While Instagram has been accused of poaching Instagram Stories, among other features from Snapchat, it is already enjoying massive usage for this particular feature with its 150 million daily user statistics. The photo-sharing platform has quickly moved to monetize this popularity by introducing photo and video advertisements embedded in a user's Stories.
Instagram Stories Ad Launch
As of this writing, the new ad scheme is still being tested and only involves a limited number of advertisers such as L'Oreal, Buzzfeed, Nike, General Motors, and around 30 others.
According to Forbes, the advertising platform will be made available to all interested ad buyers in the next few days.
The ad itself promises to be non-intrusive. It is not clickable and could easily be skipped. Some sources noted that it traces its roots from Facebook's own advertisements tested on its own Live video feature. Here, the ads were presented in the form of mid-roll content in broadcasts.
On User Ad Response
It is not yet clear how the advertisement will be received by Instagram users who are now heavily invested in this feature. Some observers, however, believe that it is too early for the platform to be monetizing the feature and that it could hamper its growth in the process.
Instagram seems all for striking while the iron is hot. In a missive to its potential business users, it underscored how the sheer number of Stories users could already translate to profitability today.
"The momentum for stories from businesses is clear," Instagram said in an official statement. "For businesses converted to a business profile, you'll be able to see the reach, impressions, replies and exits for each individual story within Business Tools. By viewing these insights, you can learn how to create more relevant content that resonates with your audience."
Instagram Stories Are Ripe For Business
One should note that business users hold a sizable percentage of the most viewed Stories in the platform. Instagram notes that since 70 percent of its users already follow a business, the ad seems a logical move and one that would be immensely beneficial to businesses.
The pricing for ad spots has not been revealed. However, it will be calculated based on one of the most conventional online advertising metrics, which is per impression. According to TechCruch, the ads will be auctioned off with pricing determined according to a per-1000-impression unit.
Again, ads cannot be clicked so advertisers will not be able to direct users to their website. But this policy could change in the future.
What is also quite interesting and unfortunate for Instagram users is that revenue will not be shared.
