Photo sharing app Instagram has more than doubled its advertising space in six months, expecting to generate over $1.5 billion in advertising revenue this year.
The app, which was bought by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012, only recently incorporated paid-for advertising into its monetisation strategy. Since then it has gone from strength to strength, with its ad base now exceeding 500,000.
Its advertising base still remains well below that of Facebook, who have a base of around 2 million, but has already surpassed Twitter’s 100,000. According to eMarketer’s most recent survey, Instagram have more than 500 million active users. 89.4 million Americans will log onto Instagram at least once a month and by 2017, 51.8 percent of social network users are expected to use Instagram.
eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson commented:
“Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, know that mobile has changed the way people—especially millennials and Gen X-ers—communicate, share and get information. That’s why they are leading the way in helping marketers reach this audience.”
Instagram has become such a popular platform for communication that celebrities have recently begun issuing statements via a post on the app. On Thursday Marion Cotillard addressed the rumours that we was responsible for the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, in a heartfelt Instagram caption.
“Firstly, many years ago, I met the man of my life, father of our son and of the baby we are expecting. He is my love, my best friend, the only one that I need,” she wrote.
Cotillard said she was not used to commenting on matters such as this but she felt compelled to speak up. Posted just 16 hours ago, it has already attracted 57,451 likes.
In February, Credit Suisse estimated that Instagram’s advertising revenue was around $730 million for the fourth quarter of 2015 and projected a huge $3.2 billion in revenue for 2016. By 2017 the bank predicts Instagram will be a $5.3 billion business.