Dive Brief:
- Instagram’s mobile advertising revenues will reach nearly $600 million this year, according to an eMarketer report.
- The Facebook-owned platform will outpace Google and Twitter in mobile display advertising by 2017 with a projected $2.8 billion in mobile ad sales, or about 10% of its parent company’s revenues.
- Instagram is now the second-largest social media network, after it passed Twitter last year.
Dive Insight:
Instagram’s sponsored images and videos, combined with the automation, targeting and measurement tools of parent company Facebook, will push its mobile ad revenues to $600 million this year, according to a new report from eMarketer. Continued growth will help the photo-sharing site take in $2.8 billion in just a couple of years, the report predicts, topping Google and Twitter in display mobile ad revenue in the U.S. by 2017.
Retailers such as Bonobos, Burberry, H&M, Macy’s, Target, and Warby Parker are using the photo-sharing platform to show off their wares, effectively creating a catalog of looks and content without a hard sell. Instagram-based promotions often crowdsource images from users, and pages offer followers an insider’s look that helps them “belong” to brands.
The photo-sharing site will soon extend its reach beyond branding to include direct response advertising, better tracking and metric measurement, and programmatic buys, eMarketer noted, adding to its appeal as an advertising platform for retailers.
“Now that Instagram is opening up, there is a lot of pent-up demand. The rollout of new features over the next several months means that by the end of 2015, Instagram will have a host of new ad products for advertisers large and small,” Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at eMarketer, said. “In particular, Instagram advertisers will be able to use a full slate of Facebook targeting tools, including the popular Custom Audiences feature. That will be a key drawing card.”