Social network marketing has reached a saturation point, with 88.2% of US companies using at least one of the major platforms this year. But that doesn’t mean growth is stagnating for all social venues, according to a new eMarketer forecast. In particular, marketers are rapidly embracing Instagram (included in the forecast for the first time), signaling that they are intent on diversifying their social media marketing beyond the more established platforms.
In 2015, 32.3% of US companies with 100 employees or more will use Instagram for marketing activities. That number will jump to 48.8% in 2016. By 2017, 70.7% of US companies will use Instagram for marketing, edging out Twitter for the first time.
“Now that Instagram is opening up advertising to all businesses, it’s not surprising that marketer usage will grow rapidly,” said eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “Its close ties to Facebook are a key advantage.”
As Instagram attracts marketers new to the platform, marketer usage of Twitter is plateauing. The number of US companies using Twitter for marketing purposes will continue to grow, but penetration will increase by just 1.4 percentage points between 2015 and 2017.
Facebook, a mature platform within the social space, is similarly saturated among marketers. In 2015, 84.7% of US companies with 100 employees or more will use Facebook for marketing activities, rising to 85.3% in 2016 and 85.8% in 2017.
eMarketer's forecasts and estimates are based on an analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from research firms, government agencies, media firms and public companies, plus interviews with top executives at publishers, ad buyers and agencies. Data is weighted based on methodology and soundness. Each eMarketer forecast fits within the larger matrix of all its forecasts, with the same assumptions and general framework used to project figures in a wide variety of areas. Regular reevaluation of available data means the forecasts reflect the latest business developments, technology trends and economic changes.