Instragram Hits 200 Million Users — and 20 Billion Photos

Photo and video sharing service Instagram hit 200 million users — and 20 billion photos shared this week.

In a post on the official Instagram blog, the company explained:

“The vibrance and diversity of this community has increased as it has grown. Over the past six months, we’ve seen new communities coming together in cities and towns across the world, whether they be in Guthrie, Oklahoma, or Guatemala City.”

Instagram says that growth is based on another 50 million joining the site in that time.

The company also says it experienced a record turnout of participants for its Worldwide InstaMeet 8 two months ago where Instagram users gathered. In places like Greece, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey and several cities in the U.S., they met other Instagrammers and took and shared photos of the events.

It’s been quite a last six months for Instagram. In November, the site introduced the first ads to its user’s feeds joining Facebook, Twitter and others.

Instagram has worked with a very select group of advertisers at first. They include U.S. fashion label Michael Kors, ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s and Levi’s. Initial data suggests that Instagram ads carry considerable clout with users. Some advertisers saw a 17 percent increase in brand awareness and a 33 point increase in ad recall. (Just imagine what impact your brand is having on those following your Instagram account.)

Meanwhile, marketers and other users have been enhancing the quality of the images they share with an ever increasing number of apps. Here are 20 Instagram apps we recently shared to improve the quality of pics and videos.

Finally, retailers have discovered Instagram in a big way. Small companies like New York boutique Fox and Fawn and big luxury brand Coach have both discovered the power of sharing to drive online sales.

At Fox and Fawn, items frequently sell out within minutes of photos being posted. At Coach, simply asking customers to share photos of themselves wearing their favorite apparel resulted in a 5 to 7 percent bump in eCommerce conversions and a 2 percent increase in the value of the average online order.

Instagram Photo via Shutterstock

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Source: Small Business Trends

Instragram Hits 200 Million Users — and 20 Billion Photos