So far Instagram had been noticeably different from its other social-media competitors inasmuch that it had kept its photo feed largely devoid of advertisements allowing only a few large brands access with low key advertising messages. However, just a few months ago, the company, now owned by Facebook, announced plans to open up its photo feed to advertisers of every sort right from auto manufacturers to pizza joints and beauty salons. Marketers will be able to target specific sections of Instagram’s 300 million plus users classified by gender, age, interest just as they have been able to do on Facebook for long. The company will also commence testing out an ad type that will permit viewers to click on links to purchase the advertised product or install the advertised app.
Bowing to the Inevitable
Though Instagram’s commercialization will be disappointing to some of its users, it was by and large inevitable. Just like the other major social media platforms it was committed to keeping itself free for users and the only way of paying the bills was to turn to advertising. Till now Facebook has been subsidizing the operations of Instagram. The fact that Facebook is becoming serious about making Instagram a money spinner can also be seen from the list of advertising options given to marketers. As a social media platform, Instagram has a lot of appeal to marketers because its users are younger than that of Facebook that has been the traditional mainstay of social media advertising.
An Exciting Development for Marketers
Marketers and investors have been long anticipating the expansion of the advertising program as there is a very big potential for income for Facebook. The advertisers are equally excited as the users of Instagram are generally younger and more passionate about sharing, liking and commenting on posts – the rate is much higher than that of users of other social media platforms, including its parent, Facebook. RBC Capital Markets, a Wall Street firm estimates that Facebook could very well get additional revenue of $1.3 billion to $2.1 billion in the first year of the advertising program of Instagram. Marketers welcome the move as this represents an easy way of leading interested customers directly to the marketing sites because at the moment the experience, especially on mobile phones is somewhat clumsy requiring users to cut and paste links into the web browser or conduct a search on the store’s site. This also represents an exciting time for Instagram bot developers as marketers would increasingly make use of them to engage with customers.
Crucial Factor - The Degree of Change in User Experience
However, there are some who believe that many Instagram users would be put off by the increase in advertising. The new move would tend to make the social media platform quite a different place from what Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s founder intended it to be – a place where users would be able to appreciate lovely photos and videos and relax. At the time when Facebook acquired Instagram, Mark Zukerberg had gone on record that he desired to preserve that experience. When random companies will start filling the photo feed with unexpected advertising, this experience is likely to take a big hit.
According an eMarketer principal analyst, Debra Aho Williamson, who had known in advance about the marketing plans of the company, fans may find quite a change from the imagery that they had become accustomed to. As an example, she referred to the infamous belly fat reduction advertisements as being typical of the ugly advertising that users of Instagram may soon experience.
Striking the Right Balance
However, in defense, Instagram insists that the company is very carefully treading to find the best balance between what the advertisers desire and the expectations of its users, and that it has no intention of appreciably changing the user experience. Instagram’s global head of business and brand development, James Quarles says, “Visual storytelling for brands has more resonance. People remember it more, but we want to make sure the ads they see are for things that matter to them.”