35 Instagram Statistics & Facts to Learn Before SMO

Are you looking for the latest Instagram statistics to improve your Instagram marketing strategy?

There are tons of posts out there about Instagram statistics. However, most of them use the outdated data which generated several years ago.

Luckily, this is a complete list of up-to-date Instagram marketing statistics in 2021. We will regularly update this page with the latest news we can find.

Note: Bookmark this page so you can easily access it whenever needed.

General Instagram Stats

#1. How Many Downloads Does Instagram Have?

Instagram had a total of 503 million downloads in 2020 (Apptopia, 2021).  And, Instagram has been downloaded by 1,000,000,000+ times in Google Play.

#2. How Many People Use Instagram Monthly?

Instagram has 1.386 billion month active users worldwide in 2021. According to Statista, Instagram had reached one billion monthly active users in June 2018, up from 800 million in September 2017.

#3. How Much Time Do People Spend on Instagram Daily on Average?

In 2018, users spent an average of 53 minutes daily on Instagram. And now, Instagram users are spending an average of 28 minutes on the platform daily.

#4. How Many Followers Does Average Instagram Account Have?

According to Mentions’ data in 2021:

• 53.6% of Instagram users have under 1,000 followers.

• Smaller accounts are seeing steady growth, and finding new ways to

reach their intended audiences across the platform.

• 38% of users have 1,001–10,000 followers.

• 6.2% of users have 10,001–50,000 followers

• 0.9% of users have 50,001–100,000 followers.

• 0.15% accounts have 100,001–1M+ followers.

• 0.14% of users have more than 1M+ followers.

• 0.01% of users have more than 10M+ followers. This is only 81

accounts. These accounts with massive followings include celebrities,

global brands, and mega-influencers.

Average Instagram  Followers

#5. Which Accounts Have the Most Followers?

The top Instagram account is actually the official brand account of @instagram itself, boasting a robust 387.9M followers.

#6. What’s The Average Engagement Rate On Instagram?

The average engagement rate of an Instagram post of any kind in 2020 was 2.26%. Keep in mind that this number takes into account the posts of super influential users and public figures, which skews the average heavily.

When we consider the median engagement rate, which allows us to adjust for highly influential accounts, this went down to around 0.84%.

In 2020, video posts were more likely to receive a higher number of likes and comments with 888 likes and 24 comments on average. This was closely followed by carousel posts, then single image posts.

#7. When Is the Best Time to Post On Instagram?

Engagement with posts spikes in the early evening between 6:00–8:00pm, or 18:00–20:00 local time, where it is at its highest. Engagement then tends to drop quite quickly over the course of the evening and the night until midnight. Throughout the early hours of the morning (12:00–3:00am or 00:00–03:00), engagement stays relatively stable, then steadily rises until around midday 12:00– 1:00pm or 12:00–13:00, where there is a small peak of engagement.

 Best Time to Post On Instagram

#8. What Is the Best Day of the Week to Post On Instagram?

If your brand is a lifestyle, restaurant, travel or blogging business, your audience could likely be more active on weekends or during non ‘office’ hours.

If you’re a B2B or a SaaS brand, chances are your followers will engage with your posts more during weekdays.

According to the data, there tends to be a similar rate of engagement across each day of the week. Sunday has a slightly higher than average rate of engagement than the other days of the week, with Tuesday and Thursday having slightly lower than average rates of engagement.

the Best Day of the Week to Post On Instagram

Instagram User Demographics

#9. How Many Instagram Users Are There Among Young Adults?

As of July 2021, roughly 32 percent of global Instagram audiences were aged between 25 and 34 years. Over two thirds of total Instagram audiences were aged 34 years and younger (Statista, 2021).

The single most popular age range is users between the ages of 25-34, followed by users between the ages of 18-24.

Instagram User Ages

#10. Who Uses Instagram More, Men or Women?

