Why I Love Instagram & Why This App is so Popular
I love the mobile app Instagram so much that I go out of my way to use it. Instagram is a free photo-sharing social network for the iPhone. I'm not an iPhone user (yet), so I take pictures with my phone or digital camera, save them to my iPad, then spend the next few minutes trying to figure out which of the 16 filters will make my picture pop. IÂ usually stick to Earlybird and occasionally Brannan, but lately I've been a fan of Toaster for some added warmth.
It may seem like too much effort for a non-iPhone user, but for me, Instagram is a visually-appealing, non-invasive little vacation from reality. Using the "Popular" tab, you can jump into a stranger's world and get a glimpse at what life is like where they're at. Each image tells a story and conveys emotion and personality. When you find a feed you like, you can follow that user, but they don't have to follow you back, and vice versa.
Chelsea, a friend of mine describes Instagram as:
"... the nature of the images are always more documentary than the type of photos people post on Facebook. It's more of people sharing the moments and objects they encounter during the day. It's like a bunch of little visual diaries."
With Instagram, it's less about quality and more about documenting and sharing. Ashley, our office manager, joined Instagram a couple weeks ago and posts pictures of her dog Oscar. Here at the office, we hear stories about Oscar all day long, but with these pictures, it brings those stories to life.
So why is this app so popular? For me, aside from the instant sharing and easy photo editing, I learn at least one new thing every day after reading my Instagram feed. I usually end up with recommendations of restaurants to try, a new retail store to shop, a new vacation destination to add to my "want to go to there" list, and baby fever. Kidding, but there are some really cute children out there.
It's easy to see why millions of people are using Instagram to photoblog.
- Simple, Quick and Fun:Â In about 30 seconds or less, you can take a photo, throw a filter (or post the original), and share it with the world. You can also search Instagram for inspiration using tags.
- Social Integration:Â In addition to Instagram, you can share your images on other social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous and more.
- Community & Interactivity: Instagram is a social network, but more than that it's a community. People are very positive and encouraging. You can leave comments, "like" and tag pictures and geotag your location.
Instagram isn't for everyone, but the mobile app is being used by a growing number of businesses, bands, and brands. I've said before that the only reason I want an iPhone is for Instagram. Needless to say, I am (im)patiently waiting for iPhone5 to be released.
If you're a fan, try downloading Diptic to split your images into various layouts and check out this post from Photojojo for more fun ways to explore Instagram.
Your turn -- are you a non-iPhone user that uses Instagram on another Apple device? What do you love about Instagram?
4 Comments
Leave a Reply
Related Resources
13 Digital Marketing Predictions for 2025
Top Industry Voices Share Their 2025 Digital Marketing Trend Predictions As digital marketers, we know a new year brings new goals, new opportunities for growth, and new challenges. But a new year also brings plenty of change. Whether it’s advancements […]
B2B Marketing With the Rise of Gen Z: Navigating the Digital Native Workforce
Explore the unique challenges & opportunities of marketing to Gen Z in the B2B space. Discover how these digital natives are reshaping the professional world & what it means for marketing strategies. Stay ahead in the era of Gen Z with expert insights.
5 Steps to Conduct a Successful Social Media Audit
Are your social media platforms in need of a refresh? Follow these 5 steps to audit and optimize your platforms for success.
5 Tips for Getting the Most Out of the LinkedIn Ads Campaign‌ Manager
Read these 5 ways you can leverage the insights in the LinkedIn Ads Campaign Manager to manage and optimize your LinkedIn ads.
