Dive Brief:
- Instagram opened its API and marketing technology companies including Salesforce and Hootsuite immediately took advantage with new tools for the Facebook-owned social media platform.
- Its ad revenue is also expected to increase 170%, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimate.
- This year eMarketer anticipates the social photo-sharing app accounting for 5% of Facebook’s mobile ad revenue.
Dive Insight:
Instagram opened its API to all brands last week, and marketing technology companies are taking advantage of these new capabilities. Salesforce released new tools for publishers and advertisers on the platform that allow for publishing, engaging and analyzing Instagram content from within the Marketing Cloud. Hootsuite also began allowing the scheduling of Instagram posts from within its platform, as well as the ability to monitor those posts and share access to app accounts across teams.
On the advertising side, an estimate from Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects ad revenue to increase 170% from 2015 to 2016 based on parent company Facebook’s efforts to monetize the picture platform. Analyst Justin Post told MarketWatch, "We think Instagram has material ad potential with the revenue ramp at Facebook's management's discretion, which gives us more confidence in estimates over the next two years."
Net-a-Porter, an online high-fashion retailer, is one of the first brands to sign up for Instagram’s new ad API. The e-tailer will now be able to target ads in real-time rather than purchasing inventory via a sales representative.
