Is AI on Instagram a vessel for seamless marketing?
It’s obvious that Instagram (owned by Meta) is forced to be reckoned with among the titans of social media platforms. Boasting over 1 billion users, yes that is billions with a “B”, Instagram has trailblazed what it means to be a leader in social media. With a user pool of extraordinary size, it is only natural that Instagram has pondered how AI can influence marketing, and the social media giant has done just that, integrating AI as an engine for Visual Search.
where it’s located, how it’s incorporated, and fundamentally what it does
Visual Search is incorporated at the bottom right of Instagram photos, demarcated by a magnifying glass within a square border and encapsulated by a small circle. Nearly any photo with a product that Instagram’s AI engine can identify has the Visual Search icon integrated. Users are then able to tap on the Visual Search icon and similar products are available for the user to browse and purchase.
For example, if a photo of a sofa is posted, Instagram’s AI engine intakes the photo as a Visual Search, focusing on that item(s) and producing a range of sofas that looks like those in the photo, for the users to browse and purchase.
This is great and a breakthrough in social media but more importantly, is AI on Instagram a vessel for seamless marketing? Can this drive sales and give marketers the upper hand to access nearly 1 billion users?
Marketing products efficiently and effectively has long been the challenge that marketers and brands have strived to solve. With the advent of the social media age, the challenge became even larger and perhaps evolved into not a challenge, but an opportunity.
Opportunity
As marketers, it is important to understand the implications of this and just how powerful Visual Search is. AI-fueled Visual Search has allowed Instagram to market perfectly, as its algorithm has already identified what a potential customer likes to see and is inclined to click. This seamless integration rules out the common error of showing products to viewers who are not likely to be interested.
The market trend of Visual Search
Back to the Instagram
Marketing on Instagram will likely and has already become more subtle, as marketers utilize Visual Search, they will no longer market products shamelessly. Instead, turn “products and stores” into consumer-driven by introducing visual search. This definitely simplifies the purchasing journey as well as optimizes the user’s mobile UX.
As I scroll down my feed (admittedly containing lots of clothing pages) I have found myself drawn to beautiful dresses that are captured glamorously in photos and I cannot help but be curious as to where I can purchase the dress and how much it is. No longer to my surprise, the Visual Search feature allows me to shop for the dress and see dresses that are similar, all without leaving Instagram! Its integration is further complete by not only being able to view and shop for similar dresses but also purchasing and checking out all within Instagram.
Visual Search has made seeing something you like, shopping for it, and purchasing it, a completely fluid process. So as marketers, to have access to an incredible amount of Instagram users using Visual Search, the possibilities and opportunities are seemingly endless. As the statistics displayed above, the marketing process and execution with Visual Search are truly groundbreaking. And I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg.
So the next time a product on Instagram appears on your feed and the option to purchase is available, no, the product was not destined for you. Unfortunately and to no surprise, you have likely found the marketing powers of Instagram’s AI-fueled Visual Search. Back to the title of this blog, I believe our answer is “Yes” now.
