If you follow the latest in marketing or are just an avid Instagram user, you’d know there may have been a recent addition to your feed.
Instagram ads began with a photo from Michael Kors. With pastel colored macaroons, a cup of tea, and a gold watch, this first ad has been considered a success. But in the wake of this, many have been wondering if this will actually become an efficient marketing platform?
While multiple brands are scheduled to begin their own ads, there is a split on how users feel about the addition of these advertisements. Instagram has been seen as a much more personal space, where follows are based only on what is visually appealing to an individual. Based on this, it is also a more difficult platform to implement ads marketing into.
Most of the negative comments on the Michael Kors photo were targeted more towards the ads in general than this specific one. Most brands have already established and created accounts with unique and interesting content that have large followings. Will there be a difference between earned and paid attention?
I believe that the key to Instagram ad success will be solely based on the specific audience each brand targets with individual ads. For instance, a sports brand may have great success when it targets only those who follow sports related users. If the same brand places that ad in a different target, such as beauty or cosmetics, it will probably be met with a very different outcome.
As with any changes to a program, the implementation of Instagram advertisements is a work in process. Hopefully in the next few updates, Instagram will be able to better target these ads for greater success among audiences and brand can add another opportunity for visual marketing on social networks.
