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Why Is Instagram The Best Platform For Influencer Marketing?

Influencer Marketing
Why Is Instagram The Best Platform For Influencer Marketing?

Photo and video-sharing app, Instagram, has had quite the journey to the top of the social media platform totem pole. Released in October 2010, after only eight weeks of development, the platform saw massive success in its early days. In fact, it took under two years for Meta (then known as Facebook) to acquire the company for $1 billion. 

The app has seen many changes since its inception, including but not limited to: now allowing you to post multiple pictures at a time rather than just one, adding “stories” (content that disappears after 24 hours, based on the famous and samely named, Snapchat stories), and incorporating “reels” (video content, based largely off of TikTok videos) into the platform. 

But the biggest change that Instagram has seen since its inception? No longer is it simply a “square photo-sharing app” (as its company head said), but a highly engaging content creation community for individuals, brands, and influencers alike.

What makes Instagram different from other social media and why is it the most effective for influencer marketing? Read on to learn about the app’s journey to becoming the best and most highly-used influencer marketing platform

What Are The Best Social Media Platforms For Influencer Marketing?  

According to Oberlo research, the top social media platforms best for influencer marketing are: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Snapchat. 

Chart of the Top Influencer Marketing Platforms

Pictured: Top Influencer Marketing Platforms (Source: Oberlo, eMarketer)

As you can see, Instagram is currently sitting pretty at the top of the influencer platform food chain. With 72.5% of marketers using Instagram for influencing in 2022, and 76.7% expecting to in 2023, we anticipate Instagram’s reign to continue. 

In second place, we have Facebook, the early riser in the modern era of social media platforms, at 55.2% of influencer marketing campaigns. Hot on the tails of the others, is TikTok, the quickly growing video-sharing app, which captured 45.7% of campaigns in 2022.

In fourth, there’s YouTube, which sees many creators land branded partnerships, even though their main revenue stream often comes from the advertising algorithm. Finally, Twitter and Snapchat also see some influencer marketing dollars, although neither command the space. 

What Makes Instagram A Good Platform For Influencer Marketing? 

Many marketers agree that Instagram is better than other social media platforms for business, especially when it comes to influencers. What makes it the best social media platform for advertising? It has a highly-engaged user base, a sophisticated and mobile-friendly UI, and simple content creation pipeline, to name a few.

Another reason why Instagram has become such a popular platform for influencers is the multitude of content formats. Here are a few of the popular influencer marketing content formats:

  • Instagram Stories. Short-form vertical content that disappears after 24 hours. Stories include a wide array of customizable options such as text, stickers, filters, music additions, location inclusion, and more. They’re also easy to engage with, with a “swipe up to send” feature driving DM engagement as well as a link sharing option that’s great for driving conversion.
  • Instagram “Grid” Posts. The classic posting function with the famous filters. Organic Instagram posts allow for up to 10 photos and 2,200 words in the caption. You can reach more users by placing relevant hashtags in the caption or including a location.
  • Instagram Reels. Instagram’s version of short-form, vertical video content. Reels are found on a separate tab in the app and can be an effective way to reach new audiences. 
  • Instagram Live. The ability to livestream to engage your followers in real time. Though a newer feature, Instagram’s live videos are highly interactive and allow users to engage throughout the stream with comments and emoji reactions. 

Is Instagram Or Facebook More Effective For Marketing?

On paper, it might seem like Facebook is a more powerful marketing platform than Instagram due to its size and scope. However, Instagram’s highly engaging and highly visual platform makes it a much better influencer marketing medium than Facebook.

To put it bluntly, Instagram is better than Facebook for influencer marketing because it is more effective and engaging. Take these two marketing charts, for example, which lay out post engagement rates by industry in 2021:

Brand Post Engagement Rate Benchmarks for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter  - Marketing Charts

Pictured: Instagram and Facebook Post Engagement Rates in 2021, by Industry (Source: Rival IQ)

Although they don’t specify their analysis of influencer content only, it is clear to see that the engagement median is much higher on Instagram than on Facebook (10x higher, in fact). Instagram is the more engaging platform, and it makes sense that influencers have flocked there.

What Are Other Effective Platforms For Influencer Marketing? 

If there’s one thing you need to know about social media marketing (or marketing as a whole), it’s that it’s constantly changing. 

So, while Instagram may be the best influencer platform today, TikTok, YouTube, or any of the others could take the top slot tomorrow due to management changes, UI changes, arising legal situations, or any number of circumstances.

Thus, savvy marketers will stay ahead of the curve and anticipate emerging social media platforms, such as TikTok, and consistently performing platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube, becoming bigger influencer marketing opportunities in 2023.

How Lionize Can Help With Your Influencer Marketing Strategy 

Let Lionize help you find the right influencers for your Instagram marketing – and keep you growing across social media platforms. Contact us today to book a Discovery Call