In 2012, Instagram had 35 million users and zero revenue. Then Facebook (Meta since 2022) acquired Instagram for a staggering $1 billion. Their smart growth strategy grew their user base to over 100 billion users only ten months later.
The Growth Hack
What is the secret to Facebook’s rapid growth of Instagram?
Facebook cross-promoted Instagram to its users to encourage them to use it. That’s an incredible hack that’s only possible when you already have a huge user base from another source.
Cross promotion is not new, and many companies have been using cross-promotion as a growth hack to grow at a fast rate. If you find this growth method suitable for your company, check out tools like Madneto that allow you to discover potential brand partners and cross-promote with other brands.
The Results
By 2018, 6 years after the purchase by Facebook, Instagram reached over a billion active users!
