From the time Instagram was purchased by Facebook marketers were waiting for Ads on this platform. Although it has certainly taken more time than we anticipated it is finally here. Instagram recently announced that in a few months time ads will begin appearing on Instagram photo stream.
People will remember last year when Instagram changed terms indicated that it would claim rights to the photos on it and could sell it at will. There was backlash that they never anticipated, people flooded to sites like Flickr. This had the desired effect and Instagram threw out the policy.
It was from that time that people were wondering how Facebook will monetize this platform. Revenue generation from something they paid more than a billion dollars seemed to be impossible. However, after about more than a year Instagram will begin advertising and try to generate revenue.
Initially only a few advertising firms in the U.S will be able advertise on Instagram occasionally. The advertising will have images and videos of the highest quality. The main aim is to integrate these videos and images with the ones users already follow. The advertisements will be high quality, creative, and enjoyable just as you would find in any magazine. The advertisement will have a field for sponsored posts as in Facebook, but will have a distinctive Instagram feel to it.
Instagram will seek feedback from users to know which advertisements are working and which are not; and also the reason why people didn’t find the advertisement interesting. Instagram promises to keep this information confidential.
Users will be able to block advertisements, but it is not clear if this can be done permanently with the help of ad block programs.
It will be quite interesting to see how advertisements impact the Instagram community. If it does click then marketers will have one more avenue to parade their wares and brands. This new social media platform could just be the thing marketers were waiting for.