Tuesday 23 September 2014

Instagram's in-app ads go live in the UK today

Instagram has hit the on-switch for in-app advertisements here in the UK, meaning your feed is about to bid welcome to some unexpected visitors.
The social media giant says the initial roll-out will only show off 'carefully selected brands', including Cadbury, Starbucks, and Sony Music.
'Corporate scum,' we hear you cry. 'How dare they fill my feed with obtuse marketing propaganda?!'
Fortunately, Instagram's sticking a big old 'Sponsored' tag next to paid-for posts, so you won't mistakenly spend your whole paycheck on Cadbury's chocolate just because you thought they were your #insta-mate.
"We want ads on Instagram to be as engaging and high-quality as the experience of flipping through a favourite magazine," says James Quarles, Instagram's business and brand development boss.
The firm's also sorted out a handy guide that will fill you in on how the ad system is actually going to work.
For starters, Instagram promises that advertisers won't have re-use access to your photos and videos, meaning they can't nick anything from your feed.
It also suggests using the feedback button to 'hide ads you find less interesting', so it's easy to improve the system in the future.
The Instagram team says it wants advertisements to 'feel as natural to Instagram as the photos and videos many of you already enjoy from your favourite brands."
Instagram's had a huge user base for quite some time now, although it's not yet monetised the app in any consumer-tangible way, despite being completely free to download.
Just last month, Instagram launched its second app, Hyperlapse, which is designed to create stabilised time-lapse videos

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