There Are Now 200K Advertisers On Instagram

Instagram announced today that it has 200,000 monthly active advertisers.

To compare, Facebook said a year go that it had more than 2 million active advertisers, while Twitter says it has 140,000 130,000. Probably the most impressive thing about the Instagram number is the fact that the Facebook-owned photo-sharing service only had a few hundred advertisers back in June.

Much of that growth has been international — Instagram’s ad program expanded globally five months ago, and James Quarles, Instagram’s head of business and brand development, told me that 75 percent of advertisers are outside the United States.

For example, Instagram points pointed to German supermarket Rewe, which ran a campaign that resulted in a 37 percent improvement in ad recall. There’s also Brazilian e-commerce company PetLove, whose campaign saw a 30 percent lower cost per install compared to other online channels.

Not surprisingly, Quarles suggested that Instagram is a great place for advertisers to reach consumers and influence their behavior. In a recent user survey, 60 percent of respondents said they learn about products and services on Instagram, and 75 percent said they take action after seeing by an Instagram post.

That sounds good for advertisers, but what does this ad growth if you’re a regular Instagram user? Are going to see more ads?

Quarles said that’s not necessarily the case — more advertisers doesn’t have to mean more ads. In fact, he said a bigger, more diverse group of advertisers can improve the user experience, since you’re more likely to see ads that are relevant to your interests. He also noted that the number of ads you see is “commensurate with amount of time spent on Instagram,” and that Instagram has been working with businesses to help them “find their visual voice,” so that the ads are high quality and effective.