Instagram adds video to carousel ads, reportedly tests analytics

Facebook has been busy of late. A week after announcing dynamic ads to Instagram, the platform has bolstered Instagram’s carousel ads with the addition of video.

Instagram currently has over 400 million active users per month. Around 80 million pictures are posted per day, which get over 3.5 billion likes. And acccording to research, the number of people watching video on the app has increased by 40% over the last six months. Video is therefore a major area for the platform; highlighted by the fact it has recently added ‘views’ to video posts and will increase their length in future.

Carousel video ads in particular have been on Instagram since last March, but up until now have only included pictures. Instagram users see a single ad unit but can swipe through the pictures, which are chosen by the advertiser.

Now, Instagram is allowing brands to upload three to five pictures or videos – or both – in whatever sequence they choose.

Carousel ads with video are also available on Facebook, so brands can potentially run the ads across both platforms. These can be created in Instagram’s Ad Manager, Power Editor or Marketing API.

In addition to a new look and features, it’s reportedly testing out new look business accounts with the addition of Instagram analytics, or Insights. If the functionality is released, it will, alongside dynamic and carousel ads, make Instagram a very powerful marketing tool indeed.

According to Instagram post scheduling tool Later, which posted screenshots on its blog, Insights may be similar to Facebook’s analytics. It’ll reportedly give brands an in depth view of followers’ demographics and the impressions, reach, website clicks and follower activity on their profiles.

Those with business profiles can also view times of the day followers are most likely to use Instagram, as well as which pictures are most popular per insight category.

While this feature has yet to be 100% confirmed by Instagram – as well as its potential ‘new-look business profiles’ – there’s no doubt the platform’s gearing itself up to be an even better friend to marketers and businesses than it has been in the past.

Source: http://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2016/may/20/instagram-adds-video-carousel-ads-reportedly-tests-analytics-business

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