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Instagram doesn’t need any introduction. Almost every second person in the world would be using it or at some point must have used it. We all know the story behind how it started and the way it became the most favored social media application of current times. Today Instagram happens to have more than millions of users which is just going to keep on growing.
Taking inspiration from the success of these social media platforms today we have plenty of social media platforms be it regional or global.
Here are some quick Instagram statistics which will help you to better understand why Instagram is so famous:
- Instagram has active 2 billion monthly users
- Instagram is world’s third most used social media platform
- 66,000 photos are shared on Instagram every minute
Sources: Hootsuite
These statistics reflect how strong Instagram is as a social media platform and the impact it has in today’s world. These stats should be enough to convince you if you are thinking of developing an application like Instagram.
But, these answers also intrigues the question of what makes Instagram a number 1 social media platform even after decades of staying in the business. Let’s explore some of the points:
If you want to know more about the ways you can invest to make an app like Instagram, you can reach out to us. Our team of strong developers and designers can help you build an application which caters to your users’ needs.
Table of Content
- How to Make an App like Instagram
- Ways to Monetize your Instagram Clone App
- Marketing and Promotional Strategies
- Conclusion
Next up, let’s talk in detail about how to make an app like Instagram and make your mark in the social media market.
How to Make an App like Instagram
Conduct Market Research
In current times making a social media platform is quite difficult and it includes plenty of competition already with big companies included. So the question is how do you stand out from your competitors? It starts with carrying out thorough market research. The first step towards making your company stand out is to understand users’ and markets’ needs in depth. Having a clear understanding of this will help you to define how your business can help fulfill the current market needs.
Carry out Competitor’s Analysis
Studying your competitors will help you a lot to build better products than them. You can start by understanding your competitor’s business models, their revenue models, cost structure, etcThese things will help you to define the actual strengths and weaknesses of them, in turn helping you set up opportunities for yourself. Moreover, companies can also learn how to define the perfect solution while balancing their market and user needs. Below are some of your competitors in this industry. You can learn a little bit of pros and cons which in turn can help you define your business needs and guide towards how to make a social media app like Instagram.
| Application | USP & Features | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snapchat | Auto-disappearing shares, group story shares, augmented reality features, way more interactive with Bitmojis | Connecting with friends in real-time, good amount of filters, latest use of technology to help make the product better | Limited features compared to other social media platforms |
| Share and view images, diversification of topics, save, share, or repin | Limited features to interact with fellow friends on the platform itself, strong algorithm which provides personalized recommendations, | Limited features to interact with friends on the platform, the platform is not that interactive compared to competitors. | |
| Flickr | Photo sharing Ability to create photo albums in the cloud Professional photo editing tools Private sharing with close circle | Good filters provided Ability to connect with close friends easily | Can not upload or share videos. |
Next up, let’s talk about some of the common features you will have in order to make an app like instagram:
Common Features
This feature is essential in order to help connect users instantly with their friends and family. Having an instant messaging feature is important to help people connect with each other on the go.
Today stories have changed the way we all connect with each other. A feature inspired from Snapchat which helps plenty of people to stay connected with their loved ones and know what they are doing.
What is even a social media platform without these features? People should be able to share their photos with others and edit them according to their needs. Just a way of sharing a piece of their life with their loved ones.
A short video content is the new way of allowing people to connect with their friends and share details of their life. Since, now our attention span is also decreasing, however short video content is your way to go for your Instagram clone app.
Advance Features
Here’s your chance to stand out with these USPs as you wonder how to create an app like Instagram:
Except for Snapchat, none of the social media platforms has yet implemented augmented reality in their platforms. You can start by implementing this feature such that it makes the platform even more interactive and in turn retain users.
Enabling users to purchase from their favorite content creators on your Instagram clone app will help users to connect with businesses efficiently. Moreover, this feature can also help you in your monetization strategies as you are likely to earn commission based money, more on this later!
Leverage the power of the latest technology and work towards making your platform’s algorithm strong and efficient enough for your Instagram clone app. It will help to make better personalized recommendations which in turn can help you to better interact with your users on the platform.
UX Design
The way we all interact with digital products speaks a lot about how efficiently the product was designed. Design has a huge role to play in order to make your product successful among your users, it also ensures that it is reaching the right audience and helping you to retain them as well.
A good design always understands the needs of users and businesses while ensuring that each of their needs are fulfilled. While you create an app like instagram think about its interface and the experience it is trying to provide to its users.
You can either hire experienced UX designers for your Instagram clone app development who can help you to design products which fulfills your users’ needs and guides them to efficiently use the product. Another way to design better products is to outsource it to other Instagram app development companies like ours. They already have a team of experienced designers so you will not have to worry about ways to hire your team and invest plenty of money in it.
Choose Technology Stack
Instagram uses the latest technology stack in order to fulfill users’ demands and provide an overall great experience. Instagram uses the following technologies:
| Serverside | Python/Django |
|---|---|
| Front-end development | JavaScript and React.js |
| Mobile Application (Android and iOS) | React Native |
| Database | Postgresql |
| Cloud Computing | Amazon S3, Amazon EBS, Amazon EC2 |
When investing in instagram like app development it is essential to use the latest tech stack to handle users’ demand. These latest tech stack helps to handle the huge amount of data white simultaneously providing high performance to its users. You can use the same tech stack, hire developers and let them create or you can outsource the development too. Either way, this tech stack helps you to build an app like Instagram efficiently.
