TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction

How to Measure Instagram

Engagement Metrics

Likes

Comments

Total Engagement

Engagement per Post

Engagement as a % of Followers

Hashtag Mentions

Hashtag Volume

Potential Hashtag Reach

Potential Hashtag Impressions

Follower Metrics Total Number of Followers

Percent Change in Followers

Optimization Metrics

Most Engaging Filter

Top Photo Tags

5 Strategic Instagram Measurement Tactics

Learn About Your Audience

Pay Attention to Timing

Check your Competition

Hashtags to Build Your Brand

Influence on Instagram

Conclusion

Appendix

What Is Instagram?

Instagram Timeline

How to Post

How to Tag

INTRODUCTIONInstagram is one of the most successful social networks of all time, but the value for marketers isn’t in networking like it is with some networks; it’s in storytelling.

Launched in 2010, the image-sharing platform’s popularity continues to soar, with brands from retail to commercial real estate using it to tell visual stories in a way that feels intimate and non-intrusive. Instagram is changing the way that brands evaluate their audiences and create content.

This is clearer now than ever before. Instagram just announced that over the next year, they’ll start rolling out their new set of business tools, including an Account Insights dashboard and Ad Insights dashboard to help brands understand how users engage with and respond to their photos and videos. These dashboards, which will add metrics like actual impressions to the measurement toolbox, aren’t available publicly yet, but are a signal of the need to understand and measure success on the visual platform.

Whether your brand is just starting to invest time and energy in Instagram, or is an established powerhouse on the network, you’ll want to optimize your strategy. This must be done without a solid understanding built on measurement. Through measurement, you can develop a solid foundation of what works, what doesn’t, and what to focus on for your specific brand.

This guide to Instagram measurement outlines the metrics required to measure and fully understand the photo and video-sharing network. It then helps outline several strategic measurement tactics that can help any marketer use to get your wheels turning.

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HOW TO MEASURE INSTAGRAMTo understand any network, you need to know its parameters: what it does, which actions users can take, and which metrics count toward your success.You can’t measure what you don’t know, so we’ll start by defining the different ways of measuring Instagram.

Engagement MetricsLikesLikes on Instagram are much like Facebook Likes or Twitter Favorites. They are a signal that the image you’ve posted has resonated with your followers. A user taps a photo or video twice in the center to like it, and the heart icon beneath the post turns solid red. Next to this icon is a count of how many Likes an image has earned.

CommentsBesides liking posts, users can also share comments. The comments appear under the photo, with the option to collapse or expand when there are more than three. Users can tag other Instagram users and include hashtags and emojis in their comments.

Total EngagementTotal engagement is the sum of Likes and comments on your Instagram posts during an established time period.

Total engagement gives you insight into how active your audience is and how well your strategy is working.

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Engagement per PostThe engagement per post metric provides deeper insights than just total likes or comments. It gives you an average of how much engagement you’re getting per post and helps you discover which posts earn the most interaction.

Keep in mind that some of your posts will resonate well and earn high engagement numbers, while others will fall flat.

In addition, it’s important to look beyond average engagement per post number and take a magnifying glass to your content. This can be done by breaking engagement per post into engagement per video and engagement per photo to give you more tactical insight on which types of content your audience responds to most.

Engagement as % of FollowersEngagement as a % of followers is calculated for a specific time period, and is an invaluable tool for benchmarking.

Engagement as a % of followers shows the portion of your current followers interacting with your posts during a specified time period. By comparing this metric period-over-period, marketers have a starting point to find valuable insight into their specific tactics.

Total Engagement in a Time Period ÷ Total Followers=

Engagement as % of Followers

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Hashtag MentionsA secondary type of engagement on Instagram is interaction with your brand hashtag. An “engagement” with a hashtag happens anytime an Instagram user mentions a hashtag in a comment or caption on any photo or video across the network.

Hashtag VolumeHashtag volume is the total number of hashtag mentions during an established period of time.

If you’re more interested in how viral a campaign hashtag is rather than how your Instagram account is being interacted with, you’ll want to pay attention to hashtag volume, the number of times a hashtag has been used in any given period.

Potential Hashtag Reach

Your potential reach shows you how many people have seen your hashtag on Instagram. For the most part, reach is considered a “potential” metric; just because a post appears on a feed doesn’t mean the target user has seen it.

Potential Hashtag Impressions

Your number of potential impressions is the amount of times that photos and videos using your hashtag are displayed in a user’s stream. Just like reach, this is a “potential” metric.

ReachThe number of unique people who have seen content associated with your page

ImpressionsThe number of times content associated withyour page is displayed

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Follower MetricsTotal Number of FollowersThe total number of followers is the number of unique Instagram users who’ve opted into your brand content. When a user follows another user on Instagram, the followed user’s content will appear in the following user’s stream. This is an important metric to track. It’s an indicator of how popular your Instagram account is and how well you’re doing at advertising your Instagram presence on your other channels. It also helps you benchmark how you’re doing in relation to competitors on the network (more on that later).

Since users don’t see photos their friends like, are tagged in, or have commented on like they might on other social networks, gaining followers is even more vital to ensuring that people see your updates.

Increasing your follower count helps to further increase your audience and your opportunities for post engagement. When your profile has a substantial number of followers and substantial engagement, your posts are more likely to appear on the Instagram “Explore” page. This page exclusively features posts that have a high number of Likes and comments, signifying that the content shown is popular and worth seeing. Since this is the only in-network discovery method for finding new users to follow, it’s a good place to have a presence.

Percentage Change in FollowersAnother way to keep track of followers is by measuring percentage change over time, allowing you to set baseline goals for follower acquisition and attrition over a month, quarter, or year.

To find out how much your audience has grown or shrunk, subtract last month’s follower count from this month’s follower count. Divide that number by last period’s follower count, and (voila!) you have your change percentage.

Tracking your progress here will help you answer the following questions:

• Which campaign types drive the most audience growth?

• Which content types drive the most audience growth?

• Who are our Instagram influencers?

• Which kind of brand advocates and influencers should we seek out in the future? Who is relevant to our brand’s Instagram growth?

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Optimization MetricsMost Engaging FilterOne of Instagram’s most attractive features is the ability to develop unique and interesting content with a quick touch. Instagram’s collection of filters allows users to change the look of their image in a variety of ways. A brand focused on repeat engagement should keep track of the most successful filters used on brand content.

Top filters can be measured by analyzing the engagement per photo or video, and bucketing photos and videos by the filter used.

Top Photo TagsHashtags help with discovery and engagement on the network. By measuring the top photo tags used on your content, you get an understanding of the types of content your followers prefer.

5 STRATEGIC INSTAGRAM MEASUREMENT TACTICSWith a solid foundation of Instagram measurement terms, you can start to establish a measurement and tactical strategy.

These five measurement tactics will help you understand what you need to create a successful Instagram strategy.

1. Learn About Your AudienceThe most successful brands on Instagram know their audiences and post content that appeals to them. Sometimes you can’t tell who your audience is on a network right away, even if you have a pretty good idea of who’s attracted to you on other social networks or offline. It’s always best to start with your market instead of trying to push your pre-packaged messaging at people. So, how do you figure out who you’re marketing to on Instagram? You start with the data. This will help you identify tactics that resonate with your audience.

This chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Account Report showcases the top photo filters by number of posts and engagement per post.

This chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Account Report shows top tags by engagement per post.

BRAND HIGHLIGHTAMERICA, AM I RIGHT?

