Over the last year, I’ve become very attached to using Instagram. Although I’ve had little training in photography, I consider myself an amateur photographer (or fauxtographer, as defined on Urban Dictionary). I don’t have a fancy camera, but I’ve been doing what I can to get pretty handy with my iPhone.

I started using Instagram last year in preparation for my family’s trip to London last fall because it’s easy to share pictures on Twitter and Facebook with just a few extra taps. When you’re relying on spotty wifi, the more you can automate your social media, the better. Once I started using the app, I was hooked.

Because I didn’t start using Instagram until after Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, I don’t have a lot of experience with the “early days” of Instagram. But from what I hear, there was very little advertising and spam on the app (other than #HashtagAbuse). As with any social network that rapidly gains popularity, savvy marketers will develop strategies to get their companies in front of as many eyes as possible. For businesses who have visually-appealing products, Instagram can be just as effective as Pinterest for driving traffic to your website.

InstaZebra.com created this infographic that gives great information on why it’s important to consider Instagram in your social media strategy. With 150 million monthly users, a clever Instagram strategy could build your audience in a meaningful way. Forget about the “hipster” stereotype of Instagram, and read these statistics:

Disclosure: I received compensation to share this infographic on behalf of InstaZebra. All other opinions on Instagram and social media marketing are my own.

Want to connect with me on Instagram? Find me here.