23 Of The Best Resources For Starting A Digital Marketing Career
The best social media communities, podcasts, newsletters, and certifications for new digital marketers I didn’t know anything about digital marketing when I started as an intern at Cypress North earlier this year. Acronyms like SEO, CPA, and ROAS meant nothing […]
Pinterest as a Search Engine: An Advertisers’ Guide to Keyword Targeting in Pinterest Ads
Pinterest – the land of dream wedding dresses, instant pot recipes, room inspo, and… SERPs? Pinterest is so much more than a social media platform. Yes, the platform allows users to like, share, and discover new content based on their […]
How to Transform Your Static Images into Animated Video Ads With Facebook’s Video Creation Kit
As the digital space continues to evolve, video has become more dominant than ever before. Attention spans are shorter, people expect to be entertained, and messaging must be communicated in a fascinating way. For businesses with limited time and budget, […]
Best Digital Marketing Podcasts
Whether you're focused on SEO, PPC, social media, content, or affiliate marketing, podcasts are a great way to stay competitive in the dynamic digital marketing landscape. Finding a reliable program to consume from your car, desk, or treadmill allows you […]
Precisely Target Your Ideal B2B LinkedIn Audience With One Powerful Tool
LinkedIn is an incredible tool for B2B marketers due to its unique targeting; namely professional information like job titles and company industries. I’m sure you’ve spent precious time crafting your audiences, but targeting is just the beginning. Arguably, audience exclusions […]
Facebook Ads Budget Optimization: Everything You Need To Know
Facebook has major news for advertisers. Come September 2019, account managers will no longer be able to set budgets at the Ad Set level in Facebook Ads. Instead, Facebook's Campaign Budget Optimization will become the default setting for all campaigns, […]
Deep Dive: Reddit Ads Update
With this Reddit Ads update, Reddit expressed interest in offering more options for marketers but did this update miss the mark? We're diving deep into what the update includes, how to navigate it, and how you should adjust your Reddit […]
Digital Marketing in 2019: What to Watch For
The Pros Rampant Responsive One of the biggest boons for advertisers in 2018 was the ability to optimize campaigns by moving away from standard banner sizes and utilizing responsive display ad formats. The proliferation of flexible ads such as Facebook […]
The Ultimate Guide To Facebook Dynamic Creative Ads
Let’s be honest, working with Facebook Ads Manager can be difficult. It’s a cumbersome tool, and it’s not user-friendly. But Marketers are in luck, thanks to Facebook’s new Dynamic Creative Ads. Dynamic Creative allows advertisers to create thousands of ad […]
How To (Properly) Share Access to Pages & Ad Accounts in Facebook Business Manager
Facebook's Business Manager has been a boon for advertisers and agencies across the world. With simple sharing, no transferring of ownership, easy transition from client to client and easy employee access, there's not a lot to complain about. The only […]
Why You Shouldn’t Use Facebook Groups To Build a Community
Never have Facebook Groups been more prevalent than they are today. It seems like every podcast you listen to and site you visit is pushing fans, listeners, and visitors to follow along in a Facebook Group. It’s true, Facebook Groups […]
Instagram for Business: Pros and Cons of Instagram's Changing Platform
The Marriage of Facebook and Instagram Instagram has had quite the last 4 years.  When Facebook originally acquired Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, not much initially changed for the platform.  Nonetheless, it was clear that with Facebook's back-to-back purchase of […]
What to Do If You Accidentally Claimed a Facebook Page/Ad Account Instead of Requesting Access
Facebook Business Manager is a fantastic tool that makes managing clients a dream. Â Companies can quickly give or terminate access to employees in a single location. Â In order to perform this task however, access must be requested to an account. […]
13 Tips For Getting The Most From Facebook Live Posts
In a world of decimated brand reach, a new tool has risen that brings Facebook exposure back. Facebook Live has arrived and has been a boon for marketers looking to attract eyeballs to brand posts. While this new post type […]
Download or Disregard - Wishbone: A Guide to the "Hot" New App We Really Wish Would Go Away
App name: Wishbone Wishbones. Those slimy crescent shaped bones that you and your siblings would fight over to break in half and see whose side was larger (and more importantly, whose wish would come true). That is loosely the thinking behind […]
Interview: Tips & Tricks On How To Properly Market On Reddit
Most marketers believe that Reddit will never work for them. That's simply not true. I was recently asked some questions by David Kirkpatrick of MarketingSherpa alongside the great Brent Csutoras of Kairay Media. The interview covers the following Reddit-related topics: […]
[...] Instagram is a free app for the iPhone allows users to modify and enhance photos by applying these filters to photos (as well as modify images easily.) The service has over 5 million users mainly due to the ability to enhance images with custom filters, it’s ease of use and community features. [...]
I love Instagram too and the third party apps providing extra services like Statigram
http://statigr.am/
Hi
I am also a bonified Instagram user and I am starting an Instagram project for my thesis (it is on the blog above). I would love to hear more about your passion for instagram! Some people claim it is just an attention hub or unnecessary time spent on beautified pictures of our personal lives sort of like reality tv they think it is just a waist of time... What do you think about that?
Best
Ella
[...] Instagram released its first app update today since the $1 billion dollar acquisition of the company by Facebook in April. The app’s most notable difference is the new “Explore” tab and its compass-like icon, replacing the former “Popular” tab with the heart icon. By going to the “Explore” section of the app, users still see a grid of the top trending photos shared on Instagram at any given time and quickly search for users or content using specific hash tags. [...]