One of Colt 45’s most engaging posts gives some clues about their Instagram audience and helps them plan future content accordingly.

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Find Your Most Active Commenters Use your most active commenters to get information about which types of people love your Instagram content.

Do some research on these usernames. Use your biggest fans to build your Instagram targeting and testing personas.

Your most active commenters might also be other brands or in some way connected to other brands. This could be a great opportunity to reach out and form a campaign partnership to build followers and engagement for both of you.

Either way, you should be partnering with your already-existing support system to widen your exposure on Instagram.

This “Most Active Commenters” chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Account Report shows which of your followers left the most comments during a specific time period.

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Conduct a Keyword Analysis What are the top words people use around your brand’s content on Instagram?

This “Keyword Analysis (Comments)” chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Account Report shows which words were used most in the comments on your brand posts during a specific time period.

Keyword analysis is not only a fantastic way to gauge which content components are most meaningful to your audience, it’s also a great way to contemplate future hashtag campaigns. Check our example “Keyword Analysis” chart above. #perfectcutejacketdog, anyone?

For example, #PerfectBarbourJacket is going to have a lot more resonance and brand association with Barbour jackets than #PerfectJacket, which could refer to any jacket on the market.

However, common hashtags can allow you to newsjack or capitalize on seasonal events like #backtoschool or other popular topics.

PRO TIP: When it comes to hashtags, the more unique, the better.

Greater creativity equals more accurate hashtag tracking and specific brand recognition.

BRAND HIGHLIGHT Brooks Brothers is best-in-class at capitalizing on trends. This #FathersDay post succeeds by putting all that is manly in one car, and reminding Brooks Brothers followers (as well as users perusing #Fathersday posts) of all the gifts the brand offers for all the different activities dads engage in.

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Identify Your Top Cities You can know exactly where your audience lives more easily today than ever before.

With in-depth information about your top cities for Instagram engagement, you can build Instagram campaigns that focus on those cities, and begin doing further research to figure out why your brand gets so much Instagram love there and not in other places.

2. Pay Attention to TimingMeasuring engagement by a specific day or time helps magnify your engagement, and shows you how posting times influence your content’s reception.

How often you post is largely dependent on your audience. Many audiences appreciate more frequent posts, but too many posts tends to turn users off.

When you post is also dependent on your audience. Different audiences access their Instagram accounts at different times of the day.

PRO TIP: If you’re just beginning your brand’s Instagram journey, or simply want a fresh perspective, look at the “Top Cities” metric for a similar brand or competitor.

You’ll wind up with a much greater understanding of your target audience and what they respond to on Instagram.

This “Top Cities” chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Account Report shows where most of your engaged followers were located during a specific time period.

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Start gathering data on engagement trends. One option is to run an A/B content test, posting very similar content in set time increments, or at the same time each day. Then examine the number of comments and Likes for each of those posts, and begin charting your data to find the “sweet spot” for your post cadence.

For example, based on your post cadence and frequency, you may find that posts at 9 a.m. PST perform well. Developing an understanding based on this information and your audience location data can help you target content to your audience when they’re most likely to be active.

For example, with this information about 9 a.m. PST, you may realize that your West Coast audience has just arrived at work and is catching up on the day’s news, and your East Coast audience is now on their lunch break, giving them time to surf the Web. You can perhaps cater your content to each of these audiences.

This “Comments and Posts by Day and Time” chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Hashtag Report shows which days of the week and times of day people used your hashtag most during a specific time period.

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3. Check Your CompetitionCompetitive measurement is vital not only for knowing what your competition is doing but also for benchmarking your own progress against industry innovators on Instagram. Here are the top three metrics you should be paying attention to.

Engagement Comparison You know what your engagement statistics look like, but what about those of your competitors?

You might find that a brand you consider your biggest competitor in terms of revenue or popularity on another social network is actually not your biggest competitor on Instagram.

After you have a good idea of where you stand in comparison to the other brands in your space, take a look at the posts among all those brands that drove the greatest amount of engagement.

This “Instagram Comparison: Total Engagement” chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Competitive Analysis shows total engagement and engagement as a percentage of followers for Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Austin Mahone, and Harry Styles.

BRAND HIGHLIGHTFilson outdoor clothing and equipment company had 352 comments on 178 posts in a five month period. That was a rate of almost two comments per post - a significant achievement.

How did they do it?

They used a strategy of attempting to answer any and all product questions in a conversational and timely manner to drive engagement, recognize involved audience members, and even enable sales.

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This sortable list from the Simply Measured Instagram Competitive Analysis shows total engagement, from largest to smallest, for musicians Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Austin Mahone, and Harry Styles during a specific time period.

This information about you and your competitors’ success will show you what kind of content, specifically, gets Instagram users to comment and Like a post.

PRO TIP: Use the top posts for total engagement among you and your competitors to draft a list of the different types of posts that are proving successful in your field.

In your next content planning or brainstorming meeting, use this list as a jumping-off point.

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Relative Share of Followers Once you’ve determined who your true competitors on Instagram are, it’s time to pay attention to the size of the competitive pie you own.

This “Relative Share of Followers” chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Competitive Analysis shows how musicians Rhianna, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Austin Mahone, and Harry Styles stack up when it comes to follower count.

Add up all of the follower counts among you and your competitors, then figure out who has what percentage of that total. It’s useful to check this “relative share” metric on a weekly basis, especially since a lot of progress on this front can happen very quickly.

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Number of Posts Per Day Who posts the most?

This “Brand Comparison: New Posts” chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Competitive Analysis shows how musicians Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Austin Mahone, and Harry Styles stack up when it comes to number of posts put up.

Take a look at how the daily volume of new posts and videos produced by you stack up next to your competitors on Instagram. Could you stand to back off or ramp up? Try to compare yourself to a group that is seeing faster follower growth than you.

There is no magic potion for winning at Instagram. That’s why testing and measurement are so important on the network to begin with.

When you’re contemplating the metrics we’ve outlined above, trying out strategies or watching your competition make moves, remember not to lose your own story. Remain true to your brand or transform it in a conscious, measurement-based way, but always remember: it’s authenticity that’s truly engaging.

PRO TIP: Conduct testing on your post cadence to see what your audience responds to best. Choose a high frequency and a low frequency. Then, run weeklong tests for each cadence in between.Week 1 1 Post Per Day Week 2 2 Posts Per Day Week 3 3 Posts Per Day Week 4 4 Posts Per DayWeek 5 5 Posts Per Day

Keep tabs on your engagement numbers and relative share of followers compared to your competitors on a weekly basis as your test progresses. By the end of the testing period, you’ll have a solid idea of your best cadence for posting.Conduct the same test, but with different ratios of videos to photos per week, to see which kind of content performs best for you.

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4. Hashtags to Build Your BrandBy analyzing the data behind past, current, and competitive Instagram hashtags, it’s easy to set objectives, show what works, monitor progress, and keep track of audience reaction. Whether you’re interested in a high-level view or deep-dive data, the best way to set informed goals is to start with the numbers.

Set Clear Hashtag Goals

This hashtag performance overview from the Simply Measured Hashtag Performance Report allows users to see a snapshot of their branded hashtag for any established time period.

The best way to do this analysis is to look at the performance of a previous branded hashtag, using several components as the basis for your review:

• The number of unique people who’ve used the hashtag in the past

• The number of times the hashtag was used

• The number of people those posts potentially reached

• The number of potential impressions

• The total amount of Instagram engagement with the hashtag

PRO TIP: Taking a peek at the metrics for one of your previous hashtag campaigns (or a competitor’s) can provide you with a good benchmark for where you should set volumes, reach, impressions, and engagement goals on your upcoming or current campaign.

