Instagram loves wearables.  No, not the Apple iWatch kind. The regular kind : Fashion and sportswear are by far the two top categories of successful brands on Instagram. Propelled by the Nike and Adidas of the world, the sportswear category accumulates the highest rates of community with an average of 1.3 Million followers compared to the average of 603 K, this according to a report just published by L2 and Olapic. Fashion is not far behind with 1.2 Million followers average per brands.

Instagram: Frequency of Social Media Use,
Instagram: Frequency of Social Media Use,
The photo sharing site has quickly become a favorite to brand marketers for a variety of reasons. Unlike its older and bigger sister Facebook it does not ( yet) tweak algorithms to coerce brands into purchasing boosting mechanism to actually reach of all of their followers. With an 100% organic reach, it is an unrestricted social media channel. The followers they have are  those they can freely reach. It is also a perfect playground to “try and test” various inexpensive visual approaches, with failures or over-posting inconsequential . L2’s reports that 1/3 of the brands surveyed post an average of 20 times a week , almost 3 images a day.
Videos on Instagram, interestingly enough, has yet to convince marketers of their efficiency. On average, only 5 to 6% of post are videos. However, in the sportswear category, it yields a 1.37% engagement rate against a 1.05% for stills. Part of it could be its scarcity, thus its novelty appeal. However, probably due to its more time-consuming/costly approach, no one seems eager to push video content more than its current single digit percentage.

FACEBOOK VS. INSTAGRAM: AD PRODUCT CAPABILITIES
FACEBOOK VS. INSTAGRAM: AD PRODUCT CAPABILITIES
The report warns, however, that the honeymoon might be over soon. Like its parent company and once it has a mature advertising offering, Instagram will certainly limit a brand’s access to its follower by placing a paywall, similar to Facebook. The company’s effort, for now, is mostly  in selling higher visibility options to brands, allowing to reach far beyond their regular followers . It has also recently released brand exclusive features in order to offer better tracking and  ROI tools.
 
L2’s report, in conjunction with Olapic, is a chuck full of powerful data on how luxury brands operate and benefit from Instagram and is a must read for anyone looking to better manage its own photo:tech strategy. It is available here .

 

 

Photo by Several seconds

Author: Paul Melcher

Paul Melcher is a highly influential and visionary leader in visual tech, with 20+ years of experience in licensing, tech innovation, and entrepreneurship. He is the Managing Director of MelcherSystem and has held executive roles at Corbis, Stipple, and more. Melcher received a Digital Media Licensing Association Award and is a board member of Plus Coalition, Clippn, and Anthology, and has been named among the “100 most influential individuals in American photography”

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