Facebook still attracts the lion's share of paid advertising, but fashion and beauty brands are beginning to flock to Instagram. With a third of the world's internet population expected to be on the photo-sharing site by 2018, it's not hard to wonder why.
A study by L2 found 98 per cent of the fashion brands it surveyed are on Instagram, with 95 per cent of beauty brands also on the platform - a rise from 75 per cent and 78 per cent respectively in October, 2013.
As well as there being more brands on Instagram, they're also posting more frequently - fashion brands are up 17 per cent, and beauty brands 42 per cent. Beauty brands are now posting around seven times a week, an increase from approximately fives times at the same time last year.
Engagement and interactions were also found to be higher on Instagram than any other platform. As a result, a growing number of fashion and beauty brands are betting their social marketing dollars and resources on Instagram over any other platform.
While advertising on Instagram does have a higher ad rate, brands in the US appear to think the money is well worth it - with approximately 46 per cent saying they do or plan to pay money to get on Instagram in the next 12 months.