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Growing a Hashtag Campaign

This “Hashtag Mentions” chart from the Simply Measured Hashtag Performance Report allows users to analyze a hashtag over time and identify peak performance days.

Focus first on which day your previous hashtag was most popular, and also which type of media was most successful—photo or video. Figure out what caused momentum for your comparable hashtag, then model your own hashtag and Instagram posting techniques after those successes. Possibly more important than volume is what folks are saying when they use your hashtag—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Identify How People Use Your Hashtag

This engagement chart from the Simply Measured Hashtag Performance Report identifies the most engaging posts from peaks throughout the time period selected.

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Identify which posts are the most engaging, and why they’ve been so successful. Is it a positive message that represents what you want your brand to stand for?

Identify Success on Other Channels

The engagement outside of Instagram chart from Simply Measured’s Instagram Hashtag Performance Report showcases the engagement Instagram photos and links have generated on Facebook and Twitter.

Check out previous Instagram hashtag campaigns you wish to emulate (or avoid) to inform your own campaign and foster cross-channel hashtag success.

Identify the Influencers Who Add Value

This chart from the Simply Measured Instagram Hashtag Report identifies the top impression driver during the specific period. Look at the hashtag for a past Instagram campaign to figure out who your top impressions drivers are, and when they were the most active.

PRO TIP: Engage with your most active, impression-driving users to gain broader reach for your current and future campaigns.

BRAND HIGHLIGHT In this post, Mercedes-Benz partners with @bigblogg, the Instagram presence of a popular car blog, drawing those fans towards the post and reminding them that Mercedes-Benz is alive and well on Instagram, and that their cars are awesome.

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Choose Your Hashtag Terms

This top keyword chart from the Instagram Hashtag Performance Report lets you know which terms your audience is organically using with specific hashtags.

Look at the most-used keywords for either a previous hashtag or one that has achieved an effect you wish to replicate. This information tells you the hashtags and keywords that are most often mentioned in post captions along with the targeted hashtag. You can then produce more content with that hashtag and the most popular keywords to drive greater engagement and attract new followers.

PRO TIP: Look at data on your brand name as the hashtag.

You’ll then be able to see the other hashtags that Instagram users are deploying in conjunction with your name, providing you with some valuable insight into how the public perceives your brand and how to play on this moving forward.

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5. Influence on InstagramHow do you measure your influence on Instagram? This goal can be a tough one to pin down, but shedding light on the following three areas will give you an accurate and competitively relevant idea of your influence on Instagram.

A High-Level ViewGet a broad overview of your influence on this visually-oriented network by taking into account the following numbers:

And always remember, your numbers don’t exist in a vacuum. Make sure you’re getting your competitors’ numbers, too, for context on what your range of influence looks like – how far you need to go to catch up or how close your competitors are to catching up with you.

The Competitive Leaderboard from a Simply Measured Instagram Competitive Report.

Instagram engagement. Knowing how many posts users engaged with by either liking or commenting goes a step deeper than follower count. It’s a measurement not just of how many people are viewing your content, but how many people are “meaningfully” connecting with your content and choosing to interact with it. Number of followers. How many people are interested in seeing your content each day? Number of followers is the traditional measure of influence on almost every social network. Engagements through other channels (interactions with Instagram posts shared on Facebook, Twitter, etc.). External engagement is especially pertinent for brands that are strongest on Instagram and/or incredibly visually oriented. How much carry-through does your Instagram content have to other networks?

Number of brand posts. This stat is not as vital for measuring influence, but important when all the other numbers above are taken into account. It shows how the amount your posting directly correlates to how much influence you have.

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The Volume of Hashtag Mentions

This hashtag volume chart from Simply Measured’s Instagram Hashtag Report lets you determine the number of mentions your hashtag has generated and breaks it into photo and video posts.

If you’re not using hashtags on Instagram, you’re missing out on both a way to gain influence and a way to measure it.

Pull data on your volume of hashtag mentions to discover how your brand’s hashtag-promoting efforts are paying off. Which posts are gaining more traction for your brand, photos or videos? How many hashtag mentions are you getting over a given period? Is this volume increasing, decreasing, or remaining stagnant? Unlike Twitter or Facebook, an Instagram user’s feed won’t tell them which hashtags are trending, so a successful hashtag is even more impressive (and perhaps a greater measure of influence) than having your hashtag go viral on Twitter.

Potential Impressions + Total Mentions How many times could Instagram users have seen your posts? That’s what potential impressions are all about. Measure the amount of mentions your hashtag is getting alongside the potential impressions of your hashtag to get a good idea of how the two correlate and how many eyes are on you – another way of saying how much Insta-influence you’re rocking right now.

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CONCLUSION In the future, you’ll have other ways to invest in Instagram, as indicated by the network’s forays into making ads an option for brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Burberry, General Electric, Lexus, Levi’s, Macy’s, Michael Kors, PayPal and Starwood.

But for now, for most brands, it’s all about creating organic follower growth, meaningful engagement, and keeping an eye on competitive developments.

Whether you’re focused on bumping up your follower count, improving the number of followers who are engaging with you, or developing killer hashtags, you now have the definitions, metrics, and strategies you need to succeed.

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APPENDIXWhat Is Instagram?Instagram is a photo- and video-sharing platform that allows users to take pictures or videos, edit them, and apply filters before posting them to a public or private timeline.

Users have the ability to create a community by following and engaging with other people on the platform. As a user, you can also share an Instagram photo or video seamlessly on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Flickr, and Foursquare.

HistoryInstagram was launched in October 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Two months later, the network had 1 million users. By August 2011, Instagram saw 150 million total photo uploads. Today, Instagram has 200 million active users who upload an average of 60 million photos per day.

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Instagram Timeline

October 6, 2010 - Instagram launches

December 12, 2010 - Instagram hits 1 million users

January 2011 - Instagram adds hashtags to aid user discovery

August 3, 2011 - Instagram’s 150 millionth photo is uploaded

September 26, 2011 - Instagram hits 10 million users

April 12, 2012 - Facebook acquires Instagram for approx. $1 billion

December 21, 2012 - Instagram launches v3.4.1 with 25 languages

February 26, 2013 - Instagram hits 100 million users

June 20, 2013 - Instagram video debuts

September 6, 2013 - Instagram hits 150 million users

October 24, 2013 - Instagram announces sponsored photos + videos

December 12, 2013 - Instagram Direct is released

July 29, 2014 - Instagram launches one-touch photo and video messaging app Bolt outside the U.S.

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How to Post This group of screenshots shows the different steps in the Instagram posting process (1) take or choose an image (2) modify the image and put a filter on it (3) write a caption and choose where to post it (4) and the final result, an Instagram post!

Instagram users can post content to their accounts using the Instagram app on their iPhones, Androids, or Windows phones. A post is either a photo or up-to-15-second video taken and usually altered through Instagram’s proprietary photo filters, then posted to the user’s and user’s followers’ timelines.

How to TagBesides tagging in comments, any user who posts to Instagram can tag another user when posting a photo or video. To tag a user, click the “Tag People” box and search by username. The user will be notified that they’ve been tagged in your photo.

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Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 2

Introduction Instagram is one of the fastest growing social networks in history. The mobile photo-sharing app, which launched in October of 2010, now boasts 200 million monthly active users, 60 million photos posted each day, and 1.6 billion likes per day.

