Facebook-owned photo and video sharing app, Instagram has announced the introduction of advertised contents (Ads) on its Reels features.
It has also introduced new features like Shops, Badges and Affiliate tools for content creators to make money from their contents on its platform.
Instagram said Ads will begin to appear in contents on its platform globally from today, Friday, June 18, 2021.
It said the Instagram Reels will start including 30 seconds, full screen and vertical Ads that are similar to ads in the Instagram Stories feature.
In a statement on Friday, Instagram’s Chief Operating Officer, Justin Osofsky, said the company sees Reels as a useful avenue to help people discover new contents and for brands to leverage the Reels and make greater sales.
According to him, “We see Reels as a great way for people to discover new content on Instagram, and so ads are a natural fit.”
He also said that “Brands of all sizes can take advantage of this new creative format in an environment where people are already being entertained.”
READ ALSO: Instagram Begins Testing Ads In Its Clone Feature
With the changes, according to the social networking company, the Ads will be identified by a small “sponsored” tag below the name of the advertiser’s account on the Reels.
Recall that In April, Instagram said several new features have been added since the launch of the Reel features in August of 2020.
The social media platform started testing Instagram Reels in Australia, Brazil, Germany, and India in April, barely eight months after it launched the Reels.
However, since the introduction of Reels by Instagram, the features’ usage has been growing, though not up to the expectation of the company, as revealed by Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram in January 2021.
He had told newsmen that though the Reels was doing fine, however, that the company was “not yet happy with it.” This may have, partly, informed the introduction of Ads to the Reels.
How content creators can make money from Instagram Shops and Affiliate tools
Instagram had on June 8, 2021, also announced the introduction of ways it said will allow content creators make money from their contents on its platform.
According to Instagram, “While we’re proud of the progress we’ve made, we know we’ve only just scratched the surface and there’s more we can do to support creators around the world. Today, we’re announcing new ways to help creators make a living as they build their personal brands across our platforms.”
It said the features are to support the creators, “Whether they are just starting out or are further along in building their business” to make both Instagram and Facebook a home base “to tell their stories, grow and make a living.”
Instagram explained that a majority of its users have gained the trust of their followers who rely on them to make judgements on brands they tag on their contents.
It said, for this reason, and many more, it decided to give the creators more access to its shopping tools and allow them “discover new products available on checkout, share them with their followers and earn commissions for the purchases they drive — all within the Instagram app.”
It said it has introduced the Shops for these trusted content creators to also advertise their own products or tag brands they are marketing, directly with the Affiliate features.
According to Instagram, “Creators have always used Instagram to share products they love, and people trust their favorite accounts for inspiration and new products. Today, select creators can tag products from the brands they work with or use Shops if they have their own product line.”
How the Affiliate features work
The company said the Affiliate feature works by adding a notification in form of “Eligible Commission” at the top of advertised products tagged in a content by a creator.
It said, this way, the fans know they are ads and the brands can equally partner with the content creators and reward them.
Instagram Affiliate features
(Photo credit: Instagram)
“When people come across an affiliate post from a creator featuring a tagged product, they will see “eligible for commission” at the top of the post, so it’s clear that their purchases help support that creator.
“This will make it easier for people to shop directly from the creators they love and give brands a new way to partner with and reward creators who share their products.”
How Shops work
Instagram said content creators who desire to market their own merchandise can do so by setting up their own Shops on the platform. “For creators who already have their own product lines, they can now link their shop to their personal profile in addition to their business profile. This allows them to display and sell their products directly to fans. The ability to link a shop to a personal profile will be available globally starting today.”
Instagram Shops
(Photo credit: Instagram)
Make money from Badges on Instagram and Stars on Facebook
The social networking platform also revealed ways its users can make a living using the Badges feature on Instagram and the Stars feature on Facebook. According to the statement it issued on its website, it has continued to update features on its platforms to unlock more earning potentials for its users. “Badges on Instagram Live and Stars on Facebook give creators ways to earn from their supporters.”
How the Instagram Live Badges and Facebook Stars work
Instagram said creators on its platform can earn money by meeting certain milestones while using badges in Live. It said such can be achieved by going Live with another account.
Similarly, the company said Facebook users can make money in form of free stars by equally meeting certain milestones like broadcasting a certain number of hours or earning a set number of Stars within a designated time period.
The company said the essence of the updates is to help users on both Instagram and Facebook connect with brands, get paid for their content or even earn money directly from their fans. It said “We want Instagram and Facebook to serve as a home base for creators to tell their story, grow and make a living.”
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