Instagram doesn’t always grab headlines (though when it does, it’s typically a head turner), but as this app “matures”, it’s becoming a very interesting one to watch.

For example, some people overlook the fact that Instagram is more than an app, it’s a social network all on its own.

As such, some of the numbers are really getting interesting compared to more established networks, like, say, Twitter? Take a look.

Two Charts, Two Trends
As I pointed out in a recent post, growth percentages don’t always tell the story we’d like them too: especially YOY for counts that don’t start over at the end of the year. Instead, it’s good to compare total increases.

I did a little comparison and found how many resorts in a given month snagged more new Instagram followers than they did Twitter followers. So, no matter what the growth percentage, if a resort got 200 new followers on Twitter in January and 210 new followers on Instagram, they’d be in this group.

What’s interesting is that after a weird month on December, of the resorts using both networks, over 51% of them got MORE followers that month on Instagram than they did on Twitter. That may make sense for a brand new network, but notice that the trend is upward on the chart above.

Now take a look at how many of these resorts have more TOTAL followers on Instagram than on Twitter.

Think about that. At the current rate, resorts could average more Instagram followers than Twitter followers as soon as this fall. Not only that, but remember that Instgram follower counts are currently growing almost 6x faster than Twitter follower counts.

No matter how you slice it, it’s hard to ignore Instagram.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.