Do it for the 'gram... Or for the $20B. Facebook-owned Instagram brought in that much ad revenue last year, according to Bloomberg and PFWTM (people familiar with the matter). That Insta-ad money represents over 25% of Facebook's total revenue and beats YouTube's $15B (YouTube's parent, Alphabet, just revealed its revenues this week).
- YouTube: We've all seen (and skipped) the ads before a video. You'd think 2B+ users would mean more ad money for YouTube. Buuut, over half that ad $$$ goes to video creators.
- Instagram: Doesn't pay creators because it throws ads between friends' Stories and sprinkles them into your feed. Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for $1B — but since Facebook's now worth $600B and Insta is 25% of its revenues, the 'Gram is arguably worth $150B now.
The whole family... Facebook doesn't disclose revenue for its individual "children," bundling their financial info instead into their so-called "family of apps."
- Facebook: The old parent, always cracking dad-jokes and sharing pictures of ferns and grandchildren.
- Instagram: The too-cool-for-school teen child. Super fashionable, always taking Valencia-filtered selfies, and perennially drinking craft coffees while chilling on a white-sand beach.
- WhatsApp: The cool, foreign cousin that's always studying abroad somewhere and reading Kant.
- Messenger: The distant aunt that you always forget exists but go to when you need some random specific thing.
Focusing on "the family" could be a strategic move... FB's social media dominance is why it's being investigated by the government. Zuck's giant baby could get broken up to restore competition — that could include dropping Insta. Since Instagram generates more ad revenue than NBC, ABC, and Fox combined, Zuck may downplay that alarming fact by keeping Instagram's numbers on the down-low.