Instagram's Top Posts and Trends From 2013

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By Kurt Wagner2013-12-13 13:06:14 UTC

Instagram is starting to look every bit the billion dollar company Facebook made it out to be in 2012.

The photo sharing app hit some major milestones in 2013, most notably the addition of video, posting of its first advertisements, and the recent roll out of Instagram Direct, a private messaging feature that allows users to share photos with individuals or small groups with in the app.

See also: 12 Most Cliché Photos on Instagram

Instagram's 150 million-plus users share more than 55 million pictures to the app every day, and had its first ever post garner more than 1 million Likes in 2013 (thanks, Justin Bieber).

Instagram will be even busier in 2014. It looks like Facebook has plans for the photo-sharing app to compete with Snapchat and its 400 million daily "snaps." But before looking ahead to Instagram's future, it's time to look back on the platform's 2013, a year full of photo filters.

Top Instagram Post

Justin Bieber was the first Instagram user to generate one million likes for a photo — now he crosses the million mark with regularity (four times in December alone). With more than 12 million followers, expect it to happen with even more regularity moving forward.

This picture of The Biebs with actor Will Smith generated more Likes than any other post on the service in 2013 — 1.5 million in total.

Thanksgivukkah

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah overlapped for the first time in more than 100 years in 2013, and Instagram users made the most of it. There were more pictures and videos shared on November 28 than any single day in the platform's history.

"We saw record usage as Instagrammers shared a heaping helping of holiday cheer," Instagram wrote on its company blog. "Your Thanksgiving and Hanukkah-related photos and videos helped make yesterday our busiest day on Instagram so far."

Instagram didn't share specifics on how many photos and videos were uploaded, but we assume that a different holiday will have the responsibility of beating that record. (The next Thanksgiving-Hanukkah overlap won't take place for thousands of years.)

Top Hashtags

Hashtags have become ubiquitous with social media, and Instagram isn't immune. The year's top Instagram hashtag: #love. A quick search on the platform reveals more than 371 million posts that include the hashtag "#love."

The other top hashtags from 2013: #tbt (throw back Thursday), #friends, #fashion, #food, and #selfie.

Top Instagram Locations

Instagram users come from all corners of the globe, and the platform's most popular cities and locations in 2013 prove that the California-based service is not only popular in the States.

Of the five most popular geotagged cities worldwide, half of them are outside the U.S. Specific locations are a different story. Eight of the top 10 specific locations are from the United States, including no. 2 - Times Square in New York City. The most popular photo destination for Instagram users last year? The Siam Paragon Shopping Mall in Bangkok, Thailand.

Here's a look at the top cities worldwide for Instagrammers in 2013.

Top Geotagged Cities (Worldwide)

1. New York

2. Bangkok

3. Los Angeles

4. London

5. Sao Paulo

6. Moscow

7. Rio de Janeiro

8. San Diego

9. Las Vegas

10. San Francisco

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Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images, Google

Topics: Apps and Software, Facebook, instagram, justin bieber, Social Media, top posts, year in review 2013