This incredible growth has shaken up the way social marketers think about visual content and marketing to mobile audiences. Today, 86% of top brands have Instagram accounts, up from 71% at this time last year.

This study analyzes the top brands in the world and how they use Instagram to build their brand, engage audiences, and promote their wares by identifying the successful (and unsuccessful) tactics that these brands are using, the results they’re seeing, and lessons to be learned from them.

200 million

1.6 billionlikes per day

montly active users

photos per day60 million

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 3

Methodology The “Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study” looks at the Instagram activity of the Interbrand 2013 Top 100 Brands.

At the end of each year, Interbrand ranks the top 100 global brands based several factors, including market, brand, competitor, and financial data.

The Interbrand 100 is an industry standard and a standard for Simply Measured network studies. This list is analyzed because the companies included are the best in the world at building and maintaining a brand, which is a prerequisite to a successful social media strategy.

Statistics cited in this study are based on data from Q3 2014 (7/1/14 - 9/30/14).

All data was analyzed using Simply Measured’s industry-leading social media analytics and reporting platform.

This study also incorporates data for benchmarking from previous Simply Measured studies, “How Top Brand Marketers Use Instagram”, October 2013 and “Top Brands See The Big Picture With Instagram”, October 2012.

6,075 posts by 80 brands

1,314,427 comments

113,030,987 likes

THIS STUDY ENCOMPASSES:

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 4

ADOPTION

More Top Brands See Value in Instagram At the end of Q3 2012, only 54% of the Interbrand 100 had Instagram accounts. Today, 86% of the Interbrand list has an account on the mobile network.

Key Findings• Active brands (brands who’ve posted at least once in Q3 2014)

have almost doubled since Q3 2012.

• 73% of brands post at least one photo or video per week. This is a 35 percentage point increase over 2012.

• The number of brands with 10,000 or more followers has grown by 34 year-over-year.

• The number of brands with more than 100,000 followers has grown by 15 year-over-year.

Take Away Brands are joining Instagram at a substantial rate and are dedicating resources to maintaining a brand presence on the network. By doing so, many brands are finding successful ways to grow their audience.

Have an Account

Shar

e of

Inte

rbra

nd 1

00 B

rand

s

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0Active Account

(Posted in Quarter)1+ Post

per Week10,000+ Followers

20,000+ Followers

100,000+ Followers

More Brands Are Active and Building Large AudiencesQ3 2012 Q3 2013 Q3 2014

The percentage of Interbrand 100 companies active on the network has grown steadily over the last three years, as has the audience size among top brands.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 5

ACTIVITY

Brand Activity Is Being Standardized A year ago, posting frequency seemed to be spread across the board, with 18-20 brands posting in each of the three most common buckets (less than 10 posts, 10-20 posts, and 20-30 posts). This is no longer the case.

Key Findings• In Q3 2014, monthly posting dropped in both the

“less than 10” and “20-30” categories but grew substantially in the “10-20” category.

• The number of brands posting at least once daily has more than tripled in the last year growing to 20 brands in 2014.

Take Away This increasingly standardized posting cadence highlights a more sophisticated and measured approach to the network. Brands recognize what’s working and have adjusted tactics accordingly. While not every Instagram marketer boasts an audience the size of those among the Interbrand 100, their tactics can act as a reference point for success.

Less Than 10

Num

ber o

f Bra

nds

Average Number of Posts per Month

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

10-20

Q3 2012 Q3 2013 Q3 2014

20-30 30-40 40-50 More Than 50

Brand Posting Frequency Is Becoming More Normalized

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 6

ACTIVITY AND ENGAGEMENT

Active Brands Are Driving More Engagement As activity among top brands grows, so does engagement. With more brands engaging larger audiences, more posts being published, and tactics becoming more sophisticated, users are becoming more receptive to brand content on the network, giving large brands a bigger return on their investment in the network.

Key Findings• Monthly engagement (likes and comments) for the

Interbrand 100 has more than doubled since Q3 last year and grown by almost 12 times since Q3 2012.

• Engagement with brand posts is growing at a greater rate than new brands are adopting the network.

Take Away Now is a better time than ever before for brands to invest in Instagram. As audiences become more receptive to branded content, the potential for high engagement and exposure is continuing to grow substantially.

50M

45M

40M

35M

30M

25M

20M

15M

10M

5M

0M

No. of Active Brands Engagement

Active Brands Are Driving More Engagement

No.

of A

ctiv

e B

rand

s

Tota

l Eng

agem

ents

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

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10%

0

Mar

. 11

Mar

. 12

Mar

. 13

Mar

. 14

Jun.

11

Jun.

12

Jun.

13

Jun.

14

Sept

. 11

Sept

. 12

Sept

. 13

Sept

. 14

Dec

. 11

Dec

. 12

Dec

. 13

Q3 2014

Q3 2013

Q3 2012

Q3 2011

Instagram engagement with Interbrand 100 companies has grown substantially over the last three years.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 7

ENGAGEMENT: AVERAGES

Average Engagement per Post Is Increasing While much of the increased overall engagement is due to increased brand activity, more users are engaging with each post as the Instagram user base becomes more comfortable with branded content, and brands become more effective at using the network.

Key Findings• The average engagement per post has grown by 415%

over the same time period two years ago.

• In Q3 2014, Interbrand 100 posts averaged 18,822 likes and comments each.

• During this same time two years ago, Interbrand 100 companies averaged only 3,648 engagements per post.

Take Away The ability to make an impact with a single piece of content is growing exponentially on the visual storytelling network. Top brands have grown per-post engagement by almost five times over the course of a year.

45M

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Engagement and Posting Volume Are Increasing Over TimeEngagement Posts

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Engagement per Post Is Increasing Over TimeEngagement per Post

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An increase in brands, and higher posting frequency have been a large driver in growing engagement.

Engagement per post has grown by 4x over the course of two years.A

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Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 8

ENGAGEMENT: TIMING

Comments Happen Quickly on Instagram Most comments on Instagram happen quickly, but high-performing posts see comment volume peak later.

Key Findings• On average, posts by top brands garner 216 comments,

with 50% of comments being posted in the first 6 hours and 75% of comments being posted in the first 48 hours.

• Top brands have staying power. 10% of comments come after 13 days.

• High-performing posts (posts with double the average engagement) will peak later, taking more than 13 hours to hit 50% of total comments.

• Posts with half the average engagement get 50% of their comments in less than 3 hours.

Take Away High performing content on Instagram has a longer shelf life than average posts. This is an important reason to focus on quality. Instagram users scroll through a single stream of images, and as a post ages, it’s important to have content that will catch their eye.

100%

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Posts by Top Brands Have a Long LifeLow Engagement Posts High Engagement Posts

1 2 3 4 5Days Since Content Was Posted

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Highly engaging posts take longer to peak on Instagram.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 9

INDUSTRY ACTIVITY

Media Brands Are The Most Active The most active industry on the Interbrand list is media; even though automotive is the most well-represented on the Top 100 List.

Key Findings• Only four media brands from the Interbrand list are

active on Instagram, but they average 62 more posts per month than the list average.

• The brands in the media industry average 23,906 engagements per post; 5,084 likes and comments more than the list average.

• Business services, financial services, and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) have the lowest percentage of brands represented on Instagram.

• While the automotive industry has the highest number of brands on Instagram (13), the luxury segment of the Interbrand 100 list maintains 100% Instagram adoption with all seven brands active on the network.

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Engagement

Instagram Activity Varies by Industry

Take Away Instagram is a playground for brands with visually-appealing products and a unique style. Media, automotive, luxury, and apparel have all found success on the visual storytelling platform.

The Automotive segment has the highest number of active brands active on Instagram, but Media brands are the most active.

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 10

TACTICS: CAPTIONS

Brands Avoid Lengthy Captions… But Should They? Brands on Instagram are focused on keeping captions short. This isn’t surprising, since the network is made for visual sharing. But, it turns out engagement doesn’t drop when longer-captioned posts are shared.

Key Findings• The average caption is 138 characters long,

including hashtags.

• There is no statistically significant correlation between caption length and engagement.

Take Away While it may seem intuitive to keep post captions short, this isn’t necessarily integral to finding success on Instagram. Don’t be afraid to use the space needed to convey your message, as long as it adds to the visual focus of your post, as opposed to detracting from it.

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Longer Captions Are Used Sparingly by Top Brands

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Number of Characters in Post Caption

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Caption Length Does Not Significantly Affect Engagement

Ave

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Number of Characters in Post Caption

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 11

TACTICS: @MENTIONS

Caption Content Isn’t Going Unnoticed While caption length doesn’t impact engagement, caption content certainly does.

Key Findings• On average, posts that include another user handle in the

caption net 56% more engagement.

• Only 36% of all brand posts include at least one @mention.

Take Away Not every brand is taking advantage of @mentions as a way of reaching and interacting with a wider audience, but the tactic has proven successful for those that have.

30K

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@Mentions Increase Engagement per Post

Posts with No @Mention

Posts with at Least One @Mention

Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 12

TACTICS: HASHTAGS

Hashtags Are the Norm on Instagram Instagram limits hashtagging to 30 tags per post. Top brands may not use all 30 allotted tags, but they aren’t shying away from the technique either.

Key Findings• 88% of brand posts include at least one hashtag.

• 91% of posts by top brands have seven or fewer hashtags.

• Posts with at least one hashtag average 12.6% more engagement.

Take Away Hashtags are an important part of discovery on Instagram, allowing brands to gain exposure to niche groups and specific areas of interest. While they may not drive exponential engagement growth, they give audiences an organic way to discover branded content through the topics and forums that interest them.

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010 5 9 13 17 21 25 26 27 28 29 302 6 10 14 18 223 7 11 15 19 234 8 12 16 20 24

Most Posts by Top Brands Have Few Hashtags

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Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 13

TACTICS: LOCATION TAGGING

Location Tagging Tied to Engagement Growth Location tagging gives Instagram users another way to find content. Several third party apps exist that allow users to search by location, leading to increased engagement.

Key Findings• Of the 6,075 Instagram posts, 307 had a location tagged.

• Posts tagged with a location receive 79% higher engagement.

• No brand on the Interbrand list uses location tags on all posts.

Take Away Only some brands ever tag with a location, and these brands have higher engagement overall, which suggests a generally higher level of Instagram sophistication pays off for these brands. When these brands tag a location, their posts average 29% higher engagement. No brand in this sample uses location tags on all their posts.

Location Tagging Increases Engagement per Post

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Engagement When Location Tagged (307 posts)

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Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram Study 14

Conclusion Instagram has taken great care to enable quality brand storytelling. With an active ad network and analytics being slowly rolled out to enterprise partners, a highly engaged audience, and updated features, the focus of brand marketers is on implementing the best tactics for driving engagement on the network. These top brands have already recognized the opportunity with Instagram’s 200 million users by increasing their activity and working to refine their tactics.

The example from the leading companies speaks to the importance of a sophisticated presence.

1. Maintain a balanced posting cadence. 2. Don’t second guess caption length.3. Test location tagging. 4. Use hashtags to reach targeted audiences. 5. Mention influential users in captions

to engage new audiences. By following the example of these brands, and developing a practical and sophisticated measurement strategy, you can make Instagram work for your brand as well.

About Simply Measured Simply Measured is a fast-growing team of data geeks dedicated to making the world of analytics and reporting a better, more beautiful place. Find out more at simplymeasured.com

Our goal is to put the tools to understand business data in the hands of business users. We think reporting should be simple, attractive, and accessible for everyone – not just data scientists. Our software streamlines the process from data to deliverables and eliminates the countless hours spent on everyday reporting tasks. We do this by putting cloud data sources at your fingertips, providing a marketplace of best practice reports, and allowing you to generate beautiful solutions on the web, in Excel, and in PowerPoint with a couple of clicks.

Want to try Simply Measured?

Request a Free Trial Today

Copyright © 2010–2014 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Methodology

Instagram is the fastest-growing of the top social networks

Engagement among top brands on Instagram has grown by 350% over the last year

Top brands post more than 50 times per month?

Automotive, media and luxury industries make up 59% of total brand posts

Likes account for 99% of Instagram engagements

The top 10 brands receive 83% of all Instagram engagement

Brands drive 26% more engagement via photos than videos?

83% of Instagram posts by top brands include at least one hashtag

Only 30% of top brand posts use filters

Conclusion

Sources

About Simply Measured

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1 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MORE THAN 150 MILLION PEOPLE SHARE PHOTOS ON INSTAGRAM. How many photos? An average of 40 million each day. For a social network that only allows you to post via your mobile device, that’s a lot of pics.

Instagram shows no signs of stopping either. The service is now available on your Windows phone, as well as iPhone and Android, and just this month announced the launch of their first ad platform. It was recently named the fastest-growing app of the year.

We took a look at the top brands in the world and examined the tactics they’re using to make their mark on Instagram. This study looks at what these leading brands are doing to reach engaged users, whether or not they’re finding success, and what we can learn from their strategy on the network.

Methodology:This study analyzes the Interbrand 2013 Top 100 Brands, which rank as the world’s most valuable brands based on market, brand, competitor, and financial data.

Statistics cited in this study are based on Q3 2013 data (July 1st September 30th). Brand post and engagement averages exclude brands that were inactive during the study period. Data for the complete lifetime of each brand account was captured to provide comparisons between Q3 2012 and Q3 2013 for brand posts, as well as likes and comments that occurred on brand posts.

Data used in this study comes from Simply Measured’s industry-leading social media analytics and reporting platform. The findings from this study are designed to better inform marketers on Instagram by highlighting successful tactics from the most engaging brands on the network.

2 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

INSTAGRAM IS THE FASTEST-GROWING OF THE TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS Aside from the 150 million users, Instagram offers an extremely intuitive interface. The simple double-tap “liking” feature and ability to quickly scroll through a feed of friends, brands, and celebrity photos makes the experience near effortless.

Instagram also gives brand marketers the ability to share their advertising collateral in an organic way, doubling down on the assets they’ve already invested in. As the network grows and brands compete with organic traffic, understanding the impact of their content types will become more and more important.

The addition of hashtag tracking, like the report Simply Measured offers, allows marketers to measure the full extent of their campaign, how it helped brand awareness, and how that related to activity and growth of their own audience.

3 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Instagram, which only captured the attention of 40% of top brands a year ago, now boasts 71% of the most recognized brands in the world. Its growth has been so substantial that it now rivals Google+ and Pinterest in terms of brand adoption.

While Facebook and Twitter hold steady with 98% coverage, Instagram remains the fastest growing among the major social networks, and has quickly made its mark on marketers worldwide.

