Instagram: Gaining Traction
8.1 million monthly active users (June 2015)
Instagram’s user base nearly doubled from 2014 to 2015, going from 4 million users to 8.1 million. As a relative newcomer, the photo-sharing social network shows strong growth in Japan. The bulk of the current user base for Instagram in Japan are female. Women aged 18-40 account for over 55% of its total users in Japan.
The rise of Instagram comes with the proliferation of smartphones and high-speed mobile connections in Japan. As young people are more likely to use smartphones, Instagram’s demographics skew young to reflect that.
Influencers and celebrities are among some of the most popular accounts on Instagram for Japanese users. In fact, some Japanese celebrities like @_megbaby_ have gotten famous solely from their Instagram accounts.
However, hashtag usage isn’t widespread among female Instagram users in Japan, so brands have to rely on tapping into existing large followings of their own or others to increase engagement. Instagram’s link to Facebook is also important to leverage.