How Justin Bieber Could Spoil Instagram’s Plan to Introduce Ads
It finally happened: Snapchat will now have ads. Pinterest is also experimenting with advertising, as is Instagram. All three of these companies are in the enviable position of running wildly popular online platforms, but also in the less enviable position of not having a great, obvious way to make money off of them. Ads seem like the most direct plan, but there’s a problem, a problem summed up by one man.
His name is Justin Bieber.
If you have an internet connection, chances are you know who Justin Bieber is. He was discovered on YouTube. His 55.7 million followers make him the second-most followed person on Twitter, ahead of the President of the United States. The internet is his medium, and he is its master.
That mastery was on full display earlier this month in the form of a poorly shot video selfie of Bieber walking through a plaza in Italy. Here’s how Adweek describes the compelling footage: “To commemorate the event on Instagram, he shoots a quick social video where he utters ‘fettuccine Alfredo’ in his best fake Italiano and then asks his bodyguard whether he wants to get some. (The helpful hulk, in case you are wondering, answered his boss with a ‘yes.’)”
Italy was pretty awesome, could find me in your city next – #imatourist #nowork #sightseeing #fettucciniAlfredo #imthatguywithafannypack #ifuseemeletmeenjoymyvisit #illbebackfortouripromise
During the second week of October, the video received nearly 735,000 likes and almost 50,000 comments, according to Adweek ‘s weekly survey of Instagram activity. The number is impressive in itself. But what’s potentially worrisome for Instagram’s ad ambitions is just how thoroughly the size of Bieber’s engaged audience crushes that of other, more traditional brands—that is, potential advertisers.
The most popular Instagram video in the consumer electronics category, for example, was a GoPro scene of two guys on an amusement park ride that was “liked” 134,000 times. BMW topped the car category with almost 44,000 likes for one video, and Urban Outfitters the retail category with more than 50,000 likes. Not bad, but nothing like the Biebs.
The paradox for the latest online platforms is that, while their popularity is driven by user-generated content like Bieber’s, that content totally eclipses anything an advertiser is likely to offer, especially since users are already accustomed to no ads. An ad in your Instagram feed, if it doesn’t outright annoy you, is easy to ignore if Justin Bieber in Italy is a thumb-swipe away. Or the catnip of your friend’s next selfie Snap. How can any ad compete for those precious microseconds of your attention?
Pinterest is in the best position to capitalize on ads, since it’s so well designed as a place to browse for stuff you want to buy. But as with Instagram, brands don’t have to advertise to get on the thing. You can simply act as users with their own accounts and promote their stuff for free. Of course, advertisers will probably keep trying, and at least for a while keep paying these companies in hope of connecting with all the attention the Biebers of the world help them to capture. Maybe paid ads will help push traditional brands’ feeds in front of more users, causing their popularity to surge. But only seeing is Beliebing.
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