Survey Report 2019

The Present and Future Opportunities

of Instagram for Marketing

Sponsored by
Introduction
nstagram is the social media
I platform of the moment. The
Facebook-owned visual platform
now boasts over a billion active
users and has continued to diversify its
offerings beyond a digital photo album,
incorporating more video (IGTV), more creative
content options (Stories) and expanded
messaging tools for direct communication.
For individuals, all of these additions are
significant, but for brands, the rise of
Instagram could be even more relevant.
Along with that expanded audience reach,
Instagram has also been looking to maximize
its revenue opportunities by introducing more
tools for business use, and further evolving
the platform towards a whole new level of
eCommerce connection.
Influencer marketing is the order of the day
on the platform, while the introduction of
Social Media Today's Instagram Marketing Survey Report 2019
business profiles, Shopping Tags, and the
shift towards on-platform purchases are
all building more of a case for Instagram
as a digital marketing option. But how are
brands using Instagram right now, and
what future opportunities are they most
excited about?
We sought to answer these questions
with our latest survey – in partnership with
SEMrush – to gather insights from our
community and glean more information
about business use of the popular platform,
and what’s coming next.
More than 800 digital marketers participated
in the survey, giving us a strong indicator
of brand interest and engagement on the
platform. In this report, we take an in-depth
look at the findings and what they mean for
your strategy.
2
Current State of
Instagram Marketing
o get a true understanding of ARE YOU CURRENTLY USING INSTAGRAM

T
FOR MARKETING PURPOSES?
the relevance of Instagram as a
marketing option, we first need 10%
to understand how brands are
currently using the app, and which elements
of the platform are delivering results.

Our first survey question was simple: YES

‘Are you currently using Instagram for
NO
marketing purposes?’

The responses show that if you’re not yet on

board the Instagram train for your business,
90%
you should be.

More than 90% of respondents to our

survey indicated that they are already WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING INSTAGRAM
using the platform within their social FEATURES ARE YOU CURRENTLY USING
FOR MARKETING?
media marketing effort, which helps to
contextualize the proceeding answers. Instagram
81%
Based on this percentage, you can assume Stories
that the remainder of the responses is
Ads 52%
based on experience, not on gut feel or
assumption, which may provide a more
Highlights 50%
indicative measure for your own planning.

IGTV 17%
It’s particularly interesting to note the
responses to our next question: ‘Which None of the
15%
Instagram features are you currently using above

for marketing purposes?’ Shoppable

13%
posts

IG Live 10%

Social Media Today's Instagram Marketing Survey Report 2019 3

 If you’ve been thinking about getting into
Instagram Stories, you’re not alone. More
than 80% of respondents indicated that
they are already utilizing Stories in their
marketing efforts, pointing to the rising
relevance of the option – which Facebook
itself has long been touting as the future of
social media connection.
Without a doubt, Instagram Stories, which now
has more than 500 million daily active users, is
fast becoming a must-have in social strategies
today. While some businesses may not think
it’s relevant to their particular audience,
and they may not feel like their brand has
anything to create Stories about, the feature
GROWTH OF THE STORIES FORMAT
Facebook Instagram Snapchat
500
DAILY ACTIVE USERS (MILLIONS)
400
300
200
100
0
2014 2015
Social Media Today's Instagram Marketing Survey Report 2019
is becoming a key platform within itself. It’s
worth noting, more than 1.25 billion now use
the various Stories options across Facebook’s
family of apps every day.
This kind of growth is hard to ignore – and
based on this insight, the majority of brands
are looking to tap into the habitual trend.
The popularity of Instagram Stories
Highlights further reinforces this shift, while
Instagram ads have become an increasingly
popular option too, particularly given their
integration with Facebook’s Ad Manager,
making it easy to expand Facebook
campaigns across to Instagram as well.
WhatsApp
2016 2017 2018
Chart courtesy of Buffer
4
 IGTV has yet to capture marketing attention,
with only 16.5% of respondents using it, and
Shopping Tags are still in their early stages of
rollout, which makes their current popularity
difficult to measure to date.

