In this post, we answer some of the most common and important questions about social media. Besides general social media FAQs, we’ll also tackle platform-specific questions with a focus on Instagram FAQs. Let’s get started.

General social media questions

1. How many people are on social media?

As of April 2020, a total of 3.81 billion people around the world use social media, putting the worldwide social media penetration rate at 49%.

Based on user count alone, Facebook continues to be the most popular social media platform. It had garnered 2.6 billion monthly active users by Q1 of 2020. The Sprout Social Index XV: Empower & Elevate also found that it’s the most popular platform for both marketers and consumers. Eighty-nine percent of marketers surveyed used the platform while 83% of consumers surveyed used it.

3. How long does the average person spend on social media per day?

In 2019, the average social media user spent around 1 hour and 15 minutes per day on social media. eMarketer predicts that this average will increase by 8.8% in 2020 due to social distancing and people spending more time indoors during the pandemic. So we can expect that social media users will spend around 1 hour and 22 minutes on average using social media every day.

4. What is the fastest growing social media platform?

While Instagram once held this coveted position, the platform’s growth has tapered off for a while. In fact, its US user growth rate dropped to 6.7% in 2019. Meanwhile, TikTok saw a 97.5% increase in its US user base. Granted, these numbers will decline as the hype dies down, projections still show that the platform will continue to see a double-digit growth rate in the coming years.

5. What’s the best time to post on social media?

The best time to post on social media depends on several factors. While your choice of platform and your industry both matter, your audience activity plays the biggest role. So ideally, you should look at your post performance to get valuable data about the perfect post timing for your business. You can also use our guide on the best time to post as a starting point before you find what works best for your business and industry.

6. How often should I post on social media?

Again, this largely depends on your audience. While you definitely should publish at least one post every day, you should see if posting more often will make any difference in your performance. Once you find a posting frequency that works for you, create a publishing calendar, and follow it consistently.

7. Which social media platform should I use to promote my business?

While the natural assumption is that you should be on all the popular platforms, this can be counterproductive if not executed with a strategy. Instead, focus on a couple of platforms that are highly popular among your target audience. So the best platforms to use will vary for each business. Check out our guide on how to choose the best social media channels for your business.

8. How do I get started with social media marketing?

There are a few things you need to begin marketing on social media – a goal, a target audience and a strategy. Find out what you want to achieve through social media marketing and what types of people you want to attract. Then create a social media strategy to streamline and organize your approach.

9. What kind of content should I post?

This also depends on your industry and what appeals to your target audience, although visuals typically take the cake on social media. Try out some of our social media post ideas and see which ones perform the best to find out what type of content your audience likes.

10. How can I get more followers on social media?

Growing your social media following involves a lot of planning and strategizing as well as posting the right content and targeting the right audience. Use our comprehensive guide on how to grow your social media audience to get started.

Instagram FAQs

11. What is the average age of Instagram users?

On average, most Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 34. Learn more Instagram demographic stats.

12. How many followers does the average Instagram user have?

Since the purpose of personal Instagram accounts is to connect with family and friends, the average Instagram personal account has about 150 followers.

13. What percentage of Instagram followers sees your post?

While Instagram hasn’t made anything official, many users have noticed that their posts reach only about 7% of their followers. This is mainly because the platform prioritizes posts from accounts you regularly interact with.

14. How many Instagram posts are there?

Since its inception, Instagram has seen over 50 billion photos uploaded on the platform. And there is an average of 100 million photos and videos uploaded every day.

15. Does Instagram sell your information?

While Instagram doesn’t sell your information, it shares analytics data about users’ activity and preferences with third-party partners such as advertisers and analytics services. In Instagram’s data policy, Instagram promises to never sell your information.

16. What information does Instagram collect?

Besides your device information, Instagram collects the content, communication and information you provide. This can include metadata about your content such as the location, for instance. It also collects information about how you use the platform as well as the people, accounts and hashtags you interact with. Read the full Instagram data policy to learn more on what information is collected.

17. Can you export Instagram followers?

Yes. While not in the Instagram app itself, there are several tools out there such as IGExport and Phantombuster that will let you export your Instagram followers into a .csv file.

18. Is there a way to download Instagram posts?

Instagram gives you an option to download a copy of all the posts you’ve shared on the platform. Find out how to do this through the Instagram Help Center. As for posts shared by other people, Instagram won’t let you download them directly but you can use third-party apps like DownloadGram and Ingramer for this. Keep in mind that recent changes in Instagram’s terms of use affects any image downloading, reposting and embedding that you may want to do.

19. How do you save someone else’s picture on Instagram?

Instagram lets you save someone else’s post so you can easily find it again later. For this, just click on the “Save” button at the bottom of the post and Instagram will add it to your collection. Note that this isn’t the same as downloading the photo or video. As mentioned in the previous answer, you’ll need to use third-party apps to actually download the photo or video to your device.

20. How can I see who saved my pictures on Instagram?

While Instagram doesn’t give you the option to see who’s saved your posts, Instagram Business Profiles can find out how many times a post has been saved. You can find this information under the Post Insights, but this only shows you the number of saves and not the details of people who’ve saved it to their collection.

21. How do you get pictures off of Instagram?

To remove pictures or videos you’ve posted on Instagram, tap on the options button above your post and then choose “Delete.” You’ll need to tap “Delete” again to confirm that you want to remove the post from Instagram.

22. How do you get your “Top Live” on Instagram?

Just as Instagram recommends posts based on your activity and the accounts you interact with the most, it used to give suggestions for live videos you might want to watch. You could access this “Top Live” section at the top of your “Explore” page before, but Instagram has since removed it.

23. How can I share live video replays?

Instagram gives you the option to share a replay of your live video to IGTV once the broadcast ends. Just choose “Share to IGTV” when you see the option at the bottom of your screen. You’ll also get the option to “Download Video” in case you want to save it to your camera roll or “Delete Video” if you don’t want to keep it.

24. How can I see who is live on Instagram?

When someone you follow goes live on Instagram, you’ll see their profile picture at the top of your Feed and it will have a colorful ring around it along with the word “Live.” Just tap on the profile picture to start watching their live video.

25. How can I see active users on Instagram?

Instagram lets you see the active status of only people you follow or have exchanged direct messages with. If they’re currently active, you’ll see a green dot next to their profile picture and username. Note that you won’t be able to see if users have turned off their activity status..

Bonus Question

Did we answer most of your social media questions? Let us know if you have any other pressing questions about social media or Instagram FAQs that you’d like us to answer. We understand that things change quickly and you need answers just as fast. Be sure to check out our social media stats to understand the landscape better across all social platforms.