Most of the social networks that we use every day are free. Anyone can download the Instagram, Twitter or TikTok app on their mobile, create an account and start posting content. The only downside of this model is that we will be condemned to see ads . In recent months, most social networks have increased the amount of advertising videos they show to their users. For what is this? Why does Instagram now show more ads than before?
Yes, Instagram has increased the number of ads it shows you
Social networks need their users to survive. They may seem free at first glance, but their business model rests on us. The content we generate on a network like Instagram feeds the large data infrastructure of Zuckerberg’s company. This data is provided to advertisers, who can now segment their campaigns into more specific target audiences.
Recently, Instagram has stepped up the number of ads it shows to its users. You can notice this in the Stories, where now you can get an ad every two publications. Something similar has happened with YouTube ads; if the creator of the video has left the ‘automatic ads’ option, you will be bombarded with ads every couple of minutes, making the experience unbearable.
More ads and less relevant
This is where the key to everything is. Instagram users are not only now receiving more ads than before, but also the ones they see now are not interesting. What is this about? Why do I see ads for gum to quit smoking if I have never smoked a cigarette in my life? Well, because there are no advertisers .
All advertising platforms that exist on the Internet work with bids . Content is tagged with keywords , and advertisers bid to be able to advertise in those posts. The more competition has wanted to advertise on the same keywords , the more expensive the ad will be.
When there are no more advertisers, the house of cards collapses. And this is what is happening these months on Instagram , YouTube and Google Ads. With the threat of inflation and uncertainty about the future, many companies have moved to more conservative strategies. Now they only advertise their star products. As there is no competition in the advertising market, the prices of the bids fall to a minimum . Since Instagram wants to maintain its income, a surefire way to achieve this is to show you more ads . But of course, none will be to your liking, because when the prices of the bids fall, anyone can advertise at a low price, that is, on any keyword. That is why so many ads with scams and peddlers have proliferated.
Could Instagram move to a paid model?
Earlier this year, Instagram posted that they were developing a new subscription system . With this new model, some users will be able to pay a monthly fee to view exclusive content on the network.
However, it does not look like this system will work like YouTube Premium, but rather as a method for Instagram creators to monetize their content .
Although this new implementation is still being tested, the truth is that it makes sense that the ads will not be removed if we pay. After all, the user is the business model of Instagram. Therefore, this new Instagram premium subscription would be like Twitter Blue, which gives a series of advantages, but does not serve to eliminate ads .