Back in 2013, Instagram finally introduced ads into its feed. Unlike ads we’ve seen from Google or Facebook, Instagram’s ads don’t really feel too relevant or too interactive, but that’s about to change. The company has recently announced (via Re/code) that they will be stepping up their advertising efforts in the near future.One of the changes that they will be making is by rolling out direct response ads which basically includes action buttons that lets the user perform an action, like make a purchase, install an app, and so on. According to Instagram, “This will not only help advertisers, but the community as well, as people will be able to learn about a product or service and then take action directly from an ad to sign up on a website, buy a product, or download an app.”
Instagram will also step up their efforts in making ads more relevant for you. If you’re someone who tends to focus more on photos that are fitness related, Instagram wants to be able to show you ads that you might be interested in. It seems that this feature will rely on using your Facebook data as well.
They are also planning on releasing an Instagram ads API to help make their ads more widespread in the future. If you’re not a fan of ads then safe to say that you probably won’t be too thrilled by Instagram’s efforts, but it might be good news for investors who are still waiting for Facebook’s investment in Instagram to pay off.