Instagram's monthly actives in India more than double over past year

Over 50 per cent of Indian Instagrammers have frequently purchased products and services from the brands they follow, reveals study by Nielsen

Rashi Bisaria | Delhi | November 19, 2015

In September 2015, Instagram opened its doors to advertisers and since then brands have taken to the medium to engage with customers and tell their stories.

Indians on Instagram are mostly young, mobile-first users with high spending power, according to an Instagram study that revealed insights for the first time about the community connected to one of the fastest growing social platforms, and what keeps them engaged.

Among the young and upcoming brands that have taken to Instagram are Grofers and Paper Boat, both of which wish to tell visual stories to engage consumers.

Saurabh Kumar, Founder of Grofers, said, “We wanted to use Instagram to tell a story. We started by showing our assortment on the platform and now we are using it as a marketing platform to induce purchases.”

Brands have started using Instagram to engage and are seeing substantial brand impact and conversion lifts.

Parvesh Debuka, Head, Marketing at Paper Boat, also started by experimenting with the medium. “We intended to explore the visual medium for interesting story telling. The thought was to bring alive the symbols of nostalgia, the idea was never to simply sell,” he said.

Kirthiga Reddy

Kirthiga Reddy, Managing Director, Facebook India was upbeat about how Facebook and Instagram were optimising the user experience. “People are increasingly moving towards mobile. These are two of the best mobile platforms in the world. Advertisers want to maximise both platforms,” she said.

Other highlights of the “Indians on Instagram” study conducted by Nielsen include:

Indians on Instagram are mobile-first with more than 80% using their phone to take pictures to post on social media

• 18 – 24 age group are the most active on Instagram
• Indian Instagrammers are avid travellers, 50% of whom have taken four vacations the past year.
• Over 50% of Indian Instagrammers have frequently purchased products and services from the brands they follow. They also follow brands to keep in touch with the latest products, learn about deals and shop for products online.
• Key interests include music, travel, food, photography, technology, fashion and sports.
• Indians use Instagram to
  • Express themselves artistically among like-minded people
  • Follow celebrity trends
  • Discover information and updates on new trends
  • Discover and share food and travel options
  • Connect with friends

This September, Instagram opened its platform to businesses of all sizes around the world and rolled out its suite of advertising solutions. Instagram's enhanced ad formats, targeting and buying options help advertisers drive the results they care about — from raising awareness to driving action. In India, advertisers on Instagram include P&G, Nestle, Paper Boat, Grofers, TrulyMadly Matchmakers, Sportskeeda and more.

“Instagram is the creative canvas for a young, passionate and mobile-first Indian community. People come to Instagram for visual inspiration and we are thrilled to offer solutions that create value for the Indian community and drive impactful business results for businesses of all sizes,” said Reddy.

People come to Facebook and Instagram for different reasons and advertisers would benefit by maximising the user experience on both platforms.

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