How Instagram has evolved over time
We all know that the most popular social network has gone through many changes over the years. For example, do you remember the first logo? Old but gold. We’ll take a look at the evolution of the platform and the fundamental changes that have driven its success.
So, how did Instagram come about?
After completing his studies at Stanford, Kevin Systrom got a job at Google as an associate marketing product manager. Kevin started Instagram as a side project while becoming a master of programming. Mike Krieger was also a student at Stanford, where he focused on symbolic systems. This is where the two met, and after a lot of work, experimentation, months of development and testing, Instagram was born.
Kevin Systrom
Mike Krieger
But what were the most important moments in the platform’s history? Let’s go through them next.
- Instagram launches on October 6, 2010. By December, the platform attracts 1 million users. As an interesting curiosity, among the first images on the platform is a picture of Kevin’s pet.
View this post on Instagram
- In March 2011, Instagram introduced the classic logo of the app.
- September 2011: Instagram reaches an impressive 10 million users.
- April 2012: Facebook acquires Instagram, which has been made available for Android smartphones. Mark Zuckerberg offered to buy Instagram in April 2012 for $1 billion in cash and stock, saying he would run the company independently after the deal closed. Since this sale, Instagram has expanded more and more, beyond simply sharing images.
- June 2013: The fun begins! Instagram launches videos.
- December 2013: Instagram introduces chat. We wonder, how did it exist without conversations until then?
- April 2014: Instagram launches a business profile as a result of the popularity of sponsored posts.
- December 2014: 300 million people use Instagram every month.
- August 2015: Instagram expands photo formats.
- September 2015: Hello, Boomerang!
- March 2016: Your feed lets you see the posts you’re interested in first.
- May 2016: Instagram gets a new look.
- August 2016: Stories launches. We can ask ourselves the same question: how did we survive without them until then?
- November 2016: Instagram introduces Live.
- March 2017: Stories gets an update – location tags and hashtags can be added.
- May 2017: The effects of AR appear.
- June 2018: IGTV and music in Stories are launched. One billion people use Instagram every month.
- August 2018: Adding links to Instagram Stories now becomes possible.
- March 2019: Shopping on Instagram appears.
- December 2019: Instagram announces new anti-harassment tools and takes action to combat harassment on the app.
- January 2020: Instagram business profiles now have access to a separate inbox. Businesses can now sort direct messages into low and high priority inboxes to make communication more effective.
- August 2020: Only now are the Beloved Reels appearing a lot. Thanks to Tiktok for the idea!
- November 2020: Shopping has never been easier! Instagram ads now allow users to see product descriptions, prices, and even make purchases through tags.
In this context, it is not an exaggeration to say that Instagram is a center of social commerce, with the app generating $20 billion in ad revenue in the year 2019. According to a survey of 3,500 marketers, influencers and consumers in the UK, US and Germany, Instagram is the second favorite channel of marketers for collaborations. Of these, 55% preferred Instagram, 58% YouTube, 35% TikTok and 29% TV advertising. Also, many marketers consider Instagram to be the best marketing channel for ROI in influencer campaigns.
So, Instagram shows no signs of slowing down, becoming an increasingly better and more creative tool by the day. What do you think about Instagram? Is this a must-have tool for marketers?
For a detailed evolution, you can watch the video:
