Instagram blocked in Turkey and a glance at Instagram with data -

Data reveal how Instagram matters to Turkey

Instagram blocked in Turkey, due to politically-motivated reasons, on 1^st August. Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK), Turkey’s internet and communications regulator, held a meeting with Instagram’s roof company Meta on 5^th August, but no deal has been reached.

In this article, I will focus on Instagram’s figures, based on the data by Gemius. The company measures the internet data using its own methodology, recognized by ESOMAR, an NGO representing global research industry headquartered in Amsterdam-Netherlands. (Here is an interview of mine about the influencer marketing book written in Turkish)

Instagram: the 4^th largest platform in Turkey

Instagram is the 4th largest platform in Turkey, according to GemiusAudience data. 50.6 million people visited Instagram per month, the data revealed. When we analyze the gender breakdown of Instagram, we see that the ratio of women to men is almost neck and neck. The age groups that use Instagram most are between the ages of 25-34 and 35-44.

**Instagram’s visitor numbers by age group and gender (Data: Gemius**)

Instagram: Turkey’s largest advertising platform

According to the Share of Voice (SOV) data, expressing Instagram media purchases, it ranks first with a share of 33%. In simpler terms, Instagram offers 1 of every 3 ads in Türkiye to users.

E-commerce leads the ads on Instagram

As for the categories that advertise the most on the Instagram, we see that e-commerce leads, followed by media, personal care and travel/tourism. Since Instagram is a visual-heavy platform, it is especially the first choice of advertising for the tourism/travel industry. When we look at the tourism industry’s total TV/digital advertising investments, we see that almost half of them come from Instagram. 1 out of every 2 advertisements posted by the tourism/travel industry is on Instagram.

Instagram: the first choice for SMEs

When we examine the brands that advertise on Instagram, we see that SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) are in the first place, 44 out of every 100 ads delivered to Instagram by a small business. The shares that Turkey’s giant companies receive from the ads are far behind SMEs.