Instagram API v1: Power of Social Media Integration

Instagram, with its huge audience with over 2 billion active users monthly, takes a significant position in top sources of essential social media data valuable for brands. This became a reason for different tools, like Instagram API v1, to be created. At this point, businesses can gain insights from the platform’s data to enhance their marketing plans for better results. 

‍Instagram API v1 could grant access to user profiles, simplify media management, and provide a wide spectrum of data analytics. Here, we will recall all the pros and cons of this historic tool, consider the use cases, and provide you with available today API solutions with the comprehensive toolkit.

Why Brands Chose to Get API Instagram v1 and Why Modern Options Emerged 

Many companies have been receiving a lot of value from the decision to get API Instagram v1 for a long time now. Still, the first version of the API for Instagram was discontinued, and more viable solutions have appeared. However, it will be pertinent to have a look at the entire list of pros and cons related to the usage of Instagram API v1:

Benefits:

• Deep audience insights: Utilizing Instagram v1 API, brands could have metrics like follower’s demographic, interests, and many more. It was especially important in order to deliver relevant content and adapt the marketing plans.
• Key performance indicators track: It was possible for developers and marketing analysts to monitor such metrics as reach, post engagement, follower interactions, and others. These metrics were used to assess the effectiveness of the brand campaigns and make strategic decisions that would strengthen the brand’s social media presence.
• Content engagement: Companies might have worked on more strategic and effectively planned content strategies, with the provided major performance indicators of content include likes, comments, and shares.
• Historical Data Access: Furthermore, brands could use the data to provide long-term trend analyses and comparisons across time, which enabled them to plan campaigns in the future.

Drawbacks:

• API rate limitations: Instagram API v1 limited API calls for the application, so it was not efficient for gaining and evaluating large amounts of data in a short time. This impacted on the frequency and richness of the conclusions.
• Authentication errors: Sometimes people face problems which involve accessing the API. Solving these concerns led to time wastage and disruption of the time taken to gather data.
• Limited functionality for business accounts: Although the Instagram API v1 had implemented more services than the newer versions, it outperformed as far as the platform’s business analytics and information was concerned. This made it unsuitable, particularly for the big companies that have complex needs.

The Instagram API v1 was deprecated and closed on March 31, 2020, due to privacy and security issues. After that, the platform came up with a more advanced tool Instagram Graph API, which provides more comprehensive access to public data. However, you may also consider other APIs with a diverse list of professional features, like Data365.co. Established in 2018, our product offers:

• A quick load of huge amounts of information due to horizontal auto-scaling technology deployed in our API.
• Up-to-date and real-time information about users so you can conduct your marketing strategy based on precise metrics for better results. 
• A simplified interface for you to collect data from four different social media platforms in one place without worrying about format.

Third-Party APIs and Instagram API v1: Example of Data Use

For you to better estimate all the benefits of using an API for businesses, we have given some third-party APIs like Data365.co and Instagram API v1 examples of use.

Use Case 1

Background: A chain of local restaurants, CityEats, wants to understand which types of food content are most popular among Instagram users in order to increase its visibility and attract new customers.

Application: If CityEats would decide to use an API, they could measure likes, comments, and hashtags to analyze user interactions with food-related posts. The API would provide data on user profiles and their engagement with similar restaurants and food trends, so the brand would be able to plan its content more accurately.

Outcome: Thanks to this strategy, the restaurant can upgrade its online presence, improve social media content engagement, and increase foot traffic to its locations.

Use Case 2

Background: InfluElevate, an influencer marketing company, aims to enhance its campaign effectiveness by gaining deeper insights into influencer performance and audience engagement across social media platforms.

Application: For example, InfluElevate can use the API to access comprehensive data on influencer metrics, including audience demographics, engagement rates, and historical performance. The API would allow InfluElevate to analyze KPI across multiple social media channels to get a precise view of each influencer’s impact.

Outcome: InfluElevate could target specific audience segments with their ads and optimize the influencer selection process. This strategy would allow them to increase the ROI and provide better influencer partnerships. Therefore, InfluElevate’s clients would earn better marketing results and more brand visibility.

Use Case 3

Background: TrendyFashions needs to measure the performance of their Instagram marketing strategy to get the most out of their spending. 

Application: TrendyFashions would be able to track KPIs such as post engagement, reach, and follower growth if they use the API. They could see how their ads are performing and what is trending with their audience through the analytics offered by the API. 

Outcome: TrendyFashions would adjust its marketing strategy and content calendar based on the provided data. This approach allows them to make more informed campaign decisions and see what types of posts are connected with their audience. As a result, they could improve their campaigns and return on investment. 

Final Thoughts:  Instagram API v1 Evaluation and Alternatives Research

To sum up, there were many reasons to get API Instagram v1 for those who were looking for an easy way to tap into social media data. Still, the drawbacks, like security issues, authentication vulnerabilities, and limited features for business accounts, made it clear that improvements are required.

The Instagram API v1 example has become a starting point for both official APIs and third-party options. Social Media API from Data365.co is one such solution. Data365.co offers a range of modern features for the current state of digital marketing and solves the problems of the APIs. Our product provides unmatched benefits — real-time user data for better decision-making, a single interface to access information across popular social media platforms, and the ability to retrieve large datasets quickly with advanced auto-scaling technology.

Are you still on the lookout for a professional social media API with a complete list of features? Then we have an option for you. With the help of Data365.co Social Media API, you can supercharge your insights and marketing strategy with public data collected from the biggest platforms in one place. Contact us now for your free trial and start improving your business right now!