If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m kind of obsessed with Instagram. I am also one of the few who does not have a Facebook account or any other social media account that I am actively involved with, hence my obsession with Instagram. I was never really into social media, besides Instagram of course, so I always wondered what it was about Instagram that sucked me in.

Understanding how Instagram lured me and 200 million other members into its cyber world will also help you understand why this social media platform is largely preferred over others.

Below is a list of the top 4 reasons why Instagram has become one of the leading social media platforms.

Creativity

Before Instagram, most of the pictures that people posted on their social media sites were rather plain and boring. Instagram introduced a whole new concept to social media that encourages its users to display their creative side. Thus, the brilliance of Instagram is that it lets us snap a most ordinary photograph and instantly “art it up” – creativity at its finest. Utilizing the filters embedded in the app, photos are transformed by users into creative pieces of art. Inspiring creativity is what’s most important for Instagram developers and that is why they are constantly updating the platform with new features like “photo manipulation” which you can check out here. Features like “filters” and updates like “photo manipulation” continue to encourage creativity and regularly attract new users.

Social

Instagram, like other social media platforms, is a place where users socialize. However, the difference with Instagram, over other platforms, is that users can expect to acquire the social engagement they are looking for because Instagram users tend to be more active and more engaged than users on other social media sites. So what does this mean you ask? It means that Instagram users will like and comment on many more posts than they will on any other site, which is a major plus. After all, we join social media sites to socialize – that’s the point.

Simplicity

Part of the reason that I became interested in Instagram was its simplicity – no “tweets”, no “walls”, just pictures. Surprisingly enough, a great deal of its popularity is down to its simplicity – it’s that simple. Instagram makes it easy for users to upload and edit photos, view and share images, and interact with the Instagram community. Since the user interface on Instagram is not complicated, the learning curve is easily manageable for all users, which means that people with little technical or artistic ability are capable of figuring it out on their own. Pretty simple right?

Branding

Whether you realize it or not, social media is about branding. The social media sites that you engage in serve as a representation of the brand that you have created for yourself. Whether your brand is the “housewife and mother of 3”, the “student who aspires to be a nurse”, or the “party animal”, the world see’s your brand as you created it – the pictures you post, the tweets you make, and the photos you like. Instagram is a brand builder. The branding ability that Instagram provides its users with acts as a visual centerpiece that showcases how we want others to interpret our brand – social media optimization at its finest.

Click here to join the Instagram community and experience the wonder for yourself.