Instagram and Facebook lose popularity

Not so long ago Instagram was the main Russian social network. This spring, Instagram and Facebook, which was also very much loved by the Russian audience, were blocked on the territory of Russia. Now we can see major shifts in the number of users of these networks.

In winter 2022, Instagram's average daily coverage in Russia was nearly 39 million people. By early summer, it was visited by only 11.7 million people. This data also includes sessions of less than five minutes. Many users enter the app but are disappointed because nothing happens due to the blocking and they immediately close it. As a result of blockage Instagram lost most of the less engaged audience. Microbloggers suffered more than prominent influencers.

Facebook is also rapidly losing audiences. After the official suspension of Facebook its coverage fell from 6.7 million users per day to 2.2 million in May.

Now the audience is divided between different platforms. Some users stayed on Instagram and Facebook, others moved to VK and Telegram. Over the past few months, the appeal of Telegram and VK as advertising platforms has increased several times, reaching record values.

Those who promoted the business on Instagram had to reorient to other social media. For large or medium-sized businesses, investing in an illegal social network is risky now. It is best to work in Instagram with the remaining users and simultaneously develop your groups in other social networks. Encourage your audience to subscribe to other social networks so that in case of negative developments, you will leave Instagram with minimal losses.

Read more in our State of Market report

State of Market 2022