With over 2 billion active monthly users on Instagram in 2024, Instagram is the third most popular social media website behind Facebook and YouTube. Just to clarify, we are talking billion with a Big-ol’-B.
That’s a number that many have a hard time wrapping their minds around. On the same token, many business owners embrace such figures as an irresistible opportunity to be capitalized on. And how could they not? For some perspective, that’s almost 20% of the world’s population registered on the Instagram platform. 🤯
There is no wonder that businesses have their sights set on the feeding frenzy that is currently advertising on Instagram. And rightfully so; never in history have so many eyeballs (and pointer fingers) been poised to purchase through social media — estimates of online purchases for 2025 are forecasted to be north of 100 billion dollars in the U.S. alone.
With 60 billion dollars in anticipated ad revenue on Instagram for 2024, it would be an understatement to say that you are missing out on a lucrative opportunity by sitting on the sidelines for this one. Advice? Jump on in.
To better understand advertising in the Instagram ecosystem, let’s bring it down to the fundamentals. You will want to understand who is engaging, what content they are engaging with, where and when users are most active, and ultimately why this data is important to you if your intentions are to sell on the platform — which I’m almost certain that they are…
The Who: My Generation
Not only an iconic record, but also an insight worth listening to.
Gen Z and Millennials represent the cohort with the highest number of Instagram users in 2024, with over 50% under the age of 35. Globally this figure equates to approximately 1 billion users from the ages of 18-35 using Instagram monthly.
Millennials and Gen Z are historically known to be the hardest (and most expensive) to nail down and influence to open their wallets. Why? Well, they are tech native and not easily persuaded into spending money on things that they don’t care about or aren’t invested in — this isn’t their first rodeo.
Millennials and Gen Z combined spend approximately 10 hours per week on Instagram. An active and captive audience if targeted correctly.
Don’t know where to start? Give The Rise of Fashion Influencers: Shaping Trends and Consumer Behavior a peek.
As we watch both Millenial and Gen Z wealth increase, they are uniquely positioned to continue to drive spending on the platform. Now would be a good time to study what they are watching, engaging with, and emulating so that when their pockets run deep, you can fill your bank account as well.
Where in the World?
India clocks in at 365 million registered monthly users. Not only does this number represent the entire population of the United States, but it is also 2x the amount of Instagram users in the U.S. America just so happens to be in second place with 169 million registered users, which isn’t too shabby considering about ½ of the entire U.S. population is active on the platform.
The data coming from India speaks to the youthful and techie demographics, where 50% of the population is under 25 years old. That number would equate to about 700 million individuals, half of whom scroll through Instagram on the regular.
As mentioned earlier, Instagram is as American as apple pie. And it is no surprise that America’s slice is just ahead of Brazil, which boasts nearly 150 million monthly users. All these numbers floating around points to a new phenomena that is worth taking a peek into if you are trying to get in on the action.
For American and Brazilian businesses, a new opportunity presents itself with the help of the spinning of the globe. Forget the 24-hour news cycle; I’m talking the 24-hour views cycle here, folks.
Remember India? The U.S. and Brazil are in the enviable position (both economically and geographically) to capitalize on their time differences. When the business day is wrapping up here in the U.S., Instagram users in India are just getting their day started. And vice versa.
If you are on the East Coast, in either New York or Rio, you are optimally set up to keep your business churning 24/7, with the India market filling in any gaps while you sleep. Ka-Ching! BADA BING!
Don’t speak Hindi? Manychat does. Check out Manychat’s multilingual bot function.
When Opportunity Comes a Knockin’
Instagram ad revenues are clockin’ big numbers, and lucky for you, it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. Also fortunate for you, timing your posts and running ads can be dialed in so that you are optimizing your content to reach the largest audience possible.
Historically, posting just before your audience rises in the morning and as they are winding down at night was seen as a safe bet. And that makes sense — you are capturing the early morning phone-checking scene and bookending your efforts by sliding into feeds as people relax before calling it a day altogether.
It has been common knowledge that posting between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays will pull in the most views on average. Surprisingly, of all the days of the week, Sunday has the highest engagement rate of 6.47%. As the algorithm continues to be a formidable and elusive moving target, you’re going to want to post at various times to figure out what works best to engage your target audience.
Ultimately your audience’s social media tendencies dictate when your posts and ads will perform best. Targeting sports fans? The days leading up to the big game are optimal to hop on the hype train. Parents? They tend not to have much time during the morning but are all about the Instagram scroll after the kids are down for the night.
Closing tips: The average Instagram user spends 33 minutes per day on the app. What does this mean? You are going to have to make your content count to stand out.
What People Engage with is the Biggest Clue…
to what type of content you are going to want to post. No, duh. It seems like a no-brainer but you are going to want to ride the wave of the day.
Reels rule the roost — they get 22% higher engagement than regular video posts and 21% more engagement compared to images.
Reels may reign supreme but don’t rule out stories. Allocating ad spending to stories has proven to be a wise move. Considering Instagram had approximately $20 billion in ad revenues from Stories in 2023, it is clear that businesses see the value in diversifying their approach beyond standard posts and Reels. You’ve got 60 seconds to convince them your story isn’t a tall tale — you must make that content count.
Beyond knowing what type of content to post, consider the approach of your post. Humor has always worked well with 64% of Instagram users reporting engaging with content that can be considered comedic. Informational (ex: how-to’s, walk-throughs) posts are also favored alongside anything with an artistic bent.
Why Does This All Matter Anyways?
Almost a quarter of the world is on Instagram. Companies are clamoring and competing for ad space. Money is being made. Online businesses are burgeoning. Medium-sized companies and startups are finding their way in the ad ecosystem. Revenue continues to grow. This is a good time to advertise on Instagram.
And with in-feed ads making up most of the platform’s ad revenue, it is clear that using disruptive content is still an effective approach. You are scrolling through your feed, an ad pops up, it catches your eye, you hesitate, and in that split second, you either engage or keep moving.
What is mostly an unconscious and reflexive behavior can be boiled down into insights that can help point energy (and ads) in the right direction. The data explains that carousel posts outperform Reels, which receive almost twice the amount of engagement compared to photo posts. Basically, you are looking at .75% average engagement across post types, with Reels and carousels having the highest interaction rates.
Besides, over 130 million users tap on shopping posts to further engage. Specific data will vary by the industry, but the data is trending for more people to see Instagram as a marketplace — a place to shop. With payment processing being streamlined and simplified, businesses are able to turn clicks into sales at rates previously unseen.
Running short on time? TL;DR, got a plane to catch? etc. etc…
- Gen Z and Millenials will drive purchases on IG into the future
- Advertising dollars will continue to focus growth on the platform
- Timing is still the secret sauce for engagement and your own recipe
- Reels are still the most effective content to capture clicks and drive sales
