by By: Céline De Clercq
In the process of covering reach, engagement, and boosting ads this week in class, I’ve taken a particular interest in Instagram advertising. Instagram’s easy to use interface makes it one of the most popular social media interfaces for youth, and one that adults have an equally easy time getting into. Its photo-based platform is fun, quick, and a key arena for advertisements that reach youth markets. When it comes to marketing, there are many routes that you can go down. From checking out site such as SUPERCHEAPSIGNS.COM that you can use as part of outdoor advertising, to even using digital marketing tools to help display advertising online. We all know how important the aspect of marketing is for any business, which is why it comes as no surprise that anyone looking to reach out to potential clients would look into something like digital marketing agency san diego (if you live around this part of California). There’s no harm in asking for a bit of help, especially if it means helping your business. Now that technology seems like it is making an impact in businesses, it comes as no surprise that there are a number of techniques that are available to implement amongst any business, no matter the industry.
Alesia Hsiao, a writer for Marketing Strategy at Business.com even calls Instagram “the king of social media” with a “4.21 percent engagement rate.”
[https://www.statista.com/statistics/199242/social-media-and-networking-sites-used-by-us-teenagers/]
One thing that really brings Instagram to the forefront of advertising is how seamlessly advertisements tend to blend into users’ feeds. When browsing Facebook, blogs, news sites, or even just when casually google searching, ads are usually easy to distinguish and sometimes even obnoxiously in the way. On Instagram, however, I find myself constantly caught by sponsored content and advertisements, often thinking they’re posts by friends. As noted by Alesia Hsiao from business.com: “most people [don’t] notice ads cluttering up their feeds,” a viable pro and con of Instagram advertising. No company wants their ads to be considered a nuisance, but they do need to be distinguished in some way in order to catch people’s attention. With an estimated 76% of American teens age 13-17 using Instagram (NORC at University of Chicago 2017), it seems like the perfect outlet to reach youth. But if these photos look too much like a post you would see in your feed already, how effective are these ingrained advertisements?
For example, let’s look at this post in my newsfeed by @headlandslodge:
Looks like your friend went to the beach, right? Like cool, whatever. I mean the “Reserve” pop-up doesn’t even appear until you scroll over the picture, so it seems like this would easily be overlooked, even if it is habitually liked.
However, let’s look at @thrivemkt’s sponsored post:
Oooh, a quick tutorial on making food? You’ve got me. Even if I did think it was a friend’s post, scrolling over this caught my interest and ended up getting me to follow their page. I know it works the same way for my teenage sisters and their makeup tutorials.
So, what’s the takeaway?
Sure, photo advertising on Instagram is easy and doesn’t bother users, but if you really want youth (and honestly most of us) to engage, make something that really catches their eye – make it move.
Instagram already knows this. Their very own business advertising website suggests, “Short, fun videos that resonate with [your target] audience” when trying to “increase awareness among young people.” They outline effective social media campaigns including @hismileteeth’s “Punchy videos with Conor McGregor” (ha, I see you Instagram) that resulted in 5x the return on the ad spending, a 90% increase in male customers, and a 14 million reach in relation to 18- to 24-year-olds. If you want to check it out follow the link: https://business.instagram.com/success/hismile/
If your business has an Instagram account and you’re trying to grow engagement – likes and instagram followers – you can get help from an Upleap account manager who can do all this and drive sales. Upleap is a popular growth platform for Instagram, but there are plenty to choose from if you’re not sure if it suits you and your business. You might want to read this nitreo review to help you decide. Take your time to choose the right one for you!
Trying to engage youth?
Instagram? Yes
Ads? Yes
Photos? Maybe
Videos? Definitely
Twitter: @celine74605957
Instagram: @celinika123
Additional Information and Works Referenced:
https://business.instagram.com/advertising (Build your business on Instagram)
https://www.techwyse.com/blog/social-media-marketing/what-are-the-different-types-of-instagram-ads/ (Different types of Instagram Ads)
https://blog.adstage.io/2017/11/07/instagram-ad-cost-report/ (Instagram Ad Costs Benchmark Report)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170421113306.htm (Media Report survey from U Chicago)
I really liked the points you made on the positive Instagram ads blend very well, I always like ad photos before I realize they are ads. I agree with your point about making it more engaging by adding movement. Although, usually if I know its an ad I won’t even click the video to start with.
For me personally, I am less likely to watch a video than I am to view a photo on social media. As you mentioned in your post, Instagram’s “photo-based platform in fun and quick,” and this is exactly why Instagram boasts a high engagement rate. Photos are consumed much quicker and easier by those perusing social media than videos are. Usually I do not have the time or patience to watch a video, even if it’s only 30 seconds long, but maybe other people are different.
I totally agree with everything you’ve said in your post! With the new (horrible) snapchat update, I can especially see how Instagram is pulling ahead as a top social media platform. I’ve definitely been lured in by ads before because of how seamlessly they are incorporated into my news feed. Along with adding movement to up engagement rates, I also believe that Instagram’s new “tap to shop” feature is really improving company’s engagement rates!
This article offered major insight into Instagram and media in general! I agree that Instagram’s ability to seamlessly integrate advertising is what drives so much of their business. What I particularly notice is the pricing feature that puts you just a tap away from their actual product. I think this is one of the many aspects that gets people to buy products via instagram!
Thanks for giving a different platform’s perspective on ads and sponsored content. Talking this week about Facebook was different than the points you made in this post about Instagram. I definitely don’t notice sponsored content on Instagram as often either. I find myself liking a lot of sponsored content without realizing it. This insight on Instagram advertising for the younger audience is very insightful.
I appreciate the simplicity of this post. Videos, especially stop motion, really catch my attention. I also think it is extremely smart when food companies use stop motion videos to show the ingredients of what goes into their products. Rx Bar is a great example of this!
You bring up some great points! I definitely get caught up thinking sponsored posts are my friends and often times follow the account afterwards. Instagram is by far my favorite social media outlet and its ads don’t bother me near as much as Facebooks ads do!
This was very interesting to read! I definitely agree that Instagram is the platform that resonates best with post-millennials. Adding videos or movement into any post or digital piece of work definitely makes it catch a person’s eye. Our short attention span favors things that move. It is very interesting how advertisers have noticed this and are finally using it to their advantage. Instagram started doing this when they introduced Boomerangs and added videos to their app.
So smart comparing photos to videos, especially giving examples side by side. Very insightful. This is something every social marketing team in every company should read if they truly want to know what grabs people’s attention.
Instagram is without a doubt the most popular form of social media and it does not surprise me one bit that 76% of teens have one. Blending advertisements into a user’s feed along with the posts of the people they follow is absolutely genius. It allows for the user to think that the ad is personalized to him and does not distract him from the feed. The user can simply click on the ad or scroll past, a great Instagram tactic.