Tag Archives: Facebook

Instagram Stats and Tips

Instagram bought by FBFor our Tri-Valley Branch of the California Writers Club, I volunteered to keep the Social Media Meetings going by sharing what I’ve learned so far. Our tech master Gary Karl as I call him, got a new job and couldn’t make the meetings. Fortunately, he’s my back-up when I have no idea what to do technically.

I can talk about blogging which I’ve done since 2009 and Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google +. I know a little about Tumblr and now I’m ready for Instagram. I think.

I found a post by A.S. Chung, “365 Days of Online Book Marketing Tips” by Pigeonhole,  from 7/2015 that was not only interesting but helpful information. Chung simplified the question, “What is Instagram?” His answer, “Instagram is blogging with pictures instead of words. You are telling a story through photos and short videos via a mobile platform.” Sounds easy, doesn’t it? I’m convincing myself as I write here so I can go straight to Instagram after I publish this post. Five minutes tops to sign up. I hope.

I’ve managed Pinterest and often spend way too much time enjoying all the pictures, so how hard can Instagram be?  Let’s see what else Chung says:

Instagram is free and allows connections with different readers and markets. It’s visually stimulating and capitalizes on short attention spans. It taps into a different creative side, and he promises it’s easy to use and the least technical of all social media platforms. See how convincing he is?

Hashtags are used more often than on Twitter and 30 are allowed. The more hashtags you use, the more likes and comments you’ll get. Searching the field allows members to see what is trending and we can use those topics for photos and tags to post. There is a News tab which allows you to see the activities of your followers or the news gives us insight to other users who may be of use to us. You can post 15 second videos, great for marketing.  Leave out white space, the busier photos get more likes.

Chung says there are approximately 300 million users and Facebook bought it for $1 billion. There are over 70 million photo and video shares each day. The average caption is 138 characters long, including hashtags. There are around 2.5 billion Instagram likes every day, or 8500 new likes each second, and 1000 comments are left each second.

Around 25% of Fortune 500 companies use Instagram and usually post on Thursdays. The average Instagramer spends 21 minutes per day using the app.

Please share your Instagram experience while I head over there to sign up.

Snapchat

Snapchat

However, Ariana, 18 years old, says she doesn’t use Instagram.  Snapchat is the best.  By the time I try Snapchat, there will be something newer and social media choices will just go on and on.

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