Instagram branded content ads are here! Instagram, the social media platform that has taken the world by storm with over 1 billion active users monthly according to Statista, and has introduced a whole new avenue for digital marketing.

Instagram Introduces Branded Content Ads

Instagram Branded Content Ads are defined by Instagram as a creator or publisher's content that is influenced by a business partner. The platform is now requiring publisher's to appropriately tag content of theirs that is supported by a partner. This allows content creators, celebrities, and social media influencers to foster more formal partnerships with their sponsors.

Now when influencers and tag their partners in a post, their followers and other viewers will see "Paid partnership with... [Sponsor's name]" above that post. You can tag your business partners in posts and stories.

Unlike the ads you see as you're scrolling through your feed, Instagram says there is currently no way to promote branded content across the entire platform. Instead, Instagram branded content ads function much like any other Instagram post or story on the surface, but offer insight statistics for the business partners. These insights can be viewed on Facebook or in the Business Manager.

The insights from branded content ads can teach you so much about your brand and your target audience. By monitoring the performance of influencer's branded posts, you can see just how much you're expanding your market reach through influencer content, and how well it's performing based on the post interactions.

These tools are also great for influencers, as it allows them to compare what really resonates with their audience at what doesn't. They may find their followers are more receptive to some branded content to others, giving the influencer a better idea of what type of content they should hone their focus on.

In the past, only select accounts could apply to be a part of branded content ads. Now, Instagram is planning to extend the opportunity to all users. You no longer have to be a movie star or internet sensation in order to dive into the digital marketing landscape on Instagram.

Of course, follows and interactions are still very important, even if you're not famous. The more followers you have and the more they interact with your posts, the better your branded content ads will perform, making you more valuable to sponsors.

This is a huge deal for Instagram. Not only does the platform have more active monthly users than the majority of social networks, but it is also among one of the biggest social sites for advertisers. 89% of marketers said Instagram was important to their content marketing strategy.

Extending Instagram branded content ads to all users opens the floodgates for marketers and potential influencers alike. Digital marketing is a $192 billion dollar industry. As it becomes more accessible and more of a tangible reality for the general public, who knows what it's worth will skyrocket too.

Once again, Instagram is revolutionizing both the social media and digital marketing industries by expanding access to Instagram Branded Content Ads. Branded Content Ads allow influencers, celebrities, and soon everyone, to form substantial business partnerships with their sponsors. It specifies whether a post is a branded content ad or not, and it also offers partners access to meaningful advertising insights.

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