Get ready to see even more ads on Instagram.
The social media platform has been milking every inch of screen space for ads over the last five years. Now the company says it plans to slowly roll out ads into the Explore page, starting with an advertisement for IGTV that should start showing up today.
“Explore is where people are really open to discovery, and that’s why we’re really excited about this,” said Susan Buckner Rose, IG’s director of business product marketing, in a chat with The Verge.
The ads won’t show up on the grid of the Explore page. Instead, you’ll see them after you’ve tapped on a photo or video on the grid and then start scrolling in the feed to see other recommended posts.
Instagram says the Explore page is an obvious fit for ads because people go to it to discover new accounts, people or brands that they’re not following. People don’t go to the Explore page to discover more ads though. It will be interesting to see how users react to the changes.
Ads in the Explore feed will be photos and videos. Instagram is working with select partners to roll out more ads in the next few weeks while everyone else will have to wait until Explore ads are opened to the public in a couple of months.