The gender mix on Instagram is pretty even: 51.4% female and 48.6% male (Statista, 2021).

However, in the U.S., a substantially higher percentage of women (56.3%) use Instagram than do men (43.5%).

Distribution of Instagram users worldwide as of July 2021, by gender

Instagram User Gender

#11. Which Country Has Most Instagram Users

As of July 2021, India was the leading country based on Instagram audience size with 180 million users, followed by the United States with 170 million users. Brazil ranked third with 110 million Instagram users, ahead of Indonesia with an audience of 93 million users (Statista, 2021).

Which Country Has Most Instagram Users

#12. Which Countries Use Instagram the Most?

The country with the most Instagram posts was by far the USA — with 571K posts. This was followed in second place by Brazil (307K), the UK (121K), India (102K) then Russia (101K).

While the USA and Brazil won for volume of posts, they were not the countries with the highest average engagement rate. In fact, the USA came in 21st place, and Brazil in 33rd place, for engagement.

Instead, the top five countries with the highest engagement level were, in order: The United Arab Emirates, France, Poland, Sweden, and Puerto Rico (US).

Highest Engagement Country

Instagram Hashtags Stats

#13. Are Hashtags Effective?

With hashtags placed in the caption, profiles with under 5,000 followers received an average of 36.85% more reach rate per post; profiles with 5k-10k followers received 20.9%; profiles with 10k-50k followers received 21.47%, and profiles with 50k-100k followers received an average of 21.43% more reach per post.

#14. How Many Hashtags to Use On Instagram

You can include up to 30 hashtags on a regular post, and up to 10 hashtags on a Story.

The consensus is that about 11 hashtags is a good number to start with. But the most common number of hashtags to use on Instagram is between 1 and 3.

If you try to include more, your comment or caption won’t post.

Instagram Hashtags

#15. What Are the Top 10 Hashtags On Instagram?

Currently, the 10 most popular Instagram hashtags are as follows:

#love

#instagood

#photooftheday

#fashion

#beautiful

#happy

#cute

#tbt

#like4like

#followme

#16. What Hashtags Get the Most Likes and Follows?

#instadaily

#LikesForLikes

#instagram

#fashion

#me

#FollowMe

#love

#photography

#LikeForLike

#like

#17. What Are the Best Instagram Hashtags for Running a Contest or Giveaway?

#giveaway

#sweepstakes

#WinItWednesday

#freebie

#ContestAlert

#ContestEntry

#instacontest

#instagiveaway

#WinIt

#contest

#GiveawayAlert

#18. 7 Out of 10 Hashtags On Instagram Are Branded Hashtags

Adding branded hashtags to your content can increase your brand visibility as it can be tied directly to your brand.

Instagram Content Statistics

#19. Over 1 Million Posts Mentioning “Meme” Are Shared to Instagram Each Day

Memes are a serious trend on Instagram. If your brand fits the meme, it might be worth a try.

#20. Despite Images Still Being the Go-To Type of Posts, Their Popularity Is Declining

In 2019, data shows that images made up 70.79% of Instagram content, while in 2020 the percentage dropped to 67.82%.

At the same time, 19.44% of Instagram posts are carousels, a significant growth compared to approximately 4% recorded when they were first available.

#21. Instagram Sponsored Content Growth

The trend of influencers publishing sponsored content on Instagram continues to grow. Over the course of the year from February 2018 to February 2019, the number of Instagram influencers using the #ad hashtag grew by 133 percent (Socialbakers, 2019).

#22. How Long Should My Instagram Caption Be?

According to Mentions’ data, around 95% of posts had captions with a length of fewer than 1000 characters, and only 5% with more than 1000 characters. Around half of all posts had captions between 100 and 1000 characters.

Instagram Caption

#23. 20 of NBA’s 30 Teams Are Using Instagram Reels

According to Conviva, two-thirds of the NBA’s franchises have posted at least one Reel since the feature launched in the United States on August 5, 2020.

