There’s been a lot of discussion as to how Instagram’s advertising program will fare – but it’s certainly gotten its fair share of success. And, according to a recent report from eMarketer, it’s going to get even better over the next couple of years.
The report indicates that the program, which consists of various images and videos hosted by sponsors, will generate nearly $600 million this year alone. That’s a big number, but it’ll show even more progress over the next couple of years, as it’s estimated to make a whopping $2.81 billion in ad sales by the end of 2017 — topping the likes of its main competitors at Google and Twitter.
Part of this program’s success is Instagram’s ties with Facebook, which purchased the company a few years back for an estimated $1 billion. “We expect to see rapid growth in Instagram’s ad revenues this year and throughout the forecast period — driven by high demand for the social network’s new ad products, which will expand beyond branding to include direct response, the ability to buy ads via an (applications programming interface), and enhanced measurement and targeting features,” said eMarketer in the report.
Robert Peck, an analyst for SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, added, “Monetization is moving at a ‘measured pace'” when it came to the campaign.
With Instagram — as well as its investments in WhatsApp and Oculus Rift — Facebook could be looking at huge numbers when it reports its second-quarter results later this week, with an estimated $4 billion in revenue set to be announced. Ad revenue is expected to be a big part of that, with a 15 percent increase year-over-year, according to Adweek.
Even though Instagram only makes up a small percentage of that profit at the moment, things are going to get bigger and better for the photo/video site.
