Launched by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in 2010, Instagram is one of the most popular social networks worldwide. Since its launch, it has developed rapidly, trampling competitors like Twitter and Snapchat along its way by evolving fast and embracing new trends. The application has seen exponential growth, from 1 million users amid the initial two months to 1 billion users by June 2018. With such a big user base, most of the people are left with the question, how Instagram makes money?.
Today, the Facebook-owned organization is the go-to application for individuals who like communication through visual means, on their phones. When Facebook purchased this mobile photo-sharing application Instagram for around $1 billion in cash and stock in April 2012, it was two years old and had no revenue. At present, the organization is estimated to be worth more than $100 Billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
So, what is Instagram’s exponential development trajectory? How Instagram Business Model managed to change it to an advertising platform from a promising product? That remains to be seen. Here’s a glance at how Instagram makes money and has within eight years transformed as one of Facebook’s biggest cash cows.