While publishers are increasing their presence on Instagram, many continue to hold off, missing out on a huge opportunity to drive connections with consumers, as publishers on the platform increased their engagement rate by 133 percent, according to a report from Sharablee.

Instagram has become vital in reaching consumers, and it seems to offer publishers a greater advantage compared to other brands, but many of these companies are failing to get on board with only 41 percent creating profiles. Publishing brands are growing more in the mobile and social media realm, with greater engagement across all platforms growing significantly compared to other non-media brands.

"Using Instagram to connect with consumers needs to start with a very clear strategy and objective, i.e., do you as a publisher want to use Instagram to connect to new viewers with teasers," said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis. "If so, note there are many ways to build a strategic thought process to utilize any social media tool, this is just one example, the profile page needs to be set up properly first with an engaging image, preferably a photo of a person. 

"The bio needs to be constructed to engage and entice followers to want to add you to their account, and the link should be connected to a dedicated landing page that will call out the latest post, constantly changing and staying updated to always reflect the other," she said. "Once this is in place, then start following others, and tweak as results show positive or negative.  

"Always changing the landing page to reflect the image posted will drive more interest from followers and keep the social profile relevant. The landing page can then give news on the item of the hour or however often the feed is updated, more often is better."

Instagram importance
The photo-sharing platform saw the most growth in engagement for publishing brands compared to 2014, but only a small percentage are leveraging this connection potential. It is imperative that these brands use Instagram, or risk being left behind.



Media and publishing brands are seeing more engagement throughout all social platforms compared to traditional companies. Media companies see 2.6 million actions on Facebook per brand compared to 1.2 million actions for the average brand.

Mobile is still proving to be a significant factor within social channels and growing, as it is most effective in capturing consumers and many users access these platforms for this reason. Social actions for publishing brand videos increased 255 percent since last year, with a combined 746 million actions all together. 



The increased engagement for video is mostly seen through Instagram, with rates growing 622 percent on the platform compared to last year. Facebook saw an increase of 168 percent in video actions, and Twitter saw 154 percent, with entertainment content being the most popular.

Social media growth
Consumers engaged with brands through social media a total of 40 billion times in the first half 2015 including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. Overall engagement with brands on social media is on a steady path upwards, with a growth of 52 percent since 2014.

The average publisher brand saw 1.6 million followers on Facebook, 458,000 on Twitter and 395,000 on Instagram. These brands are also producing significant amounts of content through Facebook and Twitter, but lacking on Instagram with an average of 1,182 content for each brand on Facebook, 2,529 on Twitter and only 318 on Instagram.

While publishers are increasing their presence on Instagram, many continue to hold off, missing out on a huge opportunity to drive connection to consumers, as the platform increased 133 percent in engagement rates. 

Instagram has become vital in reaching consumers, and it seems to offer publishers a greater advantage compared to other brands, but many of these companies are failing to get on board with only 41 percent creating profiles. Publishing brands are growing more into the mobile and social media realm, with greater engagement across all platforms growing significantly compared to other non-media brands.

Instagram importance
The photo-sharing platform saw the most growth in engagement for publishing brands compared to 2014, but only a small percentage are leveraging this connection potential. It is imperative that these brands use Instagram, or risk being left behind.

Media and publishing brands are seeing more engagement throughout all social platforms compared to traditional companies. Media companies see 2.6 million actions on Facebook per brand compared to 1.2 million actions for the average brand.

Mobile is still proving to be a significant factor within social channels and growing, as it is most effective in capturing consumers and many users access these platforms for this reason. Social actions for publishing brand videos increased 255 percent since last year, with a combined 746 million actions all together. 

The increased engagement for video is mostly seen through Instagram, with rates growing 622 percent on the platform compared to last year. Facebook saw an increase of 168 percent in video actions, and Twitter saw 154 percent, with entertainment content being the most popular.

Social media growth
Consumers engaged with brands through social media a total of 40 billion times in the first half 2015 including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. Overall engagement with brands on social media is on a steady path upwards, with a growth of 52 percent since 2014.

The average publisher brand saw 1.6 million followers on Facebook, 458,000 on Twitter and 395,000 on Instagram. These brands are also producing significant amounts of content through Facebook and Twitter, but lacking on Instagram with an average of 1,182 content for each brand on Facebook, 2,529 on Twitter and only 318 on Instagram.

"With 300 million active users, Instagram is a 'must' for brands to engage," Ms. Troutman said. "Brands should always represent where their consumers are present. 

"Social media in this digital age is mission critical for brands," she said. "Social media is the new billboard for all facets of marketing and advertising and if ignored will be to the detriment of the brands longevity in the future."

Final take
Brielle Jaekel editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer