More and more social media companies are looking to monetize their investments by introducing advertising on their platforms. Then there are companies like Facebook who started having advertisements on the side of the page, which did not directly hindered our user experience. And there is YouTube, a video sharing platform which slots in irritating, disruptive 5 seconds to 60 seconds advertisements before videos. It is no surprise that Instagram, the picture and short video sharing platform has decided to adopt the same process. With 150 million active users, Instagram is prepared to introduce advertising. The company’s director of business operations, Emily White said that advertising should begin selling ads by next year. Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram has significantly increase the amount of users on Instagram by 100 million and Instagram itself, has also reported an increase of 20 million active users.
Instagram is definitely actively pursuing new advertisers and has beefed up the staff rooster to include new employees that would help manage client relationships with new brands. Some of the clients that were being approached includes giants like Ford, Williams-Sonoma and Coca-Cola. “We want to make money in the long term, but we don’t have any short-term pressure,” White told the Journal.
Currently, there is no news or leaks about how the ads would look like. However, WSJ reports that it could appear on the app’s Discover page or search page. Advertisers are also keen to link pictures of their products to their websites. My own opinion of such a move is that it is a logical move to bring on more revenue to sustain a product. However, the placements of advertising more often of less, disrupts user experience and causes unpleasant aesthetics if it is not executed correctly. I really do hope that Instagam will do a good job on this.
Zack Chia 