The Instagram Game Changer We've All Been Waiting For

It’s finally happened. On Tuesday, June 2, Instagram announced an open-to-all advertising platform. The new ad features are uncannily similar (on purpose) to those of Instagram’s parent company, Facebook. 

Target audience Advertisers will be able to target audiences on Instagram, just as they have done on Facebook. For now, the only target filters provided will be age, gender, and country. Since Facebook has had over five years to refine their targeting system, it’s only a short matter of time before Instagram can deliver comparable capabilities.

Ad feedback Facebook currently allows users to customize their ad experience by opting out of viewing ads that come up on their page or within their newsfeed. With one click, users are asked why they no longer want to view that particular ad (I don’t want to see this, Hide all from [company name], etc.). Instagram announced they will provide a similar ad feedback mechanism for users. Experts (read: TDH) think this will be a particularly good way for Instagram to collect qualitative and quantitative data on ad performance.

Ad buying tools While Instagram is launching its own API, it will also be linked to Facebook’s ad buying tools, allowing for businesses of all sizes to manage their advertising efforts. The initial partners for Instagram’s API include 4C, Ampush, Brand Networks, Laundry Service, Media Vest, Nanigans, Olapic, Resolution Media, Salesforce, SocialCode, Social Moov, and Unified.

Since Instagram is supposed to be an unadulterated visual experience, the challenge to marketers will be providing beautifully designed content that does not jar the user by seeming out of place in their Instagram feed. Our guess (read: suggestion) is that marketers will need to be more reliant on stunning photography and design than ever before, keeping with brevity of words for a clean, cohesive experience. Once Instagram manages to gather enough data about what types of visuals do and don't work well for advertising, they may begin to impose restrictions on what can be promoted. Facebook, to the chagrin of some brands, recently began executing its own restrictions for what types of content can be promoted by brand pages.

While Facebook earned billions of dollars with its advertising platform, it also saw many younger users opting out in search of an ad-free space that provided a better visual experience. Despite its highly defined targeting capabilities, there is an undeniable amount of sponsored clutter on Facebook. Users get bombarded with poorly retargeted ads from sites, even sites they’ve visited once. Now, Facebook is looking at earning a projected extra $1.3 billion to $2.1 billion additional revenue in 2015 from Instagram ads. But how quickly will Instagram face the same issue of overcrowding? With the combination of the Instagram ad API as well as the integration of Facebook’s advertising and user data, hopefully the new platform will be able to perform targeting with immense specificity.

The real win for brands and users alike is Instagram’s unification of the browse and buy stages. What was once a visual branding platform will now also be a space where users can perform direct actions. In their announcement, Instagram revealed it will start testing options for conversion in the form of buttons. Some of the test options include:

• Sign up
• Learn more
• Install now
• Shop now

These options will eliminate the pain point that many users faced when following brands. Currently, this feature will be tested only on ads (think of the possibilities with carousel ads!) and only in Spain. While Instagram has not announced any e-commerce possibilities yet, it’s only a matter of time before in-app purchases will be made available as well.

As Instagram continues the test and learn process with their ad platform, we’ll keep you posted on the ins and outs, the dos and don’ts. In the meantime, keep on ’gramming, kids.

*repurposed from an article I wrote for www.tdhcreative.com.

*all images are from Adweek's article: https://www.adweek.com/news/technology/instagram-just-unleashed-fully-operational-ad-business-165117