Pope Francis has been on Twitter since 2013, and with just 751 Tweets he’s amassed an incredible 8.9 million Followers. That is very impressive… But just this week, he made his debut on Instagram, and his account has grown extraordinarily in just a few days.
This weekend, Pope Francis announced on Twitter that he would be launching his own Instagram account.
I am beginning a new journey, on Instagram, to walk with you along the path of mercy and the tenderness of God.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 19, 2016
The @francisus account set a new record for Instagram in half the time that it took David Beckham to do the same. Within a mere 12 hours, the account was followed by over a million people, as opposed to David Beckham’s within 24 hours. You might think that David Beckham set up his account years ago, and that there were fewer people on the platform back then. But you would be wrong, because that happened in May of 2015.
If you like our stories, there is an easy way to stay updated:
Follow @wersm
At the time of writing, the Pope’s the first image on Instagram has already over 270k likes and over 32k comments – quite fittingly, it’s an image of the Pope praying. Five more posts later (there are only 6 posts at the moment), and the account has over 1.6 million Followers!
Only a few weeks ago, Pope Francis had met with Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom, talking about “the power of images to unite people across different cultures and languages,”. It’s not a surprise therefore that Instagram‘s top man was actually at the Vatican, the very day the first post went live. He even posted his own image marking the occasion.
You might also like
More from Instagram
Instagram Now Lets You Schedule Your Live Streams
Brands and creators can now schedule and promote their Instagram Live broadcasts up to 90 days in advance.
#BuyBlack Friday Returns To Facebook And Instagram
Ahead of the holiday shopping season, Facebook has announced daily Live Shopping experiences and the return of #BuyBlack Friday.
Instagram Tests In-App Outage Alerts And New Account Status Section
The app announced two new features that will inform users about outages and issues with their account status directly within …
Instagram Merges IGTV And Feed Videos Into One Format: Instagram Video
Instagram announced it's merging IGTV and feed videos into a singular format - Instagram Video - with its very own tab.
Instagram Pauses ‘Instagram Kids’ And Responds To Critics
Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, announced that it has paused the development of "Instagram Kids" to allow more research.
New Instagram ‘Favorites’ Could Help You Bring Order To Your Feed
Instagram is reportedly working on a new feature to help you surface your favorite content within the feed.
Instagram Is Making Its Verification Process Easier
Instagram is making its verification process simpler, clearer, and faster, with an improved application form, more news sources, and more.
Instagram Reveals How Its Search Feature Works
Instagram's Adam Mosseri reveals how the platform's search works, and how to get ranked more easily in search results.
Insights And Key Learnings About Getting Shadowbanned On Instagram
This month, Hootsuite's Social Media Marketing Manager, Amanda Wood, and her team, try to get shadowbanned on Instagram.
