Wannabe celebrities, politicians acting like celebrities and everyone else uses Instagram to increase their following and satisfy their ego. Well, Instagram is much more than that and the below-mentioned quote aptly describes what it is all about.
It helps to see the world through a different lens, and that’s what we wanted to do with Instagram. We wanted to give everyone the same feeling of discovering the world around you through a different lens. Kevin Systrom – Co-Founder – Instagram
It is the world’s largest photo-sharing application with over 700 million users as of April 2017. With a projected 26.9 million more users just in the USA using Instagram by 2020, it will be the killer blow for all the other apps and websites offering social media marketing services, regarding photo sharing to be precise, among other factors. Now Facebook, the parent company of Instagram, is ready to turn it into a big advertising generating machine through its Stories feature. SEO companies also benefit a lot from a huge number of followers visit Instagram’s website and related posts.
Instagram Stories
The story is a feature of Instagram that allows users to add effects, layers and then adds them to their Instagram story. Many critics spotted similarities between Stories with Snapchat features. Stories are the winner and according to latest figures, Instagram is leading with 200 million active daily users while the figure for Snapchat is 161 million. That’s the reason why Facebook is looking to make it the next big ad revenue generator.
Google is the big daddy in online advertising. Facebook is catching fast. And Amazon is next. Facebook is enhancing Instagram stories.
Ad Revenue from Stories
When Facebook bought Instagram for roughly around 1 billion dollars in cash and stock, most industry pundits termed it as a good buy. But not in their wildest dreams they had an idea about how far Facebook will push Instagram in making it a cash cow and incorporate smartly in its ever-expanding business model. Instagram stories caught all of those bigwigs of the industry off guard and now all of them are united in praising its prospects for the future.
Simon Moss, CEO of BrandBrief, a platform connecting influencers with brands, said,
The selling power of influencers on Instagram is unprecedented. Their trust levels are high, engagement is high, and this helps convert from awareness to purchase. Best of all, brands can track what’s working.
This is turning Instagram Stories as the next frontier to conquer for advertisers to attract people in hordes.
What’s the Reason for the Decline of Snapchat’s Usage as compared to Instagram Stories?
Apart from many conspiracy theories and reasons you must have heard from your friends and colleagues, one reason is quite evident. People now prefer using Instagram as it has the backing of Facebook and for the fact that Snap has been quite lethargic off late in terms of offering new features. Snapchat Stories saw a substantial decline from August 2016 to January 2017 and that gave virtually an open field for Instagram to play on and steal Snapchat’s users in droves.
The New Ad Model of Instagram Stories
On September 12, 2017, Facebook disclosed a number of updates that are likely to take the business world by storm. Through these updates, it will be quite easier for the brands to advertise on the platform with their size and nature of business not creating any hindrance in getting the most of Instagram Stories. It includes a new uploading tool which can be used by marketers, already using Instagram Stories to change them as paid ads.
Facebook’s Canvas also can now be used with the advertisers having the liberty to easily run a particular ad on Facebook and Instagram simultaneously. With these updates, advertisers now have more flexibility with how they are going to create and buy ads on the Instagram Stories. Power Editor and Ads Manager tools are especially beneficial for small businesses.
Final Word
Ads that are attractive, catchy and vibrant get the maximum eyeballs. That’s where the platform like Instagram Stories is best. It’s a masterstroke from Instagram to offer marketers the chance to create content that can easily be incorporated into the Stories interface. The insane success of Instagram stories and the power of Facebook’s backing means it is going to be really tough for other platforms to compete Instagram in the coming few years.
