Instagram acquiring new followers at speed

Data from Yesmail has shown that brands on Instagram are acquiring new followers at more than twice the rate of other social platforms. The photo-sharing platform saw their number of followers grow 278 per cent in 2014, with retailers attracting eight per cent more followers per month. Furthermore, eMarketer estimates the social network’s audience will rise by nearly 21% to 77.6 million users.

Restaurants were the biggest users of the platform, accounting for 31.1 per cent of the brands analysed. They were followed by hotels (30.8 per cent), retailers (23 per cent) and consumer packaged goods brands (16 per cent).

Currently, 23 per cent of brands use Instagram as part of their social marketing strategy - a smaller number than Twitter (82 per cent), Facebook (80 per cent), Twitter (82 per cent), Youtube (60 per cent) and Google+ (37 per cent). However, with this extraordinary growth Instagram will surely see those figures rise in the very near future.