It is interesting to point out, however, that

so few brands are utilizing Instagram Live.
The popularity of live-streaming on other
platforms suggests that there could be a
significant opportunity – on Facebook’s main
platform, for example, live videos see 3x more
engagement than non-live video posts, while
videos also generate 59% more engagement,
on average, than static updates and links.

The popularity of live-streaming on

other platforms suggests that there
could be a significant opportunity.

Instagram Live may not be as popular, but

the prominent placement of Instagram Live
streams, right at the top of user feeds, and the
relative engagement rates with video would
suggest that this is an option that more
brands should consider moving forward.

And yet, even with the noted popularity of

video content, most Instagram marketers, at
least at present, are seeing the best results
from basic image posts on the platform.

Social Media Today's Instagram Marketing Survey Report 2019 5

 WHAT TYPES OF INSTAGRAM CONTENT HAVE
PRODUCED THE BEST RESULTS FOR YOUR BUSINESS? 

64%

52% 52%

28%

20%

12%
8%

Still-image Stories Videos User-generated Partnerships Polls Other

posts content with influencers

One could assume that more businesses are
using static image posts than other options,
though as noted, Stories are hugely popular,
which suggests that, at least at this stage,
basic Instagram updates remain crucial to
platform success.
increasingly popular, you can’t put all your
Instagram marketing eggs in one basket –
brands need an integrated approach that
incorporates Stories and still images in order
to maximize your platform success.

However, Stories are temporary or are stored Stories are hugely popular, which
in the smaller Highlights bar on a profile,
suggests that, at least at this stage,
which would put increased emphasis on
still images, boosting their shelf-life, and
basic Instagram updates remain
this could be key in generating that higher crucial to platform success.
value in terms of business performance.
Still, the data suggests that while Stories are

Social Media Today's Instagram Marketing Survey Report 2019 6

Future Marketing Opportunities
on Instagram
he next element we examined HOW IMPORTANT IS INSTAGRAM IN

T was future opportunities and REGARDS TO YOUR OVERALL SOCIAL

MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY?
how marketers see Instagram
moving forward in regards to Extremely
30%
their broader social media strategy. important

Very
As a baseline measure, we asked respondents 35%
important
how important they see Instagram related to
Moderately
their broader strategy. 22%
important

The majority of respondents put significant Slightly

9%
marketing value in the platform, with 65% important

indicating that Instagram is either ‘Extremely’ Not at all

5%
or ‘Very’ important to their broader planning. important
But it’s the future potential where marketers
are most enthusiastic about the app.
HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT INSTAGRAM WILL
Almost 72% of respondents indicated that BECOME AN ESSENTIAL PLATFORM FOR
YOUR BUSINESS IN THE FUTURE?
it’s ‘Very Likely’ that Instagram will become
a key marketing channel for them in the
5%
future, which would be reflective of both the
rising usage stats and the coming platform
additions (like Shopping Tags and on-platform 24%
shopping) which will provide a whole range of
new opportunities for marketers. VERY LIKELY

UNDECIDED
Clearly, businesses are paying attention to
the trends, and are keen to get involved. UNLIKELY

And with so many companies planning

to use Instagram more in the future, the
competition for attention on the platform
72%
will likely increase.

