Instagram hasn’t quite figured out how to monetize mobile photo sharing—and the company is currently facing scrutiny about whether Facebook’s acquisition was in the best interest of Instagram investors. But hordes of users have turned Instagram into a profitable business opportunity, building new services on top of the existing platform.
Printstagram, for instance, lets people turn their Instagram images into prints, wall calendars, and stickers. A group of designers is even building a digital picture frame for Instagram photos, The New York Times reports.
Instagram has also become a go-to place for people to post photos of things they are trying to sell. Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and artists are finding Instagram to be an invaluable way to reach customers. Some Instagram experts have even started consulting agencies to advise big-name brands on how to best use the service. “Photos translate to any language,” explains Liz Eswein, founder of one of these agencies. Will Instagram become an essential marketing component of the DIY Economy?
