This report analyzes Instagram's current position in the social media market. It finds that Instagram has over 1 billion active users, most of whom are millennials that use features like Instagram Stories. However, emerging apps like TikTok and Snapchat pose a threat. The report recommends that Instagram update Stories to engage more of its users and acquire new ones, especially given the market's preference for short videos. Conducting customer surveys and analyzing competitors would help Instagram create a viral and user-friendly Stories upgrade to maintain its strong position in a changing market.

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A Market Analysis for
Instagram
Julia Karolline Simoes Santos
Full Sail University
Project & Portfolio II: Business and Marketing
02/27/2020

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report provides an analysis and evaluation of future trends in social media for Instagram. The
analysis method is based on competitor evaluation, market trends, and number indicators. It
demonstrates the current state of Instagram based on the number of users and the interaction with
the applications of the app, such as Instagram Stories.
The report concludes that the current state of Instagram is well based on the ranking of the market,
compared with other social apps such as TikTok and Snapchat. At the end of the report, the
recommendations for Instagram are based on upgrades that can maintain the current advantage
position that the company holds in the market and reach more attention from new users.

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OBJECTIVE
This report has the objective to guide Instagram through a new feature update that can maintain
and expand the number of Instagram users. This new item should help Instagram compete against
emerging social media apps.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The information gathered in this report have mostly external sources, and it is balanced between
qualitative and quantitative information. The research was completed in February of 2020, and
most of the sources are as recent as 2019. The numerical information was the most difficult data
to be collected in external resources. Financial statements and specific numerical data could not
be found directly on Instagram.
RESEARCH AND KEY FINDINGS
Instagram is a social media software that is present both in smartphones and web versions.
Instagram is the social media application that features highlights of life and creates a special space
to meet new people. For young people that enjoy spending time doing what they love and enjoying
life. Enthusiastic people will experience the best in sharing, saving, and visualizing lifetime
experiences.

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Instagram has more than 1 billion active users, more than 500 million of them use it every day,
transforming this app in one of the most used in the world. (Oberlo, 2019). The market for social
media has grown exponentially in the last years, in 2019 one-in-three people in the world had
access to a type of social media, and a number around two-thirds of all the internet users. (Our
World in Data, 2019). Social
media numerics are based on
expert advice and decion of
bussines and how companies
control the digital Insdustry. (
Design Week). This proves that
the tendency of people using
social apps will become more
common and frequent. The main
user of Instagram is the younger
generation, also called “millennials”, that enjoy share personal parts of their life and go out with
friends. The gender that spends more time on Instagram is the Female, with the age range of 18 to

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24. Instagram stories are one of the main assets of Instagram that this target market use, mostly
because of the live update in videos. In 2018 the number of stories users reached more than 400
million. (mediakix, 2019). The main Competitor of Instagram Stories in the market now is
Snapchat, this social media is focused just on the broadcast of live life events and have more than
186 million users. (influencer MarketingHub, 2019). Snapchat is younger than Instagram in the
world of social media, being
one of the youngest ones in
the market. Instagram has
the strength of having
Facebook as a parent
company, giving more
credibility in the business
and internet market, and
with this, the company has a
chance to influence and
form partners externally.
The main problem
Instagram is facing now is the emerging of new social apps, such as TikTok; social media is
changing all the time and the market is always looking for new and different updates. (mediakix,
2019).

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CONCLUSIONS
Instagram main application of sharing pictures and videos is still the biggest highlight of the app.
However, the secondary applications, such as Instagram stories, should be carefully revised and
upgraded constantly. Instagram is doing a good job of retaining the users and acquiring new ones,
but because of the instability of the market and the constant creation of new social apps, any big
social media should maintain more attention to the products that they have. Instagram has millions
of users and this is growing every day, this means that some updates to the app can balance the
market and keep the interest of the target market always.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the research findings and conclusion, Instagram should
take advantage of the new social media apps that are emerging and
create a new update that can engage the users and acquire new ones.
Instagram stories have become of the main application of Instagram,
and other apps such as Snapchat and TikTok have proven the new
inclination of the market to consume short videos. In the case of
these three companies the target market has the same age, also
known as “millennials”, and this creates a very restrict market;
Instagram being to one with most users should use this advance in
favor when creating more content. Instagram main application of
sharing pictures and videos is still the biggest highlight of the app. However, the secondary
applications, such as Instagram stories, should be carefully revised and upgraded constantly.
Instagram is doing a good job of retaining the users and acquiring new ones, but because of the
instability of the market and the constant creation of new social apps, any big social media should

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maintain more attention to the products that they have. Instagram has millions of users and this is
growing every day, this means that some updates to the app can balance the market and keep the
interest of the target market always.
By December of 2020, Instagram should create an upgrade within the application of Instagram
Stories to increase the number of users that practice it daily increasing it to 80% of all the Instagram
users. Steps to reach this goal should include customer satisfaction surveys and an extremely
detailed analysis of the emerging competitors’ products. By doing so the chance of creating an
upgrade that is User-friendly not only increases but also can become viral.
Another important topic is to always update and maintain the quality of the new applications
without losing the Instagram guide of quality, otherwise, this can trigger bad reviews for the users.
This is a strategic recommendation based on the trending topics and apps in the instant, such
actions should happen within the time frame.

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REFERENCES
Mohin, M. (November 29, 2019). 10 Instagram Stats Every Marketer Should Know in 2020.
Oberlo. Retrieved from https://www.oberlo.com/blog/instagram-stats-every-marketer-
should-know.
Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban. (September 18, 2019). The rise of Social Media. Our World in Data.
Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media.
How Many People Use Instagram Stories?. (January 18, 2019). MediaKix. Retrieved from
https://mediakix.com/blog/how-many-people-use-instagram-stories/
Snapchat Statistics and Revenue. (April 30, 2019). Influencer MarketingHub. Retrieved from
https://influencermarketinghub.com/snapchat-statistics-revenue/.
10 Top Tiktok Trends In 2019. (September 17, 2019). MediaKix. Retrieved from
https://mediakix.com/blog/tik-tok-trends/
Social media is all about what users do not say. (June 6, 2011). Design Week. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=e782b86e-
28d1-4541-93f1-288dac01192d%40sdc-v-
sessmgr03&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=79582258&db=8gh.
APPENDICES
TikTok Vs. Instagram Vs. Snapchat. (09/27/2019). Retrieved February 29, 2020, from
https://mediakix.com/blog/tik-tok-trends/.
Instagram Stories User Growth. (01/18/2019). Retrieved February 29, 2020, from
https://mediakix.com/blog/how-many-people-use-instagram-stories/.
Young Internet Users are Instagram’s Main Demographic. (n.d.). Retrieved February 29, 2020,
from https://keywordtool.io/blog/instagram-likes/

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Instagram Logo. (n.d.) Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://instagram-engineering.com.
Instagram Stories. (March 3, 2017). Retrieved February 29, 2020, from
https://robertkatai.com/promote-instagram-stories/.