A Simple Simple Short Shot
Instagram steps into the age of social media advertising.
As brands flock to marketing on Instagram, will it alienate its users?
As parents, brands and businesses continue to infiltrate instagram, it’s no longer a safe haven for teens and millennials. The ‘in-the-know’ feeling of instagram is continuing to deteriorate as the platform opens up to advertising and older users. With the advent of paid advertising on the social platform it’s only a matter of time before a new online community rises from the annals as the new superpower.
Instagram has launched itself to the forefront of advertising. By handpicking the first ten advertisers, they could easily manage the look and feel of how advertisements appeared on Instagram. Ads have since expanded to other advertisers, and to countries outside the US. They’re rolling out ads slowly, focusing on interests and geo-targeting to create little disruption to user experience. They’ve even added a “shop now” button to connect users directly to businesses online stores.
While Instagram clearly has the best intentions, the ramifications of adding advertising could be severe, changing the landscape of exclusivity to one of advertising and branding. It’s the same trend we saw in Facebook that changed the platform from a young, hip place to connect and share, to a marketplace where people organize 20-year reunions, and keep an eye on their children’s activity. So where will young people flee when Instagram repels them.
2015 is a grand year for apps, and with powerhouse superphones the size of marine life people spend less time on desktops and laptops than ever before. To stay relevant, brands must find innovative techniques to use new apps, before they become bogged down with advertisers, just as Mindy Kaling took to Tinder. Advertising is, and always was, about staying abreast of the next big thing.
