,NapoleonCat
An engagement rate is a metric that determines how people are responding to your content and how well it resonates with your audience. For example, a good number of likes, comments, and shares on my content means greater engagement.
Below is the engagement rate of audiences on Instagram in 2024, depending on the type of content:
Photo posts: In February 2024, photo posts generated the highest level of engagement on Instagram, with an interaction rate of around 2.69%.
Video posts: These accounted for the second-highest engagement rate at around 2.21%.
Carousel Posts: The Instagram posts with multiple images or videos recorded an average engagement rate of 1.16%.
Reels: Instagram's most popular content type had an average engagement rate of 1.23%.
The type of content on Instagram influences an engagement rate in varying ways. For example, carousel posts provide multi-layered information and are considered the most engaging. At the same time, reels have the highest reach, and the value of static images and videos depends on the content and how well they resonate with the audiences.
Sources: Statista
Other than the type of content, many other factors influence engagement on Instagram, such as content quality, posting consistency, and analyzing performance.
Content quality: High-quality content that delivers a unique message and resonates with your audiences is key to influencing engagement.
Posting consistency: As a creator, you must post regularly to increase engagement rates. Also, diversify the content type to attract different types of users to your page.
Hashtags: Hashtags help users find a specific post, resulting in more comments, likes, and shares. Make sure your hashtags are specific to your content, and limit using too many of them to avoid making your post look spammy.
Posting time: Try to Post at times when your audience is most active. The best time to post is generally between 7 and 8 AM on weekdays. This is primarily because most users wake up, check their phones, and scroll through Instagram before starting their day.
Source: Buffer
The average engagement rate on all Instagram profiles was around 1.85% in 2023, so anything above that means a job well done. However, the engagement rate varies with the creator's number of followers.
For example, influencers with 1,000-10,000 followers record the highest engagement rate at 2.19%, while other categories see it range between 0.80% and 1%. This implies that higher followers have a lower engagement rate, or as influencers gain followers, the percentage of them interacting on a particular post decreases.
Source: Statista
Instagram will launch new innovations and features in 2025 to appeal to the newer generation, stay relevant, and improve interaction on its posts. With 1.4 billion monthly active users and broad offerings, Instagram is evolving into more than just a social app.
Reels are now a popular strategy for creators and business owners to increase their visibility on Instagram. Reels can reach a broader audience more quickly and easily than still images, video posts, or others.
Small brands with around 1,000-5,000 followers can get a 13.3% view rate on their reels. The content type also gets more comments on Instagram, which means audiences have an opinion about you and your brand, which is always a good sign.
At the same time, Instagram allows creators to add polls, linked accounts, questions to ask, tags, and others to their stories so that people can interact with them. This leads to higher story engagement, and if your followers interact with your story, it means they’ll be interested in the content you put out.
Source: SocialInsider
User-generated content can be valuable for brands in many ways, including increasing engagement, building trust, and creating brand advocates. A survey by Entribe revealed that if brands incorporate UGC in their marketing initiatives, 84% of users are likely to trust the brand, and 77% of the respondents would be more inclined to purchase the brand’s products or services.
Many brands can encourage users to create and share their views regarding products on Instagram, using dedicated hashtags, hosting content, sharing the UGC on their websites, and others. Brands can also build authenticity and community engagement with their audiences to potentially boost brand loyalty and drive sales.
Sources: Entribe
Instagram ranks next to TikTok as the most used platform by brands to market their products.
Just under half of the brands (46.7%) have adopted influencer marketing efforts in 2024.
More than 80% of marketers agree that influencers are a key part of their social media strategy.
Nano-influencers with a subscriber count between 1,000 and 10,000 accounts for most of the influencer accounts (65.39%) on Instagram. They are followed by micro-influencers, who account for 27.73% of the accounts.
There are many ways to collaborate with influencers to market your products, such as influencer gifting or giving away your products for free, sponsored posts, and giveaways. You can also run a brand ambassador program or collaborate on content.
Depending on your budget and goal, you can choose any of the above collaborations to kick off your influencer marketing campaigns.
Sources: Oberlo, Sprout Social, Statista
Irrespective of what business you run, with more than 1.4 billion users at the end of 2024, Instagram has a huge potential to take your business to new heights.
Instagram is a great platform for businesses, especially for small agencies like mine that don’t have the budget and time for extensive marketing campaigns.
There are over 200 million business accounts that people visit regularly, and 70% of shoppers use the platform before their next purchase.
Instagram's advertising revenue is expected to reach around $71 billion by the end of 2024.
A survey carried out by Instagram revealed that around 44% of people use the platform to shop weekly using features like Shop tabs and shopping tags.
