Over the years, image-based social network Instagram has registered a huge growth, slowly turning into one of the most important players on the market. A lot of new features were introduced and brands seized the opportunity, trying to promote themselves as much as possible. Yes, we can already talk about Instagram ads, but things will soon be taken to a whole new level.
To be more specific, we’re referring to video Instagram ads, each of them with a duration of 30 seconds, according to CBS News. In an era in which everybody is using ad blocking services more and more, Instagram’s decision to add video ads, considered by many as annoying, might come as a surprise.
Isn’t this a bit too long?
30 seconds is the standard length for a TV ad, but we’re talking about a very different platform. Since the social network is used mostly on smartphones and its main focus is photography, this decision might come as a surprise.
Most users use the app to check the latest photos posted by their friends or by various accounts, so we doubt that they will actually stop scrolling and watch 30-second Instagram ads. Not to mention that a lot of them already started complaining after hearing about this idea!
Meanwhile, on Wall Street…
On the other side, Instagram’s parent company, Facebook, is already benefiting from this decision, the above-mentioned source stating that its stocks went 1.8 percent up in afternoon trading on Wednesday.
The company said in a blog post that the whole purpose of these video Instagram ads is to “provide brands with richer storytelling”. This is just another step in the expansion of Instagram’s advertising business, which has been slowly evolving.
They opted for a very cautious approach, since the social network’s audience was used with no ads at all from the beginning, so we’re very curious how these new Instagram ads will be perceived, as soon as they will start rolling out.
