Instagram, the image-sharing social network that’s in the process of being acquired by Facebook for $1 billion, is getting active participation from 40 percent of the world’s top 100 brands, according to a new report this morning from Seattle-based social media analytics startup Simply Measured.

The report calls the engagement “very impressive,” given Instagram’s relative youth (less than 2 years old) and its niche (mobile-only and photo-centric).

“While nowhere close to Facebook’s 98-percent adoption rate or Twitter’s 94 percent, its growth has happened much more quickly. Instagram is expected to reach 100 million users by early fall; a benchmark that took Facebook four years to reach, and Twitter five years,” the report says.

Simply Measured released the report to coincide with the addition of Instagram analytics to its offerings. See the company’s site for the full version, including details on how the top brands are using Instagram, and the types of results they’re seeing.

Here are some of the other highlights from the study, via SimplyMeasured CEO Adam Schoenfeld.

  • Adoption has begun, but it’s still early — of brands with an active profile, just 35% have more than 20K followers and only 20% have cracked the 100K mark.
  • Lofi and X-Pro II are the most used filters by brands. In total, over 60% of photos utilized a filter — evidence that brands enjoy this feature too.
  • Luxury brands are leading the charge — Burberry, Tiffany & Co. Hermès, Gucci, and Armani are are leveraging Instagram’s visual format to drive engagement with their products.
  • MTV and Starbucks are the two biggest individual standouts in terms of reach — both are approaching 1M followers, post frequently, and average over 3,000 likes per photo. If we look at engagement as a % of followers, Nike and Audi were leaders.

 Previously on GeekWire: LaunchPads: Simply Measured turns former photo studio into HQ

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