Instagram: the number of ads has increased, user engagement has decreased

With the increase in the number of ads on the Instagram social network, user engagement rates have fallen. The analytical company Locowise came to such conclusions based on the results of its own research.

Instagram data for January 2016 shows that the audience of the social network continues to increase. The number of users increased by 0.37% of the total number of users.

However, engagement is falling. Locowise experts estimated the number of users involved (that is, who clicked on an advertising link, liked an advertising record or installed an application) at 0.95% of the total audience. For comparison, throughout 2015, the indicator varied in the aisles from 2.8% to 1.36%. That is, the January numbers are the lowest in the entire history of Locowise observations.

On top – Instagram user growth, on the bottom – engagement indicators
The company’s experts attribute this drop in indicators to the fact that in the fall of 2015, Instagram opened an advertising platform for all advertisers.

Instagram Facebook’s engagement rates are still higher than Facebook’s, however. The number of users involved in this social network in January was 0.46%. Twitter’s figure is even lower – 0.09%.

Source: Locowise