14 Eye-Opening Instagram Statistics If you're not using the fast-growing photo-sharing tool for communications and marketing, these numbers may make you reconsider.

In less than five years, photo-sharing app Instagram has grown from Internet infant to social media star.

New data from the Pew Research Center shows that among social media networks, Instagram has surpassed Twitter in popularity among U.S. adults. Pew's report states that 26 percent of online adults in the U.S. used Instagram in 2014. That's up from 17 percent in 2013 and 13 percent in 2012. By comparison, 23 percent of online adults in the U.S. used Twitter in 2014.

Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom told TechCrunch that "what began as two friends with a dream has grown into a global community."

In light of Instagram's status as a global community, here are 14 statistics you need to know about the social media app:

1. Instagram counts 300 million monthly active users (Instagram).
2. Instagram executives think the network eventually will hit 1 billion monthly active users (Business Insider).
3. Instagram is the eighth most popular mobile app in the U.S. (comScore).
4. Instagram is projected to reach 45.8 million U.S. users in 2015 and 50.6 million in 2016 (Statista).
5. More than 30 billion photos have been shared on Instagram since it was launched in 2010 (Instagram).
6. An average of 70 million photos are shared through the app each day (Instagram).
7. Engagement on Instagram is 15 times that of Facebook's (Fast Company).
8. 53 percent of Internet-using adults age 18 to 29 are on Instagram (Pew Research Center). That's up from 37 percent in 2013.
9. 76 percent of American teenagers use Instagram, making it their favorite social media network (CBS News).
10. 49 percent of all Instagram users use the app each day (Pew Research Center).
11. 94 percent of Instagram users are on Facebook (Pew Research Center). Facebook owns Instagram.
12. 58 percent of Twitter users also use Instagram (Pew Research Center).
13. 52 percent of Instagram users also use Twitter (Pew Research Center).
14. Nike is the most popular brand on Instagram (Totems List).

"One of the most interesting aspects of Instagram is that it's not really a "site,' but lives almost purely on mobile," Jeff Peters, social media specialist at The Halo Group, said in a news release.

"While it's possible for just about any brand to use Instagram, the platform itself is most appealing to brands and industries that are more visually oriented," Peters adds. "Instagram helps create a visual connection between a brand and a consumer or potential customer."

PR executive Natasha Koifman says pretty much any brand can capitalize on Instagram, as long as it's "creative and authentic."

"The key is how you leverage it. For us, being authentic is the number one rule," Koifman wrote on the Cision blog.