Instagram Is a Marketer's Best Friend — For Now

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A journalist makes a video of the Instagram logo using the new video feature at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Thursday, June 20, 2013.

Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

By Jason Abbruzzese2014-04-29 19:11:21 UTC

Instagram represents by far the best platform for marketers to interact with consumers, according to a recent study from Forrester Research.

Looking at 2,500 posts on seven social networks, Nate Elliott, marketing analyst for Forrester, found that engagement on Instagram roughly 60 times higher than Facebook.

See also: 14 Instagram Photojournalists Who Will Open Your Eyes to the World

Image: Forrester Research

"What does this higher engagement rate look like in practice? Last month, Red Bull posted a video of a unique snowboarding half-pipe on both Facebook and Instagram," Elliott wrote in a blog post. "A few days later, we noted that the brand’s 43 million Facebook fans had liked the video just 2,600 times (a 0.006% likes-per-fan rate), while its 1.2 million Instagram followers had liked the video more than 36,000 times (a 3% likes-per-follower rate)."

At one time, Facebook had been the favored platform for marketers. Companies devoted marketing budgets to brand pages, some accruing millions of followers.

Changes to the system that regulates the Facebook newsfeed have rendered those efforts somewhat ineffectual. Marketers have been vocal in their disappointment with engagement on Facebook, particularly at the fall in organic reach.

Forrester warns that the Facebook-owned Instagram could fall victim to the same issues. As more brands flock to Instagram, it will become more crowded and therefore more difficult for companies to stand out.

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Topics: Facebook, instagram, Marketing, Social Media, social media marketing