James Pearce, head of the Facebook mobile developer relations said “If Facebook had been build today, it would have been mobile” to a small group of writers during lunch at Facebook HQ. How many of you think that Pearce’s statement is intriguing enough? Well you’ll probably find this a lot more interesting when you’ll know that Facebook shelled off $1 billion to purchase its toughest and biggest competitor in the mobile space, Instagram. Recent reports suggest that Instagram was beating Facebook in its own field and Facebook had to do something before they were able to do anything more. All that Facebook wants to be on your mobile phones is to offer you the best with the photo-sharing application as it wants people to use the mobile app to share photos of their daily lives and the locations. Mark Zuckerberg has focused on developing the best interest for photo-sharing and now that he has bought Instagram, he’ll be able to sit close with their team and provide the users even better experiences for sharing photos.
Since its inception, Instagram has been huge and after the launch of the Android application, it was poised to loom larger. The social media experts are of the opinion that while the Instagram Company was valued at $500 million before Facebook bought it, it would have certainly grown to $1 billion valuation with its own efforts. By adding the support of the Android applications, this particular photo-sharing application is gaining momentum and is being famous among the ‘smart-phone carrying population’. As per Zuckerberg, this is a huge achievement and a feather on the cap of Facebook Company as they’ve never acquired a product and company with such a large number of users. Bringing these two companies together will be worthy as Facebook users will be able to get the best photo-sharing experience.
A picture is worth a thousand words – But is it worth $1 billion bucks?
In the marketing field, it is believed that a picture is worth a thousand words and apparently, the belief is the same in the social media circles. But the question that is being asked by most people is whether it’s worth paying $1 billion. At least, it is certainly worth paying this amount for Facebook and for Mark Zuckerberg! What is it that makes Instagram so eye-catching to a social networking websites that proudly boasts having the largest online population? This is the only question that is hovering around the world of critics who feel that Facebook is merely frittering away cash or is actually trying to subdue the efforts of a smaller competitor before they impinge on the photo-sharing skill of this social networking website. No explanation seems to be true, especially among those who have had a thorough knowledge on the business and commercial prospects of social media marketing.
‘Image’ is the atomic unit of Instagram – Its impact on social media marketing
Image, is certainly the atomic unit of Instagram, in molecular terms. A study by a social media consulting form reveals that almost 45% of the best 100 companies are using Instagram, the much talked-about photo sharing social media platform. This is enhancing their techniques to grow and engage their audience with relevant pictures. Instagram, being a photo-sharing–only and mobile-only application, has seen a strong adoption from both brands and consumers and most of the brands are gradually recognizing the fact that Instagram is a feasible network for social media marketing and are desperately looking for ways to have a better grip on it. Brands like Audi, Tiffany and Co., Gucci, Mercedes Benz and Armani are leveraging this visual website to draw the attention of the consumers to their products.
As soon as Facebook saw Instagram looming large, it took the decision of buying it so that it doesn’t get replaced. The company cleverly eliminated its competition and also gained a team that has proved to create a famous social media application. It’ll certainly be interesting for the Facebook users to wait for something more on mobile web.
About Brandon Leibowitz
