Instads
they’re just pictures of stuff, you guys.
I can’t wait to see people freaking out over the invasion of their Instagram feeds with Levi’s and Taco Bell ads. As someone who works in advertising, witnessing someone’s distain for ads is a unique pleasure I take comfort in, because ultimately, it means people still care.
Instagram has been this amazing, personal medium that allows people to story tell, highlight the whimsy around them, share their love of monochromatic cats, landscapes and architecture as well as post picture of people passed out at the bar. It has also created a movement and given birth to my favourite hashtag of all, #blessed.
I digress.
Brands are always looking for unique ways to tell their story and Instagram has promised to facilitate that. Facebook (who owns Instagram) is conscious of engagement, and doesn’t want to ruin how people use the platform by compromising it with too many ads, which is pretty LOL coming from them, because… well… Facebook, amiright?
Here’s the part where I become serious ad planner/insight miner/strategist on you: advertising on Instagram is holy territory. People love the medium. It is where vanity and self gratification are more prevalent. The content is so personal, that people wish, hope and pray that others like it. It is the art school exhibit of social media feeds. Brands, aside from being entertaining, need to peel back the curtain a bit and give people an insightful look into their world. It’s not about constraining a billboard to a 612px by 612px promoted post, it’s about giving people a look into the things they wouldn’t normally get to see.
If you are promoting a post, make sure it feels natural. Make sure it’s entertaining, make sure it is good advertising. Take the time to think about what a larger Instagram audience (not just your target) wants to see. This could eventually be the place where you’re next 15 goes. Only, it’s not a traditional tv ad, it is a video that has to compete with other people’s childhood pictures (#tbt), fitness regiments (#cleaneating) and duck faces/trying on clothes in a mirror (#selfie).
As I’m sure you know, people care a lot about sharing their personal lives with the world, and if you expect users to care, give them something personal they feel like they’re peering into. You’re not trying to disrupt behaviour, in my opinion it requires a bit of conformity.
As a parting gift, here are five brands that I think are doing it right.