It is undeniable that Instagram is catching up with Facebook's ability to handle your business goals. Just recently, Instagram updated the platform to make shopping easier for your customers. But, it doesn't end there. As of June 4, 2019, Instagram proudly announced the newest changes relating to Branded Content. Today, you can now promote a creators' organic branded content post as your own feed ad.
Introducing Branded Content
Branded Content is not a traditional ad. It is a marketing practice involving an influencer, creator or publisher. The business partners up with the influencer based on a mutual agreement. And when the influencer posts on their feed, the post is funded by the business in exchange for something of value. In short, a business pays the influencer to talk about their products or services to gain exposure and increase sales. The funded post is what we call Branded Content.
When a business acquires the branded content, it then becomes a branded content ad. In the past, advertisers were limited only in tagging a post. But seeing how branded content thrives as an evolving ecosystem, this feature has been developed. Instagram now grants a business advertiser the ability to incorporate branded content posts into their advertising strategies.
Importance of Branded Content Ads
About 68% of users claim they come to Instagram to interact with creators. This update will allow advertisers to now interact and reach more people. The ads utilize the influencer's voice to tell the brand story and to gain brand awareness.
This allows advertisers to extend the reach beyond the people who follow the brand or the influencer. Additionally, the advertiser can access measurements and insights. This way, the testing and optimization of the campaign can align with their goals more effectively.
The ads will be displayed in the feed or stories marked as “Paid partnership with”. In addition, it will include the brand name on each post. This is in line with Facebook's quest for ads transparency while providing advertisers more ad options.
How to Create Branded Content Ads
Creating branded content ads involves two main steps. First, the publisher or influencer needs to enable their business partners to promote their post as an ad. This is done in the Advanced Settings. Once enabled, the business partner can see the post on Ads Manager under Existing Posts. The business can now choose to run the post as an ad in the feed or share in a story format.
Step-by-step instructions for both businesses and creators is available here.
Looking Ahead
Instagram says to expect the feed ads feature to be available in the coming weeks. From there, expect the stories format to be rolling out over the coming months. The ads prove to be of great value to businesses, influencers and to their customers. Instagram promises to invest more in developing these ads to perfection. So, be prepared to see some ads from influencers you don't follow pop up on your feed.
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