B2B brands have more scope for growing their businesses on Instagram, as it generates 20 times more engagement than LinkedIn.
With increasing visibility, engagement, and a positive impact on customer reach and sales, small businesses are taking the next step in business growth, especially with features like Instagram Shopping that facilitate direct commerce on the platform. Businesses are required to make concerted efforts to reach their audiences and further boost their success.
Sources: Instagram, Statista, Instagram Survey, Pathfactory
Instagram’s journey over the period has been extraordinary: it started as a platform to connect people, but with the launch of Instagram Shopping, it has become a way that lets people purchase directly from the app.
The social media platform ranks second in the list of most used social media for shopping.
According to Instagram Business, 92% of users act the moment they see a product on the platform, and 44% use Instagram to shop every week.
Instagram shopping has been a massive success since its launch, exceeding a revenue of more than $37 billion in 2024.
Among Instagram shoppers, men (10%) are more likely to make direct purchases on the app than women. More than one-third of respondents in a survey have claimed to purchase directly from an Instagram ad.
Sources: Statista, Instagram Business, MarketingDive
Customer engagement is important for businesses to measure how people interact with their products or services. For example, if a customer clicks on the link you provide in your post and buys the product, this can be gauged as the highest level of engagement.
The average engagement rate for Instagram business accounts depends on the number of followers. Accounts with less than 10,000 followers have more than 10% engagement rates, while the rate is around 1.97% for accounts with more than one million followers.
Instagram is said to have the most influence (51%) on users' shopping habits, compared to Pinterest (22%) and Facebook (23%).
People say that Instagram helps them discover (83%) or research (81%) products or services.
The conversion rates on Instagram have changed over time, averaging between 0.3% and 2.6%.
The conversion rate is pretty low compared to the engagement, so here are a few tips to do it better:
The best approach is to encourage user-generated content, as this saves time and effort and leads to 4.5% more conversions.
Influencer marketing is what most small businesses prefer, so you can partner with an influencer with a large fan base and grow your business.
Hashtags are crucial in increasing the reach and engagement of your Instagram posts. Also, ensure that you have a clear CTA to guide your audience toward a specific action, such as visiting your website, making a purchase, etc.
Sources: Retail TouchPoints, Facebook, DriftLead
If you’re into Instagram marketing, then running ad campaigns can be a great idea to reach a massive user base, build a brand following, and drive your business.
With around 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram ads can be a powerful tool for brands to drive traffic, increasing brand awareness and sales.
Instagram ads reach 1.6 billion adults aged 18 and above, surpassing YouTube and Facebook, which reach 2.5 billion and 2.24 billion, respectively.
The ad reach of Instagram in India increased by 133 million over the last year, which is an increase of 58%. And the ad audience over the quarter (October 2023-January 2024) increased by 4.4 million (+1.2%).
Instagram's ad reach in the US in January 2024 was 51.2% of the local internet base, and among them, 55.5% were female, while 44.5% were male.
Sources: DataReportal
The best part about Instagram is the option to advertise in multiple formats, such as photos, videos, stories, carousel ads, and others.
Instagram ad revenues are expected to hit $71 billion by the end of 2024, a 39% increase from 2022.
Instagram stories are the most popular advertising medium, accounting for 26.7% of the total ad revenues in 2023, an increase from 26.4% in 2022.
The campaigns on reels have doubled TikTok's reach and are a major contributor to spiking ad revenues.
The engagement rate on carousel ads is around 1.92%, higher than images (1.74%) and videos (1.45%). Carousals containing images and videos can boost engagement by up to 2.33%.
The average CPC (cost-per-click) stays between $0.00 and $0.25, with an average CPM of $4.00.
Sources: Statista, Oberlo, Advanced Television, Social Insider, WebFX
Instagram provides many ways for creators to monetize their work and earn extra cash, such as sponsorships, subscriptions, ad revenue, affiliate marketing, and creator funds.
They can also make some of their content premium and then charge a small subscription amount from those who want to view it. Affiliate marketing has also grown in popularity among Instagram creators, who partner with brands to sell products and earn commissions.
Marketers must focus on creating engaging and trend-aligned content, collaborate with influencers, and optimize ads to target their audience and effectively leverage reels for their marketing campaigns.
It’s crucial to stay updated with Instagram statistics and the latest trends to understand the type of audiences on Instagram, ad reach, and engagement stats and adjust strategies accordingly to stay competitive.
On average, Instagram pays around $0.01 to $0.05 for 1000 views. Large accounts can earn up to $6 for a similar view count. However, the pay rate may vary depending on various factors, such as engagement rate and audience demographics.
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