In addition to more brands being active on the network, Instagram’s audience has merited a huge growth in activity among those brands.

In fact, 57% of top brand marketers are now averaging at least one post per week, up from only 38% in Q3 of 2012. 19% of these brands now have audiences that exceed 100,000 followers.

4 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Engagement on Instagram is simple: Likes and Comments are the only two options. Over the course of the year, engagement among the top brands has grown by a staggering 350%.

This is due to 55% more brands using the network, and top brands collectively creating 70% more Instagram posts than a year ago. This growth in activity and engagement is indicative of the importance social marketers are placing on Instagram.

Lesson for Marketers: The extent to which Instagram users are engaging with brands should appeal to marketers as Instagram rolls out their ad platform. There’s been less resistance to the addition than other networks have seen, suggesting that users are more comfortable with branded content when it’s visually appealing.

Instagram engagement among the top brands has

grown by 350% year-over-year.

ENGAGEMENT AMONG TOP BRANDS ON INSTAGRAM HAS GROWN BY 350% OVER THE LAST YEAR

5 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As brand marketers grow their audience, their focus on engaging that audience has grown in tandem.

The frequency drops off substantially from that point, but 4% of these top brands still post more than 50 posts a month. Five of the top ten brands by engagement (shown below) average more than 30 posts per month.

Lesson for Marketers: These top brands have found that regular posting increases your brand exposure, but there’s a point of oversaturation when you post more than once a day.

20% of top brands average 11-20

Instagram photos a month, while 18% post between 21-30.

TOP BRANDS POST MORE THAN 50 TIMES PER MONTH

6 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The automotive, media, and luxury industries are dominating Instagram engagement. Together, these three industries make up only 22% of top brands, but deliver 59% of total brand posts, and receive 83% of total engagement.

On the flip side, electronics, technology, alcohol, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands make up 23% of top brands and make 23% of total brands posts, but they only account for 2% of Instagram engagement.

This is indicative of the content that finds success on Instagram. Automakers like MercedesBenz and Audi, media brands like MTV, and luxury brands like Tiffany & Co. have extremely visual products and marketing materials that appeal to users and can be leveraged on the network.

Automotive, media, and luxury brands

receive 83% of all likes and comments on

brand posts.

AUTOMOTIVE, MEDIA AND LUXURY INDUSTRIES MAKE UP 59% OF TOTAL BRAND POSTS

7 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Which top brands aren’t on Instagram? Mainly B2B financial services companies and several FMCG companies. These brands don’t have visually stunning offerings and struggle to find their audience on the network. However, the ones who’ve found creative ways to get involved have found success.

Lesson for Marketers: While you may not have Tiffany diamonds to display, these brands succeed by leveraging their creative department and other marketing assets for their Instagram photos. What work has your marketing and advertising team done that you can share on Instagram?

LIKES ACCOUNT FOR 99% OF INSTAGRAM ENGAGEMENTS

8 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The largest brands have an average Instagram audience of 223k, make an average of 23 posts per month, and average 223k Instagram engagements.

Instagram engagement consists of likes and comments on brand posts, but they’re not equal. “Likes” account for 99% of engagement, while comments (nearly 500k during the period) only made up 1% of total engagement.

THE TOP 10 BRANDS RECEIVE 83% OF ALL INSTAGRAM ENGAGEMENT

9

Nine of the top ten brands belong to the top four industries:

Luxury, Media, Apparel, and Automotive.

The top ten brands (by engagement) received 83% of all Instagram engagement, their audience made up 65% of total followers, and they made 33% of all brand posts.

Although they made 33% of brand posts, these top brands posted 53% of all Instagram videos during the study period. The level of engagement these top brands receive and their willingness to quickly adopt and experiment with new content types demonstrates a high degree of sophistication on the network.

10 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

BRANDS DRIVE 26% MORE ENGAGEMENT VIA PHOTOS THAN VIDEOS

Videos have been a hot topic among brand marketers on Instagram, and research by Unruly2 finds that 40% of all Instagram videos posted in the last month have been by brands.

This doesn’t mean they’re more successful: Among top brands, videos underperform the brand engagement average by 24%. Brands are able to drive 26% more engagement with photos than videos.

11 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Instagram videos only accounted for 6% of total brand posts, and were only used by 43 of the 65 active brands. Although videos are still a new resource for brands on Instagram and haven’t been fully adopted, they haven’t yet proven themselves as valuable as photos for driving engagement.

Instagram’s biggest value is that it’s easy to use and content can be consumed quickly. Videos lack that quality to some extent. In addition to the time it takes to watch a 15-second video, when you’re not connected to WiFi, these videos can take a decent amount of time to load.

Lesson for Marketers: While videos are a great way to mix up your content and keep fresh ideas rolling through your followers’ feeds, it shouldn’t replace your strategy around photo content.

12 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

83% of Instagram posts by brands include at least

one hashtag.

Hashtags are finding their way into almost all brand posts. 83% of Instagram posts by top brands include at least one hashtag, and 97% of the active brands are using hashtags.

The top ten most engaging companies have demonstrated their sophistication on the network, and these ten brands rarely overuse hashtags. In fact, the top ten brands are less likely to include a hashtag in a post than the average Interbrand company.

While 83% of posts include at least one hashtag, only 77% of posts made by the top ten brands contain one or more hashtags.

83% OF INSTAGRAM POSTS BY TOP BRANDS INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE HASHTAG

13 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Most often, posts by the top ten brands contain just one hashtag (36% of posts); the same can be said for Interbrand companies in general (27% of posts contain a single hashtag).

However, there’s a breaking point: The top ten brands rarely overuse hashtags, with only 10% of posts including five or more hashtags. Overall, 21% of all brands include at least five hashtags in their posts.

Lesson for Marketers: Hashtags are a great tool for discovery and to piggyback on popular topics and trends, but overuse can negatively impact credibility with your audience.

14 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

We’ve seen the use of filters on brand posts continues to decline3 over the past year. Only 30% of brand posts were filtered during this study period, down from 42% in May 2013.

Lesson for Marketers: This also speaks to the sophistication of brand activity on the network. More and more brand marketers are leveraging creative assets from other marketing and advertising campaigns, and as such, are already professionally developed and require no additional filtering.

ONLY 30% OF TOP BRAND POSTS USE FILTERS

15 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

CONCLUSION As Instagram rolls out their ad platform4, and the audience continues to grow, the focus of brand marketers will be on implementing the best tactics for driving engagement on the network. These top brands have already recognized the opportunity with Instagram’s 150 million users by increasing their activity and working to refine their tactics.

The example from the leading companies speaks to the importance of a sophisticated presence. Don’t overuse hashtags, filters or videos, but don’t miss the opportunity to leverage their value when it can benefit the brand.

For tips on how you can increase your brand’s engagement on Instagram, download our white paper:

10 Tips for Increasing Brand Engagement on Instagram

16 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

SOURCES

1. http://mashable.com/2013/10/21/fastestgrowingapps/

2. http://www.unrulymedia.com/article/23102013/ brandsaccount40top1000mostshared instagramvideosreportsunruly/1382519072

3. http://simplymeasured.com/blog/2012/08/08/howtopbrandsareusinginstagramstudy/

4. http://mashable.com/2013/10/24/instagramadsglimpse/

17 Copyright © 2010–2013 Simply Measured, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

ABOUT SIMPLY MEASURED Simply Measured is a fast-growing team of data geeks dedicated to making the world of analytics and reporting a better, more beautiful place.

