Why is Instagram such an Awesome Social Networking Platform?

With so many social networking platforms available, what makes Instagram stand out? When Instagram first came on the scene, it looked like an app designed for kids, however as time went by we realized how powerful it really was. At the same time, very few people would have imagined it would have grown as big as it is today.

Currently, Instagram is the 6th most popular social media platform on the web. It is believed that approximately 1 billion users actively use their accounts each month. Considering there were only 100 million Instagram accounts in 2013, the platform has been extremely successful.

Lots of People Prefer Instagram instead of Facebook

When Facebook first began it seemed like it was a fantastic platform to keep in contact with your friends and family, post images of a night out, promote local events, etc. However, a lot of people fell out of love with Mark Zukerberg’s creation for lots of different reasons including the following:

  • Videos: When Facebook allowed members to post videos onto their walls people started to watch silly videos. People found themselves spending hours staring at these clips.
  • Selling information: Although a lot of social media platforms do this, Facebook has been known to sell its member’s private information to third parties.
  • Politics: In the first few years of Instagram it seemed like Facebook was a much friendlier place. Nowadays, there seem to be people constantly promoting their political views, conspiracy theories, and those who just complain about life in general. A lot of people find themselves feeling down after spending a short time on the platform.
  • Bullying: Although bullying happens on most social networking, it seems like most of it happens on Facebook. Some people who have experienced bullying online have taken their own lives.

A lot of people like to go on Instagram because it reminds them of the early days of social networking. People seem to post happier images, like pictures of their children or pets on the platform.

Instagram allows you to Enhance your Images

Although most social networking platforms allow users to enhance their photographs before posting them online, the features on Instagram are quite incredible. The platform helps you make a boring picture come alive. You can make a photograph taken with a mobile device look like a picture taken by a professional photographer in a matter of seconds. The editing tools are easy to use, and even those who are not computer savvy can easily improve a photograph.

To purchase a quality image editor you may have to pay top dollar. Instagram on the other hand is completely free.

Instagram users tend to Interact with the Platform more than others

A recent study showed that Instagram users are 58 times more likely to share an image or comment on another user’s post in comparison to Facebook. It’s hard to tell why users are more likely to engage with others on Instagram in comparison to other platforms. Perhaps people find the platform more secure or maybe it just has a friendlier atmosphere.

Although people like to comment on other users’ images, the private messaging feature is not as popular as Facebook’s messenger service. To this day, the majority of internet users use Facebook messenger, email, and Whatsapp to send private messengers to one another.

You can Increase the Number of Followers you have

Some people are obsessed with the number of followers they have on their Instagram account. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to get Instagram followers such as:

  • Post long captions: Before, Instagram was all about visuals. However, Instagram users want to know more about the person that is posting the image or video, or perhaps what the image is all about. Instagram has brought in a new keyword search into their platform. If some of these keywords are in your caption you can expect more people to come across your account. Most influencers try to write a caption with around 70 words.
  • Buy followers: Although this is not the best way to get followers it can work. There are private companies that will help you get a lot of new followers for a fee.
  • Promote your Instagram account on websites and other platforms: One of the best ways of increasing the number of followers you have is by promoting your account on popular websites, podcasts, web forums, chat rooms, and other social media platforms.
  • Post content that others will want to share: Posting authentic shareable content is one of the best ways to grow your following base. People can share this content by sending other Instagram users directly or by posting it on their Instagram stories.

With a billion frequent users on Instagram each month, there is a large audience out there to grow your following.

Instagram can be used to Find New Friends

Since the Pandemic began, people have been forced to stay indoors for a long time. Without the use of technology, most of us are unsure how we would have dealt with the situation. Social networking platforms like Instagram have allowed us to stay in contact with our friends and see what they are doing without having to meet them in person.

Due to boredom and loneliness, there has been a major increase in the number of people who have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. One of the main reasons for this is because people don’t meet their friends or family members, or make new friends. Instagram allows people who have never met in person before to communicate with each other. If you are constantly posting images of your favorite hobby, other like-minded people might find you on Instagram. You might even become good friends and start messaging each other.

Instagram Live and Instagram Stories

There are lots more features on Instagram nowadays. One of these features is Instagram Stories. From a young age, most of us enjoy reading fairy tales, while lots of older people love to read about celebrity gossip. Well, Instagram Stories allows users to post content on Instagram Stories which has become a very popular feature in recent years.

Streaming live has changed the way we use the internet. If you told people a couple of decades ago that you would be able to stream live on a social networking platform from your mobile device, very few would believe you. Nowadays, Instagram Live is a feature that is used frequently by users. The feature is part of Instagram Stories. People use it for personal reasons but those who use Instagram for business often use the feature to sell their products.

Conclusion

There have been some major changes to social media platforms in recent years. Many experts believe we are still in the stone age of technology, so we can only dream of what the future has in store for us and whether you like it or not, it seems that social networking platforms are here to stay for a long time.

It is predicted that social networking platforms like Instagram will implement more Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality into their platform but only time will tell. The developers of these platforms have money to burn and they are not afraid of change.