Facebook-owned photo sharing app today announce that the community of businesses on Instagram has grown to 25 million -- up from 15 million in July.
Over 800 million users use Instagram each month to discover and follow their passions and over 80 per cent of accounts on Instagram follow a business.
“Two-thirds of profile visits to businesses come from people who aren’t following that business,” said Instagram in blog post.
One in three small businesses on Instagram said they built their business on Instagram, and for them the social platform has become a destination where businesses are not only discovered, but where business is done.
"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," said Joe Nullet, Vice President of Branding and Marketing, Man Outfitters, who has a presence on Instagram.
There are millions of advertisers -- from local businesses to community organisations -- who depend on Instagram to reach their audiences and grow their businesses.
The company has a protected ad system and does not sells personal information like your name, Facebook posts, email address, or phone number to anyone.
Seventy-five per cent of marketers chose Instagram as their most preferred channel for sharing image-based content, while Twitter and Facebook garnered brand approval ratings of 63 per cent and 56 per cent, respectively for the same, a report by digital technology agency Pulp Strategy Communications has said earlier.
Instagram has a community of 800 million users of which 500 million using it every day.