Social Media Today's Instagram Marketing Survey Report 2019 7

If you’ve not already established your
Instagram presence, it may be time to
get started, especially as it becomes
increasingly significant.
Stories is also where marketers see potential
– 77% of respondents indicated that they
plan to use Instagram Stories more in the
future. In terms of broader promotional
opportunity, Stories also came out on top of
the various on-platform options.
It’s also interesting to note that many
businesses see Instagram Live as a valuable
option, even though, as noted in the first part
of our report, few businesses are currently
using it. If you are searching for an immediate
Instagram marketing opportunity, Instagram
Live may be the solution – it has reach and
engagement potential and is not yet flooded
with brand content.
If you want to build a
stronger “Insta” presence,
Stories, according to
most marketers, is where
brands should be looking.
Social Media Today's Instagram Marketing Survey Report 2019
Will IGTV become a more relevant
consideration? It’s difficult to say – at
present, marketers don’t seem overly
interested in the long-form video option.
This could change if Instagram finds new
ways to promote the platform and interests
more users in IGTV. But at this stage, it
seems unlikely, and it’s not a significant
consideration for most businesses.
Overall, marketers are enthusiastic about
Instagram’s evolving platform, with the
data once again highlighting the rise of
Stories. If you want to build a stronger
“Insta” presence, Stories, according to most
marketers, is where brands should be
looking, while Live may offer more potential,
and on-platform shopping (via Shopping
Tags) is a key area of future focus.
WHICH INSTAGRAM TOOL DO YOU THINK HAS
THE MOST POTENTIAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Stories 61%
Shopping 37%
Tags
Instagram 30%
Live
Checkout 30%
IGTV 26%
None of 9%
the above
8
Instagram Analytics
o truly maximize your business’
T Instagram presence, it’s
important to know what’s
working, what you’re doing well
and where you see results. Given the few
options there are for driving direct referral
traffic from Instagram, this will primarily
come down to measuring your on-platform
analytics, and keeping a close eye on what’s
generating audience engagement and
helping to build your presence.
It does appear – at least at this stage – that
marketers are not completely sold on
Instagram’s own analytics options. In
response to the question, ‘How useful do
you find Instagram’s native analytics data
for your strategic planning?’, the majority
HOW USEFUL DO YOU FIND INSTAGRAM'S NATIVE ANALYTICS
DATA FOR YOUR STRATEGIC PLANNING?
20%
8%
Extremely Very
Social Media Today's Instagram Marketing Survey Report 2019
of respondents indicated that they’re only
‘Somewhat’ useful for their purposes.
Instagram offers a range of analytics options
for business profiles, including location
insights, gender and when your followers
are active. This data is valuable, but the
responses here suggest that businesses are
looking for more. Some third-party tools
offer various additional elements that can
help in strategic planning, and it’s possible
that Instagram will look to add more
functionality in the future. Facebook Page
Insights, for example, offers a broader set
of information, and given that the same
company owns them, it would not be
surprising that Instagram will likely play
catch-up in this department.
44%
18%
9%
Somewhat Not at all Don’t use Instagram’s
native analytics tools
9
When asked ‘what could be improved about
Instagram's analytics tools?’ respondents
highlighted several key issues with the
current Instagram analytics offerings,
including the lack of desktop functionality
for the analytics suite, the need for more
hashtag insights (to understand which
are driving visitors to their profiles and
content) and downloadable data formats
for expanded investigation.

But the most requested addition for

Instagram analytics was the expansion of
the data period to enable more in-depth
trend tracking. While having an overview
of current trends is valuable, being able to
identify key shifts and changes over more
extended periods is critical to developing
an optimal platform strategy. Instagram’s
current analytics are limited in this respect,
leaving marketers with a lot of manual
data tracking. If Instagram could improve
on this aspect, it would make the process
a lot easier for those businesses looking to
optimize their performance.

The most requested addition

for Instagram analytics was the
expansion of the data period to
enable more in-depth trend tracking.

Social Media Today's Instagram Marketing Survey Report 2019 10

Instagram Active
here’s no doubt that Instagram
T offers a lot of potential for digital
marketing. Perhaps the most
noteworthy aspect of this report
is the fact that opportunities exist which are
not currently being maximized – and they
could provide additional scope for brands
to stand out from the crowd and boost their
online presence.
If you’re looking to get more out of Instagram,
Stories is where more businesses are investing
their time, but Instagram Live should also be
a consideration. But if you haven’t started the
process, it’s time to get moving – as indicated
in this report, most marketers are already
planning to boost their ‘Insta’ presence. Now
is the time to plan your approach, especially if
you don’t want to get left behind.
The Social Media Today “Instagram
Marketing Survey” was conducted in April
2019, with a total of 854 participants. Of
those respondents, 50% work for a B2C
organization, 36% were employed by a
B2B company, and the remainder selected
‘Other’ as their company type.
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