The much talked about Instagram ads are officially here. You will now start seeing sponsored posts within your Instagram feed. But before you freak out and complain - stop, take a breath, and realize that this is a good thing.
Yes, I said the ads are a good thing.
Although looking at the comments on Instagram's posts, you'd think the end of the world was upon us.
Not too long ago Instagram warned us that they would release ads in the near future. A lot of us had concerns about how these would be integrated into the news feed and were concerned that they would ruin the organic nature of this platform.
However, if they continue to operate as early releases are formatted, then we have nothing to worry about. In fact, we should really start thinking about taking advantage of this opportunity!
As you can see from this screenshot, the ads are very consistent with every other Instagram post. Essentially, if it wasn't for the "Sponsored" notification in the top right corner, you probably wouldn't even know this was an ad.
And the ads fall within your feed. They don't stay tagged at the top so you'll see them as you scroll through your feed. They're very organic and I think blend even more smoothly than the news feed sponsored posts on Facebook.
I have to say that I'm surprised at how many people are complaining about this latest feature. At my last check, Instagram had over 75,000 comments on the post above and almost every single one I read was derogatory, rude, used inappropriate language, and generally reeked in disgust over the news of ads. Many comments even indicated that the user planned to abandon Instagram because of these ads.
Really people? Is the above image soooo scary that you won't use the platform anymore? Come on, it's NOT!
And this is a great way for marketers to get their creative, unique, and stunning photos in front of more users to boost their fans, engagement, and eventually their revenue. This is a good thing, if you ask me.
And as I have said time and time again, now that ads are available, expect more people and more businesses to start using this platform for marketing. If you're not using Instagram for business yet, what's stopping you?
