Instagram has announced that it will soon allow advertisers to serve themselves to carousel ads. Instagram will enable purchase of the ads through parent company Facebook’s Power Editor and Ad Manager Platforms and the Instagram ads API in the next few weeks. “By opening up the way advertisers can buy, businesses of all sizes around the world now have more flexible targeting.
According to data from Kinetic Social, reported by Garett Slone for Digiday, carousel ads, which let brands show multiple images and ultimately a link to some action, are driving 10 times more traffic to advertisers’ websites, compared to static sponsored posts on Facebook.
The broader range of objectives was detailed in an Instagram for Business blog post:
By optimizing for reach and frequency, advertisers can manage the number of people they reach with their Instagram ads and how frequently the ads are shown. To make media planning and buying even easier, advertisers can also control the reach and frequency of campaigns across Instagram and Facebook.
In addition, performance advertisers can now optimize delivery of their ads to people who are most likely to take an action on their website—driving more efficient performance on Instagram, or for campaigns running across Facebook and Instagram. Our goal is to remove friction and give businesses the most bang for their advertising buck.
As for carousel ads, Instagram said the ad format has generated a 2.5-point lift in ad recall, citing specific successful campaigns by French retailer L’Occitane and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
