Instagram has announced several new features this week that are bound to shake up the way businesses advertise and promote on social media. For users, the biggest or coolest new feature is the ability to share Instagram Stories with friends via direct messaging. But for businesses, the most important of the new features is the incorporation of Facebook’s Canvas ad format with Instagram Stories.
Instagram Stories has been on the rise in the past year, reaching over 250 million daily active users. It is quickly becoming the go-to platform for businesses looking to reach the widest variety of potential followers and customers with short and succinct ads. Basically, Facebook wants businesses to be able to easily reach out to new audiences. Businesses have been able to advertise on Instagram Stories since earlier this year but now the capabilities are much more integrative. With this update, advertisers now have a new, full-screen, interactive ad format to take advantage of.
Canvas Ad Format
For those who are not familiar with Facebook’s Canvas ad format, this new update may be confusing. Basically, the canvas ad format allows for instant ads. When a user clicks on the ad, it will open up directly in the Facebook app instead of redirecting to their default browser. Oftentimes, browsers can take too long to load the ads with animations, product catalogs, or tilt-to-view images. This results in users exiting out of the window before the ad is able to load fully. With this new update, Facebook and Instagram users can view ads from businesses directly in their designated app without taking themselves away from their social media experience.
Instagram explained the benefits of this new feature in a blog post saying, “With the ability to utilize Facebook’s fast-loading full-screen Canvas format in Instagram Stories, marketers are able to use the creative versatility of Canvas to tell compelling brand and product stories. This seamless extension of the full-screen experience allows advertisers to capture the attention of customers with just a single ad.”
Below is an example of what the Canvas ad format will look like in Instagram Stories from the mattress company, Casper:
Save Your Stories
Also included in the new features, Instagram is now allowing businesses to upload the media they have used in their organic Instagram Stories to the Power Editor and Ads Manager. Businesses can then save their content from Instagram Stories and use it for their paid ad campaigns in the future. This is especially beneficial to small businesses that have limited resources and rely on Instagram for marketing purposes.
Instagram also wants companies to utilize their campaigns throughout all Facebook properties. This means your business can now share its Instagram Stories to Instagram and Facebook, as well as Audience Network campaigns with placement optimization.
With Instagram users now able to share stories through direct messaging, your followers can share your ads with their friends and family. It’s a great marketing opportunity that you will not want to miss out on.
Utilize Canvas Ad Format with Instagram
The purpose of these new features is to help brands reach out to a wider audience with their existing content. They will have more flexibility with how they create ads on their Instagram Stories and where else they can use those ads. For small businesses that rely on Instagram for their marketing needs, this is an important change to consider.
This update is very new and is still not available to everyone and may not be completely rolled out for a few weeks. So, keep an eye out for any additional updates that may be released before then.
Still a little confused about these new features? Talk with one of our team members today to help you grasp a better understanding. Creative Click Media has a dedicated group of marketing mavens ready to help you advertise your business.
