Social media isn’t a new thing - it can be traced way back, all the way to the Six Degrees Theory, which launched in 1997. Since then, we have seen a revolution in social media in so many ways, and today it is a tool not only to see a few pics of your friend’s cat, but also where you can buy that fish tank you have been after for a while or even sell that dog food you just started making!
Instagram came into this whole new world more recently - launching in 2010 as an image sharing and check-in platform. Instagram has changed a lot though since its early days because today it is a giant in the social media world -reaching almost one billion users today- that does so much more. But what does that mean for those of us in the marketing world? What do Instagram Ads actually offer us?
As previously discussed, Instagram kicked off in 2010 as an image sharing and location check-in app, which we all loved to use for our personal lives, right? But that was pretty limited for business because there wasn’t much space to actually throw your name out there and market your products or services. Since its launch though, we haven’t seen massive changes all the time - but when we have… well, wow!
So what were these changes and additions? Let’s hop into it!
Now this might seem a little odd to bring up, but the change from a locked-in, 1-to-1 ratio image is a pretty big step. Don’t remember that? Well, when Instagram first launched, that is exactly what every post had to be! Facebook made that change though, because when they took over in 2012, they saw the need for different resolutions, as they were going to expand Instagram’s target market to all phone makes rather than just focusing on iPhones. Today, 1080x1080 may still be a 1-to-1 ratio, but you are able to upload images and videos of different sizes and edit them to fit your own layout.
A big change? Well, it paved the way for the giant we know today, didn’t it?
Stories came in after the rise of Snapchat because the world loved them. What isn’t to love about short, punchy pieces of content that can show anything from that amazing tree you saw on your walk, to your brand-new bonsai kit that you are getting ready to launch! Okay, it is more than that. We all know the fun things that we can use it for in our personal lives, but when it comes to Instagram ads, Stories are a great way to quickly showcase something.
Photo: Instagram
Stories have a few rules and regulations (but what doesn’t these days?). Let’s highlight a few, and go over their pros and cons.
So overall, stories are great ways to reach your target audience, and keep your brand in the front of their minds. A worthwhile addition? We think so!
Reels is still pretty new - launching in 2020 to allow users to post videos similar to stories to a far wider audience. While at first this was marketed towards the general Instagram user, it shifted to being a really powerful tool for Instagram marketers too!
Photo: Instagram
So what makes Reels such a powerful tool? Let’s take a look at those pros and cons again shall we?
So this is a pretty big one for us marketers… But the fact is, Instagram (with the help of their dad, Facebook) have made our lives a lot easier. From adding insights to help track campaigns and page performance, to continually updating their algorithm to make targeting more effective, Instagram has stepped up for the marketers.
Now, there are some pros and cons to all of this after all - but, to understand the depth of the changes for us marketers and advertisers, we will need to dig in deeper. The fact is though, what one person sees as a pro another will see as a con, so where do things turn from being a change for the better to being a change for the worse? Only time can really tell…
If you're looking for help using this powerful tool in your digital marketing strategy or want some insight into how we've used it before at our agency, feel free to contact us today.