Facebook is now used by a quarter of all South Africans, while photo-sharing app Instagram — owned by Facebook — has seen the fastest growth of any social network in South Africa over the past year.

This is according to a new study by World Wide Worx and Fuseware on the South African social media landscape.

The study is based on access to consumer data from seven major social networks and a corporate survey conducted among more than 100 of leading brands, the researchers said.

The survey found that 13m South Africans are now on Facebook, with 10m of those, or 77%, using it on mobile devices. Smartphones are used by 7,9m South Africans to access Facebook, while 1,6m are using basic feature phones to do so. Tablets are being used to access Facebook by 1,4m people — many of whom are also using it on their phones.

The big surprise in the survey results came from Instagram, which has more than doubled its user numbers in South Africa, from 1,1m in 2014 to 2,7m in 2015 — growth of 133% compared to an already high 65% growth the year before.

“The biggest Instagram followings are claimed by media personalities, who post photos that give fans a glimpse into both their private and public lives,” the researchers said.

“Minnie Dlamini leads with 517 000 followers and Bonang Matheba is close behind with 512 000. Among those who are not focused on posting images of themselves, professional photographers lead Instagram. Gareth Pon is the leading South African photographer on Instagram, with 246 000 followers, ahead of Gareth Howes, who has built up a 195 000 following.”

Instagram also shows the highest planned use by major brands for social networks not currently in use, with 24% saying they plan to do so in the coming year. At present, 42% of major brands are using it, with Mr Price and Mercedes-Benz having been the most successful with individual images, the research team said. — © 2015 NewsCentral Media