I read something the other day that knocked my socks off, and I thought I’d share it with you.
Instagram now has about the same amount of active monthly users as Twitter.
Okay. So–whatevs, right? What’s the big deal? The big deal is, Twitter was started in early 2006. Instagram was started 4 years later, in 2010.
Currently Instagram has around 300 Million active monthly users, while Twitter has just slightly less; about 288 active monthly users (source). While, in terms of how many accounts they have worldwide, Twitter still has more, the difference between Twitter and Instagram is how engaged users are.
I love Twitter, and I make no bones about it. There are lots of people out there like me, I’m sure, who love it and couldn’t live without it. It’s an amazing source of news and connectivity. However, of all the social networks out there, Twitter is the most complicated to learn how to use (with maybe the exception of Snapchat). The ettiquette of Twitter often stumps people, and it’s well known that Twitter has a vast amount (possibly up to half) of inactive accounts. People get on there, then get lost in the noise of Twitter, and don’t quite understand how to use it, and eventually abandon their accounts. I don’t see something similar going on with Instagram.
Instagram’s success can be pinned on a couple of things: first off, we love pretty pictures. We love to look at them and lose ourselves in them. Instagram wins on that count, right there. Secondly, I think Instagram is an incredibly connected social media. I post (@rebeccacoleman) on pretty much a daily basis, and I get comments and likes every day. With Twitter, conversely, only about 50% of my tweets get some kind of interaction–like a RT.
I completely understand the love affair with Instagram. I have it too. But I won’t be abandoning my Twitter account any time soon. The two are both valuable. In fact, for me, in terms of driving business and traffic back to my site, Twitter wins.
Here’s today’s infographic for you, with a bunch of interesting Instagram facts!
Infographic courtesy of Razor Social.