Where do you like to spend your time on social media? Maybe you are more of a photography lover. Maybe you are quick-witted and love sharing a piece of information or a good joke. Whatever your personal preference, when it comes to marketing for your business – personal preference may matter less if the numbers look better on another platform.
So when it comes to Instagram and Twitter, which one is more influential and worthy of your time? Let’s dig into the stats.
The Numbers Behind Instagram
According to the last update, Instagram boasts an average of:
- 1 billion monthly active users every month.
- 995 photos are uploaded every second.
- 500 million people use Instagram Stories every day.
- 25 million businesses are on Instagram. (75.3% of US businesses)
- 130 million users tap on shopping posts every month.
- Advertising’s potential reach is 849.3 million users.
- Instagram is the most popular social media platform among teens.
- 200 million users visit at least one business profile per day.
The Numbers Behind Twitter
According to the last update, Twitter boasts an average of:
- 340 million monthly active users
- 186 million daily active users
- 75 percent of B2B businesses market their products and/or services on Twitter.
- 500 million tweets are sent out per day.
- 40% of Twitter users carried out a purchase after seeing it on Twitter
- 92 % of the US population is familiar with Twitter (even non-users)
- 20% of adults in the US are on Twitter
- 12% of Americans get their news from Twitter
- Twitter’s ad engagement is up to 23%
What Do I Do With All of These Stats?
Is Instagram more influential than Twitter? Well, in some ways you are comparing apples and oranges. The platforms have different uses and appeal to different audiences. Now, looking at the numbers, Instagram doesn’t appear to be more influential. But upon further pondering, I realized something important: the life of a tweet is very short-lived.
Some experts say that the life of a single tweet is about eighteen minutes for the average user. If I scroll through my personal Instagram for eighteen minutes, however, I can go back as far as two days or more. Granted, I follow about 100 more users on Twitter than I do on Instagram, but the truth is there: a post lasts longer on Instagram. Even though there is no “retweet” feature on Instagram like there is on Twitter, if your account is public, users can re-share posts to stories. This gives their posts a greater reach and a bigger chance of engagement and following.
Your Brain Comes Into Play
Your brain can process a photo about 60,000 times faster than it can process text. If a tweet’s length is limited to 280 characters, and the average word in the English language is 5 characters, that means you’re able to fit about 20 words into a tweet (including spaces). Also consider the fact that a tweet (if it doesn’t include an image) is just words. An Instagram photo, however, is a visual impression of your company, whether it’s showing your fun personality, a quick 15-second tutorial, or one of your awesome products.
The Final Word
So, is Instagram more influential than Twitter? If you want to reach users, (by using the appropriate hashtags) you’ll likely reach about the same amount of users on both platforms (considering the two are about 2 million users apart, but posts last a little longer on Instagram).
If you want to create a visually compelling story for your company by showing off your product or brand, choose Instagram. If you want the best of both worlds, share your thoughts on Twitter, and connect your Instagram account to Twitter so you can share your feed on both platforms. In this way, you can gain reach and an inspired audience.