#24. The Median on Instagram Stories Is 5.9%

The median exit rate on Instagram Stories across all industries is 5.9%. The lowest exit rate was achieved by brands in Sporting Goods, Beauty, and Ecommerce. On the contrary, the highest Instagram Story exit rates were found in Beverages, FMCG Food, and Finance.

Instagram Brand Stats

#25. There Are Over 25 Million Business Profiles On Instagram

In 2016, Instagram introduced the ability to label your profile as a Business Profile. The number of Business Profiles on the platform has increased ever since. In November 2017, there are over 25 million business profiles on Instagram.

#26. 200+ Million Users Visit a Business Profile at Least Once a Day

One way users are spending their time on Instagram is by browsing through the many business profiles that are present on the app. Yours could be one of them!

#27. 90% Of Users Follow at Least One Business Account

Users are interested enough to follow business profiles on Instagram, viewing their posts and stories frequently. With such a large number of Instagram users, your business should be able to pick up a couple of followers easily. 

Ins Business Account

#28. What Business Category Has the Most Followers On Instagram?

In 2020, the business category with the highest number of followers on average was Home & Auto (192K followers). This was followed by Content & Apps (50K followers), Publishers (45K followers), Government Agencies (23K followers), and Non-Profit /Religious Organizations (17K followers).

#29. $1.7 to $2.3 Billion Is Currently Being Spent On Instagram Influencers

A Mediakix study estimated that total spends on Instagram influencers would be $1.7 billion in 2019 and increase to $2.3 billion by the end of 2020. Previously, $800 million was spent in 2017 increasing to $1.3 billion in 2018.

#30. Instagram Influencer Rates Range from $50 To $1 Million for A Single Sponsored Post

Across Instagram, influencers come in all different follower counts and tiers. From nano-influencers (influencers with a follower count of 1,000 to 10,000) to mega influencers (over 1 million in followers), each influencer tier has its own pricing for a sponsored post.

Top celebrities and pop stars can command half a million to a million per sponsored posts whereas top models (e.g. Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Kendall Jenner) can net up to a few hundred thousand per sponsored post.

Nano- or micro-influencers may start around $50 and/or are compensated with products, freebies, experiences.  

Instagram Advertising Stats

#31. 4 Million Businesses Use Stories Ads Every Month.

Businesses are using Stories to express the creativity of their brand and inspire interest and action throughout the customer journey.

#32. 928.5 Million People Can Be Reached by Ads On Instagram

That’s a high percentage of the platform’s 1 billion-plus monthly active users.

Note that 655.8 million of these users are between 13 and 34 years old.

Instagram Ads Reach

#33. Product Information On Instagram Drives Action

87% of users said that they took action after seeing product information on Instagram, such as following a brand, visiting their website or making a purchase online. Instagram has made these actions easier for consumers with the addition of Shopping on Instagram, so people can click on specific products.

#34. 38% Of Marketers Take Advantage of Instagram’s Ad Platform.

Understanding the power of Instagram and having a solid marketing plan in place will help your business grow. If your target audience frequents Instagram, you should join the 38% of marketers utilizing this unique platform to promote your brand. 

#35. The Average Cost-Per-Click Across Instagram Ads Is Around $0.70-$1.00

The cost for Instagram ads hovers between $0.70 to $1 per click on average. However, costs tend to vary based on a variety of factors, such as industry, location, and ad placement. More competitive industries and demographics generally have higher advertising costs. Also, cost-per-click is more expensive for females than males

In some cases, Instagram ads can exceed $5 per click.

Summary

Instagram continues to grow as one of the most popular social media platforms across all ages, locations, and brands. The above Instagram facts and statistics will help you quickly adapt to the rapid growth of Instagram and gives you insights to steer your Instagram marketing strategy in the right direction.

Have I missed any important Instagram statistics? Tell me in the comments.