With attention spans diminishing and the appeal of video and images rising, it seems like the present moment is perfectly suited to Instagram’s quick-hit, low-verbiage, less-is-more characteristics.
Instagram is expected to have nearly 90 million monthly users in the U.S. this year, the equivalent of 34% of mobile phone users. It’s little surprise that the mobile platform is a hit with millennials (ages 18-34), shown below as the first two horizontal bars on the graph.
And while much of the growth is being seen among millennials and Gen X-ers (ages 35-50) in particular—there will be 48 million millennial Instagram users in the U.S. this year, according to eMarketer—the platform exhibits more of a multigenerational appeal than you might expect, says Bianca Prade, SVP, digital, SKDKnickerbocker, and an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University and American University. This can be linked to the growth in mobile devices and the resulting change in the way people communicate.
In addition, Prade speculates the platform’s relative ease of use appeals to a wide demo.
The takeaway for communicators is obvious: Create Instagram content relevant to each of several demographic groups and/or content that appeals to the wide range of age groups that are using Instagram.
With Instagram’s video limit moving from 15 seconds to 60 seconds, there are ample opportunities to engage users with episodic content as well as behind-the-scenes views and interviews with brand personalities or brand executives that can more fully tell a brand’s story (PRN, April 11).
Contact: @BiancaPrade
