Like all other social media platforms, Instagram is creating new avenues to make advertising on its platform attractive to businesses. In that vein, it has recently launched an avenue for advertisers to create video adverts that can last up to 30 seconds.
If we recall, Instagram placed the first ads 2 years ago. The ads which was by Michael Kors- a fashion designer- has since evolved with different kinds of ads appearing on the platform both as carousel and video-based.
By the 30th of September, much more is coming to the popular photo sharing network. Both small and large advertisers across the 30 countries will be able to run campaigns on this service. New countries will also be added to the list including Italy, Spain, Mexico, India and South Korea. The biggest change is the ability to post video ads for 30 seconds as opposed to the initial 15 seconds. There is also the Marquee which is a premium unit that should “help drive mass awareness and expanded reach in a short time-frame.” Instagram says marquees are perfect for movie premieres and new product launches.
Other updates include the the support for landscape videos which we are already enjoying. This allows for a cinematic view as against the iconic square format which Instagram used to give their users. Now, you upload a picture and it has the ability to go to the landscape mode by just tapping the icon on the screen. Also, new delivery and optimization tools will be available for brands looking to enhance their campaigns.
Instagram is definitely touting the success of its Ads program, saying that it has helped to generate “strong branding results.” In fact, 97 percent of the campaigns measured by the company have generated “significant lifts in ad recall.” I guess it is time for brands to start making additional allocation in their budget for Instagram ads.