Development
Once you have features, designs, and tech-stack in place, your next step is to focus on development of the product. The major question while you create an app like Instagram is whether to make it:
- Mobile first
- Web later
- Mobile only
- Web first
Answering these questions will also help you to decide the tech stack and which team you need to hire and how many people. When working for Instagram like app development make sure you have a mix team of juniors and seniors so you can have perspective of fresh and experienced individuals. On the other hand, if you are not interested in handling the technical difficulty to create an app like Instagram and just want your final product, you can hire a team of experts by outsourcing to an Instagram app development company like ours. For over a decade now we have helped plenty of companies to stay ahead of their competitors and helped them to create qualitative products.
Deployment, Lauch, and Ongoing Support
The last phase of to build an app like Instagram is to test and launch your product. Once the application is launched your next step is to provide it with on-going support by introducing new features depending on users’ needs. It is essential to provide ongoing support by regularly releasing security patches and features which keep the platform secure and also helps you to retain your users.
Doing everything on your own might sound overwhelming but don’t worry you are not alone. We have an expert team of experienced people who can help you at each phase of development and ensure that you stay ahead of your competitors.
Ways to Monetize your Instagram Clone App
Next up, let's talk about ways you can monetize your Instagram like application and ensure that it matches users’ needs. There are plenty of ways you are monetize your application, below I have listed some of the common ways for you:
Generate Ads
Tried and tested methods by plenty of social media platforms which worked for them. This is one of the many ways to generate revenue for your business and ensure a stable steam of money. On top of this, you can also collaborate with various brands in order to run their ads and see if users click through it.
.User Data
Similar to many companies you can also earn a certain amount of money by selling users’ data and ensuring to the right company for the right set of marketing. You need to make sure to take approval from the users before doing this and the aim should strictly be to provide them with better experience in terms of recommendations.
eCommerce Purchase
Allowing people to purchase things on your platform helps you to earn certain commission on each purchase made. This makes a huge business for apps like Instagram. Imagine a number of people using Instagram and how much they would be purchasing from their favorite brands or content creators.
Marketing and Promotional Strategies
Reaching out to people and ensuring they have heard about your company and your social media platform will help you a lot in terms of marketing. But, with GenZ the marketing strategy also has to differ. You can not afford to go by the traditional way of marketing i.e. through papers and word of mouth. With the decrease in our attention span and serving billions of people you need to quickly capture the eyeballs. Below are some of the common ways you can ensure your product is reaching the right target audience.
SEO and Content Marketing
SEO and content marketing goes hand in hand in order to market your product. SEO will help you to reach the right target audience on various search engines platforms and content marketing will work as its sublet to ensure it is ranking. To begin with, you can hire expert digital and content experts who can help you to build and put the digital marketing plan in action. Some of the practices you can carry out are blogs, long form assets, running various organic and paid campaigns on search engines, etc.
Social Media Marketin
Do you know the account “Instagram” is the most followed account on Instagram itself. What does this have to say for social media ad campaigns? Bring yourself on your own platform and even of competitors in order to capture the right target audience and bring them on your platform. Create social media content and ad campaigns which connect with your target audience and can help you to convert them into your potential leads.
Email Marketing
The newsletter with the right subject line in the right inbox will help you to stay ahead of your email marketing game. People get thousands of emails everyday in their inbox, it is the intriguing and direct subject line which resonates with users and ensures that they open it. For example: I have always loved reading and would subscribe myself to various book clubs and its newsletter, but do I open them all? Probably not! But, I definitely open one newsletter everytime – Reese’s book club. The right headline with relevant content, and relatable links makes it useful. You can see how relevant the branding, content, and visuals of the newsletter are.
Influencer Marketing
Marketing without influencers doesn’t exist anymore and these influencers and content creators have quite a good amount of following. Leverage the power of their reach and connect with their audience. You can also invite them to use your platform which they can further share with their network.
Invite-only Marketing
Can you remember the COVID days when everyone was asking for clubhouse invites?
Credits: PaperandSpark
Credits: KoreaJoongDaily
With their invite-only method they changed the face of marketing i.e. by creating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) amongst people. This method of marketing worked for them. Maybe you can try to invest in working around something like this which helps you to reach your target audience and bring them on your platform.
Conclusion
Building an app like Instagram is a challenging yet rewarding endeavor. By focusing on user experience, incorporating essential features, and adopting a robust development process, you can create a social media platform that not only emulates Instagram's success but also brings a fresh perspective to visual storytelling.
Remember, while drawing inspiration from Instagram's model, the key to success lies in innovation and addressing the specific needs of your target audience. With dedication and a user-centric approach, you can create an app that not only rivals Instagram but also contributes to the evolution of social media in the digital age. Reach out to us and we can help you build a social media platform like Instagram.
