Instagram ads are paid photo and video posts that brands share across the platform. The main places ads can be shown on Instagram is either Stories, within the users feed, or on the explore page. A significant 50% of users are more interested in a brand when they see ads for it on the platform. It’s no surprise that Instagram Ads are an essential part of many companies digital marketing strategy.
Instagram Story Ads
Because the Stories are full-screen and vertical they take up a user’s entire screen, immersing them fully in the content. Story ads appear between other users Stories, and similar to Instagram post ads, it’s difficult to tell them apart from the rest of the organic content. These ads can be in photo or video format.
Surprisingly, it is often the Instagram ads that aren’t polished and highly produced that perform better. This is because users see ‘home-made’ or ‘real’ ads as more informal and authentic. And again, they are seamlessly integrated and blend in better among the rest of the users family and friends stories.
A big advantage of Story ads is the ability to include a swipe up link, which in organic posts is a feature only reserved for users who are verified or have more than 10,000 followers.
Instagram Feed Ads
These type of ads are found blended into a user’s feed along with all of the other posts from the people they follow. Just like story ads, you should try use photos/videos that blend in with other posts in your target audiences feed to prevent your ad sticking out for the wrong reasons and becoming less effective.
Feed ads can be in a range of formats, such as single photo, single video, carousel, slideshow or collection. You can also include a clickable link on photo and video Feed Ads.
Explore Page Ads
The Explore page is where users go to discover new content, watch, shop and connect with creators and businesses. Every person’s Explore page is unique, featuring curated content that’s personalised based on each individual’s interests. Businesses can now utilise this explore page even more by sharing ads and reaching the users on their Explore page feeds.
Note: Ads will not appear in the Explore grid itself. Instead, when users click on a piece of content on the explore page and begin to scroll through the Explore Feed, this is where these ads will be found. They use the same formats as Instagram Feed ads.
If you’d like to find out more about online advertising, remarketing, advertising budgets and more have a look through our Knowledge Base and Blog Archive.
