Contrary to expectations, Instagram users don’t seem outraged by the company’s latest announcement revealing that ads will soon start popping up in their feed. Of course, the fact that brands are finding it harder to get people to click on advertisements is another thing altogether.
The point is, Instagram is a free service and the only way to keep it free is by accepting ads. Facebook has done the same too.
How ads will appear on Instagram
The company wants to build a ‘sustainable business.’ This does not mean simply bringing aboard brands which want to reach out to people. Instagram also needs to make sure users aren’t bombarded with sponsored content they don’t want to see.
– The service will feature photo and video ads
– They will start rolling out within the next two months
– Users will be able to hide advertisements they don’t like
– They can give feedback on such content too
– Folks in the US will be the first to see these ads in their feed
Well, since Facebook owns Instagram, this latest announcement was probably not such a big surprise after all. The latter will celebrate its third birthday this month and has thrown open a contest inviting members to click pictures inspired by the people they follow via the service.
They can then share the photos tagged with #WHPnotquitea @username. The WHP stands for Weekend Hashtag Project. The @username should be the account name of the person whose images inspired the participant.
If you win, you get to boast about Instagram having featured your image on the official blog.