Facebook-owned Instagram app capitalizes on the fact that people love visual media. This free smartphone app allows users to upload and edit personal photos, then view and comment on other users images in a real-time feed. Instagram differs from other social platforms because it’s exclusive to mobile. Instagram doesn’t accommodate desktop publishing. Users are able to choose if their photo feeds are public or private.
In December, Instagram announced big privacy and terms of service changes. This week they sent out a reminder email to users that the changes go into effect Saturday, January 19. Backlash followed the initial announcement because the original revision claimed perpetual rights to sell users’ photographs without notifying or compensating a photographer. Under that policy, Facebook could license all public Instagram photos, past or present, to other companies, including for advertising purposes. This would make Instagram the world’s largest stock photo agency.
After a public outcry, Instagram changed their tune and announced that the policy change wouldn’t be so drastic anymore after user feedback. In a blog on their site, Instagram Co-Founder Kevin Systrom stated they had no intention of selling users photos and acknowledged user-uploaded pictures are not Instagram property. However, Instagram is exploring how advertising will be integrated into their platform and once they’ve decided concretely what they’re going to do, they’ll announce official plans to the public.
To me, it seems like the company thought the initial policy change wouldn’t make people happy, but they’d accept it, like other controversial Facebook terms of use policies introduced in the last few years. Facebook told users they could delete their profile, but they could never fully remove information from Facebook archives. That policy change caused a stir, but people got over it essentially. Not the case with this failed Instagram policy.
The app gains a new member every second and hosts over one billion user-uploaded photos. It’s one of the fastest social platforms to reach 100 million members. It took Facebook four years to reach 100 million users and Instagram reached the milestone in a little over two years. The average Instagram user spent 257 minutes accessing Instagram in August (All Things D). Twitter users over the same period only accessed the site for 170 minutes.If you’re looking to manage an Instagram account on a computer, check out Statigram. This French-designed tool allows users to view, promote, manage, analyze and engage other users on Instagram. This tool provides free profile, content and engagement statistics similar to Klout, but with more useful options. You can add a tab to your Facebook fan page that will display your Instagram feed, create a photo gallery widget for your website, launch photo promotion contests and create a patchwork Facebook cover photo filled with photos from your Instagram profile.
Instagram is looking for ways to maximize advertising profits and marketers have to keep an eye on how this issue will evolve in coming months. Systrom basically expressed that Instagram is trying to find a way to piggyback off of Facebook sponsored posts, but they need to find an Instagram spin for it. They want to gain from business promotion, but have to find a way to not alienate its average user base.New policies could benefit or harm your brand’s promotional efforts on the app. As always, Smirk New Media will keep you updated on how Instagram advertising expands. Until we know more, Instagram is a force to be reckoned with and every brand should explore if they could be effective on Instagram.