Business communities on Instagram up by 10 million since July

As popularity is on the rise for video and photo sharing app, Instagram, the company reported a 10 million surge in its business community since July this year.

While Instagram as a social media has gained widespread recognition, the company, in its blog post, wrote that the community of businesses has grown to 25 million, as against 15 million in July.

With 800 million using Instagram each month to discover and follow their passions, more and more people are using it to connect with businesses they love. In fact, over 80 percent of accounts on Instagram follow a business, while 200 million Instagrammers actively visit the profile of a business every day, the blog noted.

Businesses from all over are turning to Instagram as a one-stop visual shop, given its image-first, look and feel. Through the visual content they share, businesses are making valuable connections and sparking conversations with people like never before.

One such example is that of AMAZARA (@amazara.id), a shoe retailer. Based in Indonesia, AMAZARA uses Instagram as its primary channel for engaging with customers. Through their posts, Instagram Stories and Direct, the brand has been able to grow its business to over 70 employees in just two years.

"Customers who follow business accounts for quality content can now easily be guided to products without disrupting their natural browsing habits, and even those with little interest in promotions can't help but take notice. Everything customers need to find their product is right there with shopping on Instagram," said Joe Nullet, VP of Branding and Marketing, Man Outfitters, a US-based retailer.

Therefore, Instagram is no longer considered just a stop along the mobile journey. With one in three small businesses on Instagram saying they built their business on the platform, Instagram is transforming into a destination where businesses are not only discovered, but are scaling onto greater heights.