As you’ve likely heard, Facebook opened the year with some big updates. They’re changing up the News Feed to put more emphasis on meaningful social interactions, and the change has left a lot of business owners wondering about the future of marketing on the social network.

Does a focus on meaningful social interactions mean organic reach for businesses will decline? Will relevant, valuable content that sparks conversations still be able to find its way to the top of the Facebook News Feed if it’s not from friends or family? Time will tell. But, in the meantime, one thing is clear: Instagram is on the rise.

On the recent Facebook Q4 2017 Earnings Call, the company’s quarterly update for investors, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg shared some powerful insights, and some stats, that clearly illustrate the rapid growth of Instagram and why now is the time to invest in building your presence there.

Instagram is growing fast for businesses

On the call, Sheryl Sandberg shared that, “As people and businesses shift to mobile, Instagram continues to grow quickly. There are more than 2 million active advertisers on Instagram, and we announced in November that more than 25 million businesses have profiles on Instagram—up from 15 million in July.”

Businesses are flocking to Instagram because they’re seeing success with it. But that’s not all. As millions of businesses get started with Instagram, the likelihood increases that your competition is there. If they are, you’ll want to be too. And if they aren’t, you’ll want to be there to stand out.

Customers are seeking you out

Just as it became clear a few years back that businesses need to have a presence on Facebook because their consumers expect it and are searching for them there, the same is becoming true of Instagram.

Sandberg reported, “About two-thirds of the visits to Instagram business profiles are from people who don’t follow them yet—and this is helping bring in new customers.”

Potential customers are seeking out businesses on Instagram. You’ll want to have a presence when they come looking for you—even if it’s just a handful of posts with a company description and link to your website in the bio.

You can seek out potential customers

Just like some potential customers may be seeking you out on Instagram, you can use targeted advertising to seek out potential customers as well. You can easily target just the right audience on Instagram using Facebook Ads Manager.

Sheryl Sandberg says, “Targeting makes advertising better – more relevant to people and more effective for businesses. This is especially important for small businesses as they have limited budgets and need to make every dollar count. Facebook gives small businesses the same powerful tools that were previously only available to large advertisers – so they can reach the right people at the right time.” Find out how in our blog post on reaching new customers with targeted ads.

Is your business on Instagram? How are you using it and what kind of results have you seen? Let us know in the comments. Oh, and follow us on Instagram!