Instagram is famous for being anti-ad although it just introduced video ads a few months back. The first time they introduced advertising to the platform it was met with serious backlash and so it went away for quite some time. Now they’ve launched an advertising form that agrees with both users and marketers – carousel ads with clickable links.
The Instagram carousel ads are photos in a series that appear as a single photo in the feed but swiping to the right shows each subsequent photo. This format looks to be a winner because it isn’t disrupt the aesthetics or functionality of the Instagram feed but they are still easy enough to notice and stand out enough to please advertising businesses. Users are able to clearly see if a post is part of the carousel and they decide whether or not to swipe through to see the rest of the photos.
To add, carousel ads are able to feature a link with a call to action such as “learn more”. They are the first clickable links in the application outside of the user bio. The difference is that these URLs will be opened inside of Instagram via internal browsers in a smart attempt at keeping users inside of the application.
These ads will be more focused on branding than on the hard sell, a winning move for the social media platform. Pressuring social media users to buy typically ends up with disastrous results. While social media certainly does improve sales margins in the short-term and long-term when used properly, it is able to do so through developing relationships, establishing brands and sharing useful information.
As it stands so far, the Instagram carousel ad seems to be a winning feature for everyone involved and it doesn’t end there. Based on the reactions and results of the new feature, Instagram will consider the possibility of 1) allowing videos to be added to the carousels which currently only allow photos to be included and the possibility for 2) all users to have the ability to create their own carousels. With video gaining more and more power and influence in social media, company websites and mobile, it is probably very likely that videos will eventually be introduced. However, the clickable URLs will likely not be considered as a standard function aside from paid advertising because too many links can take away from the clean aesthetics and functionality the app is most famous for.
