Seeing social media stars
Instagram has made the biggest impact of any social media platform this year, according to L2. At the start of 2012, the photo-sharing website had 15 million users. Then 9 April happened, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion, and just four days following the acquisition, Instagram’s user-base hit 40 million. In August, that number doubled to more than 80 million, says the research firm.
Despite its ubiquity, Instagram has retained its cool, securing partnerships with retailers such as H&M and Tiffany & Co, as well as media voices as diverse as Time and The Sartorialist, L2 points out. “Visually-focused brands like Bergdorf Goodman, Burberry, MTV and Four Seasons continue to flock to Instagram’s platform en masse, eager to display their content and to encourage fans to do the same.”
And Pinterest? In its first 16 months of life, from March 2011 to this July, Pinterest saw users increase from 1 million to 20 million, and in the past year, L2 research shows more magazines have joined the digital pinboard than any other social network.
“As long as the site continues to improve its design – as it did dramatically in March – and makes strides to broaden its base, there is little doubt Pinterest will remain a social media star,” says L2.
Tumblr started the year with 15 billion monthly page views and, by mid-July, that number had grown to 17 billion, with 71 million unique posts per day.
“Perhaps even more notable than Tumblr’s user growth was its announcement in April that it would allow paid advertising campaigns on its properties for the first time.” L2 says. “With this new approach came strict guidelines: a minimum $25,000 commitment from brands – to compare, Twitter charges a minimum of $15,000 – and only those whose ads integrate with the platform in an unobtrusive, native way.”
