Instagram is showing companies that ads don’t have to be as in your face as they have been in the past.
Last year, Instagram rolled out its social media ads to all U.S. users who are 18 and older. These ads are shown irrespective of whether you follow that brand or not. However, one of the most interesting things about these ads is that advertising on Instagram’s social media network isn’t open to everyone right now. Only brands you are already familiar with such as Ben & Jerry’s, Macy’s and Michael Kors are being given the opportunity to advertise on the social media network. Instagram’s CEO, Kevin Systrom, has repeatedly emphasized that the company is taking it slow when it comes to its advertising efforts and will be working with a limited group of advertisers in the beginning in order to maintain the company’s big focus of “keep the standard really, really high.”
So far that approach seems to be working. At GigaOm’s Roadmap conference, Systrom said that more than 5% of all ad impressions on Instagram turn into “likes,” which is an impressively high number by online advertising standards. Instagram has also started the “Tools and Tips for Marketers” blog on their social network to help advertisers figure what works on their social media site to raise brand awareness. On top of that, it has also published “The Instagram Handbook for Brands.” Though the book isn’t broadly available, Instagram promises to post content from its book onto its new blog to help companies raise their brand awareness.
Instagram’s handbook profiles 11 companies that have been successful at posting engaging content on its social media site. It highlights the need for brand awareness and advises companies to encourage action among followers while essentially leaving out the product shots and promotions. Instead they want those elements of the advertisements to be distributed to the community via creative hashtags such as, #chasinglight and #thingsorganizedneatly. These hashtags are intended to feature the creativity within its community.
The social network’s business has always been about using personal and social data to target ads to consumers and grow brand awareness. However, Instagram is showing companies that ads don’t have to be as in your face as they have been in the past. Some of their most successful ads that raised brand awareness don’t look like ads at all. They look like regular photos you would share on your feed. The only distinguishing factor is a label saying “Sponsored” at the top-right corner, instead of the time-stamp, to let you know that this is an advertisement.
To learn more about “Instagram For Business,” click here.
What do you think of Instagram’s new approach to social media? Would you advertise on its platform? We want to hear from you!
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Photo Credit: Carolyn Coles