Publishers of Instagram: The good, the bad and the ads

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Can a picture really be worth a thousand words?

While the publishing industry’s biggest competition is for user time, the visual storytelling platform Instagram lets users scroll through hundreds of images in a matter of seconds. The average Instagram user now follows between 400 and 500 accounts, putting a huge amount of content in the hands of each of the 400 million Instagram users and increasing publisher rivalry for attention on the platform.

Facebook-owned Instagram is a mysterious platform for publishers, and even ‘big-time’ players have a somewhat small following, considering the monthly active users.

How are publishers achieving return from Instagram and where does the opportunity lie as an advertiser?

Instagram users contribute over 80 million images and videos on a daily basis, directly impacting engagement rates from publishers, as a user’s ability to process boundless posts declines.

“There is so much content on the platform that brands are starting to see once-stellar engagement rates and organic reach drop”(Justin Rezvani, CEO of TheAmplify)

Yet, according to Forrester, Instagram is still considered one of the most engaging platforms for brands and publishers, at a per-follower engagement rate of 4.21 percent, (58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more than Twitter). Nevertheless, the discussion around introducing an Instagram algorithm, to “monetise and preserve the user experience” is ever-present.

One size does *not* fit all

It is vital to not compartmentalise consumer relationships according to distribution channel. Publishers should consider Instagram as a platform within its own right, with its own nuances and specialities, because it doesn’t drive traffic back to the publisher. It is an important visual marketing tool for publishing, and currently sees a 40 percent YoY growth.

Although, Sandberg and Zuckerberg did reveal that 98 out of Facebook’s 100 top advertisers also advertised on Instagram in the fourth quarter, which certainly suggests that “Instagram plays a big part in Facebook’s growing mobile business.” eMarketer have recently predicted that 9.5 percent of Facebook’s worldwide mobile ad revenue will come from Instagram.

Akhil Suchak, head of social at Bauer Media says:

“Instagram gives us unique opportunities to put visuals first, so we can show behind the scenes footage, tease content or promote our unique talent access. Like every platform, it’s crucial to know the audience and not just push the 'one size fits all' approach.

Focusing the distribution and content strategy to fit audience consumption habits is essential. Publishers may always be more comfortable with storytelling through words, but engagement and opportunity through these platforms is becoming increasingly valuable.

Read the full article on TheMediaBriefing here