Meta has for long used ads for strengthening the revenue stream from its platforms, which includes Instagram, Facebook and to some extent WhatsApp. Over the years, the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company has not only increased the visibility of ads on its platforms, but it has also increased the ways that the brands, creators, and influencers can promote their products on its platform. Now, the company is doubling down on its commitment on ads yet again by introducing more ad-based features for select users. Also Read - Court blocks sacking of content moderators, holds Meta liable
Meta-owned Instagram has announced it will put ads into the platform’s search results to reach people actively searching for businesses, products and content. “We’re also beginning to test ads in search results to reach people actively searching for businesses, products and content,” Instagram wrote in a blog post. Also Read - Meta unveils Quest 3 mixed reality headset: But you probably can't but it yet
“Ads will show up in the feed that people can scroll when they tap into a post from search results. We plan to launch this placement globally in the coming months,” the company added. Also Read - WhatsApp is bringing new Material You toggles to its UI design
This means that in addition to getting regular search results, Instagram users will now be bombarded with ads as they look for a page, a product or a personality on Instagram.
In addition to this, Instagram also announced that it is rolling out a new form of ads called the ‘Reminder ads’ to all advertisers as an option in feed. The move is expected to help advertisers build awareness, anticipation, and consideration for upcoming moments.
“Reminder ads, rolling out to all advertisers as an option in feed, help advertisers build awareness, anticipation, and consideration for upcoming moments. People can opt into convenient reminders and receive three notifications from Instagram one day before, 15 minutes before, and at the time of the event,” the company added.
As of now, ads are now seen in Explore page, Explore feeds, Reels, Stories, and even user profiles.
What does this mean for you?
Interestingly, the update comes just days after Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, in an interview, said that the platform had ‘lost its soul’ and that his deepest regret was regarding the commercialisation of Instagram.
Indeed, over the years, the platform has become more of an advanced marketing tool for companies and creators, that is designed to keep viewers scrolling through their feed for hours. While Instagram has added alternative feed options, Following and Favourites, but users need to select one of the two manually every time they open the app. In other words, it can’t be set as a default option for a longer duration. And now, with the addition of ads in Instagram search, the company is taking a majority of its users a step away from viewing the content that they subscribed to watching. With ads invading search results on Instagram, Meta is creating another space within the platform for driving more user engagement, or in other words, keep the users scrolling.
