Instagram- A personalised photo album of our lives.

If you have Facebook or Twitter, you most likely will have Instagram- the network where pictures says it all. There are 400 million monthly active users on Instagram- it’s becoming increasingly popular as the days go on. Moments are captured- nature walks, beaches, festivals, travels- all shared instantly with just one click. Over 80 million photos are uploaded each day. There is never a bad picture when you use Instagram, with all its features and effects- you can make your picture look as amazing as possible ready for the world to see. But who actually sees it?

Instagram is found to be more popular with the younger generation- over 90% of Instagram users are younger than 35. So why may this be? I think confidence plays a part in Instagram users- the younger generation are more socially active and care free about posting their own pictures on social media however the older generation can be more self conscious and aware of things that go on social media and things that don’t. It’s two different lifestyle habits that can be more attracted to certain social media platforms than others.

It is not just everyday people that use Instagram. Brands and bloggers have clicked on to using Instagram- what better way to promote your products than through pictures that are well put together. Over 70% of brands have Instagram.Brands can increase heir product awareness by not only the large amounts of followers that they obtain, but through shares and likes. More than 40 billion photos have been shared so far, the more shares the more people will see the pictures- enticing us to buy the product that we desire. There are 3.5 billion likes on Instagram per day, this shows the amount of people who have viewed and like your photo, portraying how popular and admirable a product is. Once you like or follow a page, Instagram tailors your sponsored posts on your newsfeed to similar pages that you may like.

Instagram is a very useful way for brands and bloggers to showcase their products. Bloggers post pictures of themselves promoting products/services. This can help persuade individuals to purchase products as bloggers are everyday people wearing/trying products and can give an honest opinion of what they think/feel about the product. Bloggers also include a link under each post where people can purchase the product in the photo with just one click- how easy! Bloggers can also become role models to individuals which can encourage engagement and purchases.

Instagram expanded to allowing videos to also be posted by individuals. When Instagram first introduced videos, more than 5 million were shared in 24 hours. Sharing videos have increased the number of active users Instagram obtains, making it more popular than ever. Videos can also be edited, cropped and effects can be added to your desire, with or without sound.

Instagram has become a lifetime journal of pictures of videos for individuals and is a great way to showcase what a brand/blogger/individual is all about. It is amazing for people who would rather express themselves through pictures rather than words. Instagram is definitely one of the top three social networking sites and can be powerful to influence individuals in any way.

Stay tuned for my next blog post!