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Instagram Advertising API
In the last week, Instagram announced they have switched on an advertising API for
the platform. A move that experts are saying will transform the way advertisers use
the platform and a move that will have a significant impact on the advertising revenue
Instagram generate.
But what does it actually mean for us advertisers, sat at our desks? The largest
benefit is that advertisers will no longer need to be an approved partner, or a brand
with deep pockets to qualify for advertising support. Ads will now become self serve
and will have vastly improved targeting, allowing marketers to zero in on passions
and interests, as well as the standard demographic variables. There is even a hint
within the official Instagram press release that Facebook style ‘Custom Audiences’
are in the pipeline;
‘…we [Instagram] will enable advertisers to reach people on Instagram based on…
information businesses have about their own customers’
Effectiveness driving revenue
The press release goes on to give details around the effectiveness of the initial
advertising trials, run over the last year and a half;
‘Across more than 400 campaigns measured globally with Nielson Brand Effect, ad
recall from sponsored posts on Instagram was 2.8x higher than Nielson’s norms for
online advertising.’
It’s stats like this and the fact there are already over 2 million advertisers using
Facebook, that has led EMarketer to predict Instagram advertising revenue could

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reach US$595 million this year. By 2017 it’s possible
Instagram will surpass Google and Twitter in terms of advertising revenue from
mobile!!
Benefits at the coal face
It’s not all about huge turnover and improved effectiveness either. Hootsuite summed
up the added benefits to Social Media teams and Community Managers in their
recent press release;
“This integration will also make marketers and social media managers more efficient
as they will no longer have to switch between their phone and computer to track all
aspects of a social media campaign. For example, if a new product is launched,
responses to comments and engagement with users on Instagram can be carried out
from the same window that is being used to engage followers on Twitter and
Facebook. Everything is in one place”
Maturing the advertising solutions
The announcements of the last week have come as no surprise to most. Instagram
has been getting it’s advertising products in order for the last year or more. Adding
new functionality such as:
• Action orientated buttons, ‘Shop Now’, ‘Install’ and ‘Learn More’.
• The carousel ad unit, which was recently made available to the majority of
countries where Instagram is available
• Ongoing improvements to the targeting capabilities.

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All of these improvements; the opening up of the advertising API, improved ad
formats and more detailed targeting mean the platform can service a wider range of
business objectives. All ensuring the humble image sharing platform launched in
2010, becomes an essential part of the modern day digital took-kit for brands and
agencies around the world.
What’s our point of view?
For us here at M&C Saatchi, we are particularly interested to see the improved
analytics package that is sure to follow, allowing us to closer track performance and
metrics such as reach, which up until now have been a guessing game. The
improved targeting will also mean that we will be able to segment the audiences we
market to and be able to serve them content that is highly relevant to them. A step
beyond this, the nod to integrating a customer database with Instagram users will be
incredibly powerful. Hopefully there is more news to follow.
Despite the explosion in popularity with Instagram over the last two years, there are
still a large number of advocates who have been very wary and skeptical of
advertising creeping in and soiling the purity of the platform. It’s these people that
can flock around a poorly executed sponsored post and tear it to bits in the
comments section. Even with the new tools and targeting soon to be at our fingertips,
creating great creative, that people want to engage with will still be the crucial
element to any successful Instagram campaign.