Today, Instagram has done a big thing in marketing. The picture heavy social network gave advertisers the ability to link out from Instagram posts for the first time.
The ability to do this is just a part of a carousel-based ad unit introduced by Instagram. This ad format will feature multiple images that gives users the ability to swipe left within the mobile app. According to a blog post announcing the new wrinkle, Instagram compared the ad format to splashy print media campaigns.
“One way to look at it is carousel ads bring the potential of multi-page print campaigns to mobile phones – with the added benefit of taking people to a website to learn more. For instance, a fashion company could use the carousel to deconstruct the individual products in a ‘look.’ A car company might share an array of different features of a vehicle and provide a link to learn more about the new model. Or, an advertiser could showcase how multiple ingredients come together to make a delicious meal.”
By being able to link to other sites, this can be a great advantage to those marketers with access to the ad format. Before, you were able to promote your brand with images, but there wasn’t much you could do after that. Now, there is a way to link out from those posts in their descriptions.
Instagram said that the carousel ads feature will be introduced in the coming weeks on a limited basis. The blog post stated “you may see carousel ads and might notice variations of the format as we learn what people are most interested in and what performs best.”