Highlights from Instagram’s 2018 Year In Review For Social Media Marketers

Following its launch in 2010, Instagram benefitted from an impressive growth trajectory; surpassing many of its competing social media platforms. In 2012, Instagram was bought by Facebook, a move that validated the potential of the revolutionary photo-sharing application.

Today, Instagram is the leading contributor to social media devotion, hashtags, filters, and consumer connectivity to cultural icons. Instagram's 2017 Year in Review illustrates, with user data, demand, and growth charts, it's most significant trends in the past year.

Let's look at some of the different highlights and what these trends could suggest for 2018.

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Most Popular Celebrity Accounts

When it comes to account popularity and Instagram followers, celebrities dominate the field. Aside from the original Instagram account – composed of gorgeous photos and continually attracting user interest – star actors/actresses, athletes, and other famous titles are unequivocally the most popular accounts on the platform.

In December 2017, Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) defended her "top celebrity" title from 2016, with 130+ million followers. While her name recognition and fan base match many other celebrities, when it comes to Instagram, she is doing everything right.

Selena posts content to her profile regularly, except for the occasional hiatus (which works to her advantage, as it momentarily starves her followers of content).

Gomez, regarding her art, also uses Instagram as a promotional and communicative platform by sharing album launches, film releases, or noteworthy events. Selena's account was also the celebrity account with the 2nd highest jump in new followers (30+ million new followers).

The celebrity account that witnessed an exponential spike in new followers belongs to Real Madrid soccer phenom, Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano), who is also the 2nd most-followed celebrity account overall.

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Most Popular Content

Instagram also reported the most popular content of 2017, both posts and Stories. This year, performing artist Beyoncé (@beyonce) claimed the top spot for the most-liked post with the February announcement that she was expecting twins later in the year. As of December 2017, this post has collected 11+ million "likes."

As for most-liked videos, Cristiano Ronaldo has amassed 4+ million "likes" and 20+ million views on a clip of him driving around in his Bugatti Chiron. And finally, LeLe Pons (@lelepons) has collected the most Stories views in 2017 so far.

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Most Popular Hashtags

While celebrity content might not reveal much to marketers looking to enhance their Instagram efforts, the hashtag phenomenon can be channeled to make significant improvements in brand awareness and consumer attention.

In 2017, Instagram reports that the top hashtag used was #love, followed by #fashion and #photooftheday. The problem with the "top hashtag" category is that these hashtags place high on the list almost every year.

Perhaps a better way to assess hashtag trends is by looking at which hashtags have seen the biggest jumps in usage. Such hashtags included #photography, #travelphotography, #memes, #summer2017, and #naturephotography in 2017.

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Most Popular Filters

Instagram's 2017 Year in Review also addressed the filter-trend, with Clarendon the most purposed, followed by Gingham, Juno, Lark, and Moon. Though not quite as crucial as hashtags to a company's social media platform, aesthetic variety and flexibility can help match a company's taste with their media content.

For example, the Clarendon filter can sharpen an image and intensify color contrast, and it's immensely attractive to advertisers and consumers.

While a filter favorite, Clarendon might not be the right medium between your posted content and overarching brand aesthetic. Similarly, the mass gravitation to a standard filter offers an opportunity for businesses to channel a different vibe that separates their account from fellow marketers and competitors.

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Most Popular Locations

Finally, Instagram identified the most popular locations of 2017; starting with cities, this year saw a very eclectic mix. While they fall in the top 10 metropolitan cities, New York, New York was most popular, followed by Moscow, Russia, and London.

As for most popular locations, 7 of the top 10 were US-based. Leading the pack was Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, with Times Square, New York City, and Central Park, New York City trailing.

These are just a few of the highlights from Instagram's 2017 Year in Review report, and you can read the full report here.

If you're a social media marketer for your business, acknowledging user trends and being cognizant of celebrity/influencer marketing can be extremely helpful when creating an Instagram presence.