Our goal is to put the tools to understand business data in the hands of business users. We think reporting should be simple, beautiful, and accessible for everyone – not just data scientists. Our software streamlines the process from data to deliverables and eliminates the countless hours spent on everyday reporting tasks. We do this by putting cloud data sources at your fingertips, providing a marketplace of best practice reports, and generating beautiful deliverables on the web, in Excel, and in PowerPoint with a couple of clicks.

Want to try Simply Measured?

Request a Free Trial Today

Social Scheduling: WhenDo Top Brands Postto Instagram?By Michael Thomason – December 1, 2014

I recently researched Instagram activity by brands included in Interbrand’s Best100 Brands listing. The list, comprised of brands spanning automotive,technology, luxury, and other industries, includes 86 brands with Instagramaccounts. Detailed findings are presented in Simply Measured’s Q3 2014Instagram Study.

In this post, I’ll take a closer look at posting cadence – not just average postingfrequency, but how regular that frequency is.

On Instagram, many top brand posts are published within hours or evenminutes of their last post. Not surprisingly, many posts are also centered

around whole day increments from the last time a post was made, suggesting alot of big brands are doing their social media work during… wait for it… workhours. More interesting is that not only is this activity happening during workhours, but it’s happening within an hour or two of the time it was done the daybefore.

54% of Instagram posts by top brands are published between 9AM and 5PMPacific Time (or 60% between 9 and 5 Eastern). Most engagement happensquickly after content is posted – see more on that in our full study.

That doesn’t mean that audiences aren’t listening (or as is more common onInstagram, looking) into the wee hours of the morning. Top brands receivedsimilar engagement rates outside of business hours during our study period, soeven though posts from earlier in the day may start to see engagement decline,there is opportunity to engage audiences with new posts into the night.

It’s possible that different sub-audiences are engaging in the evening andovernight, and it’s definitely the case that there is less competition forattention. Don’t be afraid to test posting at odd hours – you may be missingout on building stronger connections with some of your followers, and there isprime opportunity to stand out on your followers’ feeds while they’re waitingfor dinner.

Read the Full Study Simply Measured’s Q3 2014 Instagram Study uncovers findings around:

Hashtags

@Mentions

Photos vs. videos

Location tagging

Posting frequency

Here’s a teaser. The full study is available to download for free by clicking thebutton in the graphic below. See how your brand stacks up to the best in theworld!

Michael ThomasonMichael is Simply Measured's Marketing Analyst, focused onmeasuring, analyzing, and understanding the social strategy for themost successful social brands in the world.

Instagram’s NewUpdates Just MadeMarketers’ Lives EasierBy Kevin Shively – November 11, 2014

Brand marketers are no strangers to Instagram, the photo-sharing app withmore than 200 million monthly active users.

Our Q3 2014 Instagram Study found that 86% of the top brands in the worldare active on the network, and 73% post at least one photo per week.

Yesterday, Instagram released several updates designed to make the userexperience better for everyone on the network, but the benefit to social mediamarketers may have gone overlooked. So what can you expect, and how will itbenefit your marketing efforts? Below is a quick walk-through of the features.

An Updated Explore TabInstagram’s explore tab now consists of two components: photos and people.

While the photos tab isn’t new, it does have some updated features, includingauto-populating text on searches.

You’ll also notice that when searching tagged terms, total counts display next

to the options. This is a great feature for marketers looking to use populartags, create their own branded hashtag, or get involved in trendingconversations.

Understanding the volume of conversations taking place, even at a glance, canhelp marketers make quick, more informed decisions.

The people tab is another exciting addition for brands.

According to Instagram, this “people” tab will highlight “interesting accountsfor you to discover.” The tab will highlight potential friends based on otherconnections, but it will also showcase brands based on similar criteria.

As a marketer, this means a greater potential of getting in front of users whoshare common interests with your current followers. Apparently, Instagramhas determined that I should follow the city of Seattle (obviously, since it’s thebest city in the world), Bulleit Bourbon (because Instagram knows me well),and pop star Ariana Grande (okay, I can’t explain this one).

Editable CaptionsIn addition to the new explore functionality, Instagram has added the ability toedit captions after posting.

I’d like to sit here and say that none of us ever make typos, but we all knowthat’s not true. This function lets us correct them without deleting, correcting,and reposting photos.

Download Our Q3 2014 Instagram Study Our Q3 2014 Instagram Study analyzes the activity behind thousands of postsand hundreds of millions of likes and comments to find the most successfulbrands, tactics, and content types.

This study uncovers findings around:

Hashtags

@Mentions

Photos vs. videos

Location tagging

Posting frequency

Here’s a teaser. The full study is available to download for free by clicking thebutton in the graphic below. See how your brand stacks up to the best in theworld!

Kevin ShivelyI manage the blog team at Simply Measured. My job is to tell storiesto the internet...You're welcome internet.

How the Forbes Top 5Luxury Brands Performon InstagramBy Lucy Hitz – November 13, 2014

According to McKinsey & Company, 75% ofluxury shoppers carry smart phones. Morethan 45% of these shoppers’ luxury purchasesare influenced by what they find in the digitaluniverse.

Add these two facts together and you’ll see thatthese consumers want a lot of brandinteraction before they even step into a store or

place an item in an online shopping cart. Instagram is an ideal delivery systemfor the kind of lush, aspirational experience these consumers are looking for.

With this shopping landscape in mind, it’s more interesting than ever todetermine whether the financial valuations of the top luxury brands in theworld according to Forbes match up with their Instagram prowess. Forbes’rankings take into account the industry gold standard Interbrand list.

Which strategies are these brands employing to drive Instagram engagementand follower growth?

Looking at the strategies that the top five luxury brands in the world areemploying can teach your brand a lot about what’s attractive to lavish lifestyleenthusiasts, and where the trends are heading.

Louis Vuitton Interbrand estimates Louis Vuitton’s worth to be a whopping $23.58 billion.

In the past six months, Louis Vuitton experienced 6.8 million totalengagements, got up to 3.3 million followers, posted 166 times, and had a 42%relative share of engagement when compared with the other top five brands.

Winning Tactics

This was Louis Vuitton’s most popular Instagram post during the last sixmonths.

Meet the Dora handbag from the #LouisVuitton Fall 2014 Collection, now available in stores andonline at www.louisvuitton.com Photo by @princepelayo

louisvuitton • 3 months ago Follow

110k likes 2.9k comments

Louis Vuitton saw a lot of success in its most engaging posts with introducingnew products: 90% of its top ten posts during the last six months showed offnew collections and designs.

It should also be noted that this photograph was taken by and tagged withdigital influencer and popular Instagrammer @principelayo.

Meet the Dora bag and one of my series of photographs for #louisvuitton where tradition meetscontemporary. @louisvuitton @nicolasghesquiereofficial

princepelayo • 3 months ago Follow

3.5k likes 23 comments

He shone his own light on the post and put Louis Vuitton front and center inhis luxury brand-interested followers’ Instagram feeds.

@principelayo also tags Louis Vuitton’s Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquière inhis own post to keep the tagging and influencer-ception going.

Gucci Gucci’s brand value is $9.45 billion, according to Interbrand and Forbes.

During the past six months, Gucci experienced 3.4 million total engagements,got up to 2.7 million followers, posted 113 times, and had a 31% relative shareof followers when compared with the other top five brands.

Winning Tactics

This was Gucci’s most popular Instagram post during the last six months.

When in L.A., dress for the red carpet. #guccipremiere #LACMA #artandfilm

gucci • 1 month ago Follow

76.3k likes 1.1k comments

Why so successful? Because it immediately stands out on followers’ feeds withglimmer and glitz — an important reminder for any brand that the reaction toyour Instagram content should be visceral and happen in an instant.

I’d also give some credit here to Gucci’s hashtag usage — anyone scrollingthrough the popular LA museum and event space LACMA’s hashtag or themore general #artandfilm gets exposure to this post.

Hermes Interbrand values Hermes at $6.18 billion. In the past six months,Hermes experienced just over 687,500K total engagements,reached 588.8K followers, posted 122 times, and had a 96.6% follower growthrate per month.

Winning Tactics

This video was Hermes’ most popular Instagram post during the last sixmonths.

Sensory whispers drift through our private spaces - "Temps de pluie" #hermesreveries#hermesfragrance #hermes

hermes • 2 months ago Follow

2.8k likes 16 comments

In fact, 90% of Hermes’ most engaging posts were poetic videos meant toprovoke deep sensory experiences. This strategy makes a lot of senseparticularly for a luxury brand which lures customers by promoting a lifestyle

rather than a straightforward product.

Cartier Interbrand values Cartier at $5.5 billion.

In the past six months, Cartier experienced just over 470K total engagements,reached 406K followers, and posted 52 times.

Cartier posted less frequently than the other brands in the top five (less thanhalf what Louis Vuitton posted), but when it did it sure hit the mark. Cartierexperienced 115.7% engagement as percentage of audience and a staggering153.3% monthly follower growth rate. This follower growth rate was the biggestof the top five.

Winning Tactics

This video was Cartier’s most popular Instagram post during the last sixmonths.

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This video did incredibly well with lovely, lilting piano music contributing to itsromantic sensibility and immersive nature, as well as broad hashtag termspaired with a Cartier-specific hashtag.

Tiffany & Co.

Interbrand values Tiffany & Co. at $5.16 billion.

In the past six months, Tiffany & Co. experienced just over 4.7 million totalengagements, reached 1.8 million followers, and received the greatestengagement as percentage of followers among the top five at 265.7%. Thatmeans that its Instagram audience has an incredibly strong affinity for thisbrand and its content on the visual network.

Winning Tactics

This image was Tiffany’s most popular Instagram post during the last sixmonths.

Love at first sight. #TiffanyAndCo #Tiffany

tiffanyandco • 2 months ago Follow

77.8k likes 3.1k comments

Why? This Instagram post is the definition of simple: not a ton of caption text,solely brand-focused hashtags.

This tells us that it’s the image itself which won the day for this post, and that

Tiffany & Co. doesn’t have to pile on the frills to rake in the comments andLikes.

Want to Learn More About How Top BrandsWork Their Magic on Instagram? Our Q3 2014 Instagram Study analyzes the activity behind thousands of postsand hundreds of millions of likes and comments to find the most successfulbrands, tactics, and content types.

This study uncovers findings around:

Hashtags

@Mentions

Photos vs. videos

Location tagging

Posting frequency

Here’s a teaser. The full study is available to download for free by clicking thebutton in the graphic below. See how your brand stacks up to the best in theworld!

Lucy Hitz

Holler! I’m the Social Media Content Writer here at SimplyMeasured, which means I get to research the latest and greatest insocial media and shed additional light on what I find with ourbrilliant reports. I’m from the Upper West Side in NYC (reppin’ it!). Ilove yoga, prosciutto, peaty scotch, poetry, and Taylor Swift. If Iwere a social media channel, I’d want to be Instagram, but I think I’mTwitter.

5 Ways to Leverage InstagramEngagement into New FollowersBy Lucy Hitz – November 6, 2014

If your brand has a soaring engagement rate on Instagram and receives awesome feedback onits content, but struggles to expand its audience on the booming social network, this post isfor you.

Read on to learn five strategies for making your Instagram follower count go up, up, up, bybuilding upon the solid foundation of hype you’ve already built with viral-prone contentand getting to know your current audience better.

Ask and Reward

Congratulations to our First Place Grand Prize Winner of a $250 gift card to Walgreens is@goobersmax35 #HHSummerSweeps

walgreens • 4 months ago Follow

303 likes 22 comments

Put together a friendship-, family-, or team-themed campaign, asking your already-dedicated Instagram audience to tag afriend for a chance to win a reward.

Using this tactic, your existing audience members are organically vetting people and spreading brand awareness to Instagramusers who are likely ideal followers for your brand.

For instance, if a brand I follow runs an Instagram campaign asking me to tag my best girlfriend for a chance to win a two-person, margarita-fueled beach getaway, I’m probably not going to tag a fifty-year-old man or twelve-year-old girl — I’m goingto tag my twenty-something best girlfriend, which would fit into this smart brand’s target audience the same way I do.

Deeply Know Your Current Audience

Source: Simply Measured Report. Try it for free here

The only way you’ll come up with effective strategies for leveraging loyal followers into new followers is by knowing who yourcurrent followers are and how they behave.

Figure out who your most active commenters are. They’re the ones having the richest interactions with your brand. Then drilldeeper into their profiles and posts to find out what makes them tick and what makes them double-tap.

This is a clever and relatively simple way to build your Instagram social personas — and also to find followers of yourfollowers that might be interested in what you have to offer.

Follow Back Once you know who is really lovin’ on your brand on Instagram, follow back.

Don’t underestimate how flattered people feel when they’re followed back by a brand they love and engage with regularly.

This tactic hits two birds with one stone: you strengthen your bond with current followers and gain access to new prospects(AKA your followers’ followers).

Direct Your Audience to Your Blog According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising. Byusing Instagram posts to shine the spotlight on your blog, you give your followers another way to be engaged by your brand.

Want all the goss from last night's epic VIP party? Head to insideout.topshop.com for our top moments.(including our amazing Twitter Mirror selfies featuring @HaileeSteinfeld!) #topshop #UNLOCK5TH#grandcentral #topshopny #haileesteinfeld #topshoploves

topshop • 1 month ago Follow

34.6k likes 147 comments

The more followers that head to your blog, the more people are likely to engage in WOMM (Word of Mouth Marketing)around your brand, both verbally and by sending your blog links to non-followers using other social (Facebook, Twitter) andnon-social (GChat, email) methods.

RegramMine the talents of your followers and #regram their photos, making sure to tag them.

Sheer nude nails and faux fur at yesterday's shoot. (Repost from @kaitmosh)

laurenconrad • 1 month ago Follow

118k likes 1.3k comments

Much like following your influential and most active followers, this tactic gets current followers excited and more likely tospread the word on your brand’s Instagram presence.

Download Our Q3 2014 Instagram Study Our Q3 2014 Instagram Study analyzes the activity behind thousands of posts and hundreds of millions of likes andcomments to find the most successful brands, tactics, and content types.

This study uncovers findings around:

Hashtags

@Mentions

Photos vs. videos

Location tagging

Posting frequency

Here’s a teaser. The full study is available to download for free by clicking the button in the graphic below. See how yourbrand stacks up to the best in the world!

Lucy HitzHoller! I’m the Social Media Content Writer here at Simply Measured, which means I get to research the latest andgreatest in social media and shed additional light on what I find with our brilliant reports. I’m from the Upper West Side inNYC (reppin’ it!). I love yoga, prosciutto, peaty scotch, poetry, and Taylor Swift. If I were a social media channel, I’d want tobe Instagram, but I think I’m Twitter.