Last October, Instagram began phasing in advertising on their photo and video sharing platform. They began with sample ads placed directly in users' feeds, promoting a handful of trusted businesses that were already part of the Instagram community. Just ten brands were invited to participate. Additionally, Instagram promised not to incorporate any user content into ads.

Mobile marketing is still relatively young, and even big brands like Facebook, Google and Microsoft are figuring out their best practice for getting the most out of it. The search engine giant is leading the pack right now in terms of revenue, but Facebook is catching up fast, with the launch of FBX for mobile promising to revolutionize targeted advertising. With Instagram linked to Facebook, both companies stand to mutually benefit from new mobile strategies.

From the users perspective, Instagram’s refusal to share member photos and other content is great news. They are setting a new standard for sharing only relevant, shareable content.

Of course, this philosophy is a lot easier to bear out for what is essentially a visual platform. Creating images – even mediocre images – necessarily requires more work than creating mediocre text, so marketing departments will have to up their game if they want to avoid being spam filtered in Instagram’s new world. And with the recent addition of video capabilities to the site, users are experiencing ever-richer content.

It’s clear that we are entering a new era of mobile marketing. Some analysts predict that mobile will outstrip desktop by 2015. Whatever happens, mobile search and advertising is here to stay, and marketers ignore the changes at their peril.