It has been speculated for the past few months that ads would be coming to the popular photo sharing app, Instagram. Now that time is here. Instagram announced today that ads will start to appear in users’ feeds in the U.S. in the coming months. According to theverge.com:
“Facebook Inc, operator of the world’s most popular social network, will sell advertising on its Instagram photo service, the first effort to make money from the company’s largest acquisition on record.
“Promotions will start to appear on the mobile application, which lets users share images from smartphones, in the next couple of months in the U.S., Facebook said in a blog post yesterday. Instagram will deliver a “small number” of pictures and videos from a handful of companies that users aren’t necessarily following.”
Instagram’s blog post explains:
“We have big ideas for the future, and part of making them happen is building Instagram into a sustainable business. In the next couple months, you may begin seeing an occasional ad in your Instagram feed if you’re in the United States. Seeing photos and videos from brands you don’t follow will be new, so we’ll start slow. We’ll focus on delivering a small number of beautiful, high-quality photos and videos from a handful of brands that are already great members of the Instagram community.
“Our aim is to make any advertisements you see feel as natural to Instagram as the photos and videos many of you already enjoy from your favorite brands. After all, our team doesn’t just build Instagram, we use it each and every day. We want these ads to be enjoyable and creative in much the same way you see engaging, high-quality ads when you flip through your favorite magazine.”
Like parent company Facebook, Instagram is giving users the ability to hide ads that they don’t like and provide feedback so they get a better experience. Regardless, there will likely be an outcry from users, claiming their experience is being ruined and threatening to abandon the app. If history is any indicator, these users are usually just overreacting to change and will follow suit, as always.
