Instagram to start rolling out advertisements to photo feed soon
Facebook, which now owns Instagram, aims to make extra money by rolling out ads into the feeds of its users.
Instagram has announced it will soon start displaying advertisements in users’ photo photo streams. The company further reveals users will also get to see ads from brands they don’t follow on the network.
Instagram in a blog post says the company will focus on providing “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,” adds the company.
Instagram also makes it clear users will have the choice to hide the ads if they don’t like them. Also, they can provide feedback about what they didn’t feel right.
Introduction of ads on the Instagram platform comes shortly after Facebook confirmed testing auto-play video ads in News Feed. However, Facebook is not in haste in rolling out video ads, hoping to get a right balance between users and advertisers.
The update to Instagram, though expected, is likely to significantly impact experience of its over 150 million users on the Android and iOS platforms. Currently, the Instagram ads will be available in the U.S., but expect a global roll out pretty soon.