Instagram continues to grow reel ads. The new format is now available worldwide!
New inspiring content from brands and designers
After testing Instagram reel ads in select countries, Instagram is rolling out the feature worldwide. Instagram first launched Reel Ads in India, Brazil, Germany and Australia last April before expanding to Canada, France, the UK and the US at the end of May.
According to Instagram, “Reel is the best place on Instagram to reach people who don’t follow you and there is a growing global scene where brands and designers are discoverable by anyone. These ads will help businesses reach a wider audience, allowing people to discover inspiring new content from brands and creators.s ,
Instagram COO Justin Osofsky continues:
“We see reels as a great way for people to discover new content on Instagram, so ads are naturally apt. Brands of all sizes can take advantage of this new creative format in an environment where people are already entertained.
Ads for Instagram Reels are very similar to Instagram Stories ads. These are vertical videos that will be displayed in full screen format between different reels. As is the case with regular reel content, these ads will run in one cycle and can be up to 30 seconds long. This makes it easy for users to comment, like, view, save and share Instagram reel ads.
And like Instagram Stories ads, Instagram Reels ads regularly appear between non-sponsored reels that users view. They can be transmitted in several ways:
- in their flow;
- on the Explore page;
- In the coils tab, accessed through the home screen.
Unlike other posts promoted on Instagram, these can only be created on desktop. However, Instagram is making this format difficult. The app interface has been redesigned so that the reel is front and center, visible in the home feed, profile page, and Explore tabs. It also added a slew of features to help creators and brands monetize the reels, such as the new Collab tag.
How to create Instagram Reel Ads?
To access Ads Manager, you’ll first need to set up an Instagram Business account. Once this is fixed:
- The first step is to schedule, record (or choose a free stock video) and edit a reel clip using a video editing app – or the reel creation tool built into the Reel app. ‘Instagram.
- Go to Ads Manager and click Create when the content is ready;
- Choose a business objective for your reel ad. For Instagram reel ads, you can choose one of the following goals: Conversions, Traffic, Video Views, Brand Awareness, App Installs.
- Fill in campaign details including budget, schedule, target audience and distribution options;
- Choose an advertising location;
- Customize your CTA to help your audience take the next step after seeing ads like “buy now”, “start free trial”, “download app”…
Instagram hasn’t shared any official statistics on the use of reels, but ex-Instagram-top Facebook designer Adam Mosseri notes that the option is “growing in terms of both the number of shares and usage.
Instagram also said that Reels has seen an increase in specific usage in India, where TikTok was banned in June last year. The reels were launched a few days later.
But it still lags far behind TikTok, which remains the most downloaded app as of May 2021. Faced with this situation, Facebook will undoubtedly remain focused on promoting the use of Instagram Reels.
With this constant push, it can make reels a great advertising option for your social media campaigns. But like all social networks, the results and format are likely to change over time.