Twitter is a social network that is more easily associated with information consumption, like Facebook. However, according to Reuters, Instagram is also becoming an important source of information for a good percentage of users.
A study, carried out by the news agency, indicates that 11% of respondents, coming from 12 countries, responded to resort to Instagram to read news. Only another 1% said they would do the same with Twitter.
The percentage of Instagram almost doubled, compared to the numbers registered in 2018, while Twitter grew only 1% in the last two years. The percentage affecting Twitter has fluctuated between 9% and 12% since 2014, while that same year, only 2% of users said they consumed information on Instagram.
The Reuters Digital News Report also indicates that the young audience that most uses Instagram for this purpose. In a period when users searched more for information related to the new coronavirus, the study found that, in April, 12% of American adults used Instagram to consume information on the topic, while the percentage more than doubled ( 26%), in the segment aged between 18 and 24.
As far as information is concerned, text will continue to be the most consumed digital format, but younger generations tend to prefer the audiovisual content that abounds on Instagram. If this "migration" continues, the phenomenon could transform the investment strategy of advertisers who aim to impact the younger audience with their products. However, it is also important to underline that the information includes the creation of more sensitive content, so the association of a brand with a more divisive theme can also harm it. To date, advertising on the platform has been relatively safe, since it has been geared towards enhancing lifestyle pages, but with news consumption increasing on the platform, this may change.
In Portugal, the percentage of users who use Instagram to consume news is already higher than they do the same with Twitter. However, both platforms are still below Messenger, WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook. In the national case, however, this may be due to a difference in the number of local users on one network and another.
