Dive Brief:
- Imgur, a social media platform seen as “Pinterest for guys,” is entering the digital ad marketplace by taking promoted posts out of beta and opening them to all marketers.
- During beta testing of promoted posts on the platform, Imgur worked with brands such as eBay.
- The platform has more than 150 million monthly users that skew toward male millennials under 35.
Dive Insight:
Joining many of the companies in the social media space, Imgur is looking to gain revenue from digital ads in the form of promoted posts. It ran promoted posts from brands such as eBay in beta testing, and now offers those ads to any advertiser.
Imgur has a Reddit-style user experience where its audience uploads photos, GIFs and memes, and that content is voted up to be most accessible. Imgur worked closely with eBay during beta testing to uncover popular themes and items, and that level of interaction seemed to pay off with sponsored posts getting positive responses 90% of the time, according to Imgur VP of Marketing and Sales Steve Patrizi.
The social scrapbook-like platform has an internal creative team that helps brands craft posts to mold them into the Imgur voice and look, which also helps make sure they perform at optimal levels on the site.
"We work with the advertiser to develop content that would fit well with the community," Patrizi told Adweek. "So, users perceive the content coming from brands as something that enhances the experience."
