Instagram commits to ads within the next year

Instagram will introduce ads on its platform within the next year, following in the steps of its parent Facebook, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Instagram director of business operators Emily White told the WSJ that the photo-sharing app, bought by Facebook last year, would begin selling ad space on the platform “within the next year”.

White, who previously worked for Facebook, said the team was looking at possibilities of how advertising on Instagram would roll out, including integrating it with the app's 'Discover' feature which promotes popular content.

The challenge for Instagram would be to balance advertising with the appeal of the app which attracted its younger-skewed user base in the first place.

“We want to make money in the long term, but we don't have any short-term pressure,” she told WSJ. When Facebook shelled out US$1 billion for Instagram in April 2012, Instagram had not made a single dollar nor did it have any monetisation strategy.

White gave no indication on whether ad formats would be pictoral or video. However, speculation about ads on Instagram intensified around the launch of videos on the app in June, which led adlanders to posit there was a natural synergy between Instagram's 15-second video formats and the length of a TV ad.

It is also expected that Facebook will launch video advertising, with 15-second formats likely, before the year-end. In Australia, the company has beefed up its TV sales expertise in recent weeks.

Instagram was founded in 2010 and currently claims 150 million monthly active users.

Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au

Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.