Ads have recently made their way to Instagram, and we have mixed feelings about it.

Prior to advertising, Instagram was being used effectively by many brands. They had to build fan bases with quality content, and acquire followers who had a genuine interest in what they were doing. That was the beauty of Instagram – it was all about photo discovery and building an inspiring feed.

It’s no surprise that advertisers are enticed by Instagram. The app has recently overtaken Twitter with 300 million active users and it continues to grow everyday. The majority of its users are drawn from the youngest age brackets, with 41% in the 16-24 demographic. They’re also more likely to be in the top income quartile.

Instagram has only allowed brands with a strong existing following to advertise. The company is so determined to make ads fit seamlessly into users’ feeds, that Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom is personally approving each one. Fun fact: ads are rumoured to cost up to half a million dollars per month.

The ads look like regular posts but are prominently marked “sponsored.” Let’s take a look at some sponsored ads we’ve seen:

*Instagram released the results from the pioneer brand campaigns on their business blog two months after the initial US launch.

Advertising was the beginning of the end for Facebook in a lot of ways, and it would be a shame to see Instagram become the same type of platform. At the same time, these ads are high quality and don’t feel as intrusive.

How do you feel? Do you mind the ads?