Since Instagram’s director of business operations, Emily White, voiced the newsabout an initiative to implement ads to the platform in the Wall Street Journal this past September, digital advertisers and users alike have been wondering: How will the platform keep its cool?
Members of the marketing industry recognized that Ms. White and her team had their work cut out for them. We were eager to see a design that finessed the achievement of advertisers’ goals without jeopardizing the ‘cool factor’ of the current user experience. The Friday before last, after months of speculation, we finally saw the enterprise come to fruition.
Fashion brand Michael Kors was the first to debut a “sponsored” photo to the public. Brand reps confirmed in a later statement to CNET that “[Instagram] members in the US will see the Michael Kors image even if they don’t follow the brand on Instagram.”
Much to the chagrin of Instagram early-adopters and loyal users, the news was followed by expected groans and initial backlash. CEO Kevin Systrom addressed the topic at the Gigaom’s Roadmap Conference in San Francisco last week,stating that “Ads by the likes of Michael Kors, which drew some complaints for their prominence in people’s news feeds, have also drawn ‘very positive comments,’ including people recommending the advertised watch to friends and asking where they can get it.”
Although still in infancy, there’s no doubt that sponsored photos illustrate a huge opportunity for digital marketers solely through the proven success of simple imagery in advertising across other social media platforms. Commonly, digital advertising fails when it doesn’t consider the effect of change on aesthetic; users don’t want to see ugly text-heavy ads. Instagram, on the other hand, has created a thoughtful approach that seamlessly integrates the ads into the newsfeed in a way that feels natural.
If it doesn’t walk like an ad or talk like an ad, is it really an ad? Concrete insight on user-targeting is still unknown and will surely shape the sponsored photo strategies in months to come, but the lucrative potential to advertisers is undeniably on the radar.
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