Big News for Brands: The Instagram Ads API Is Here
If you thought Instagram was just for selfies and pet pics, think again.
Instagram instantly became a major player in the digital advertising space by launching its new ad API this Tuesday. The Facebook-owned company has opened the API to a select group of marketing partners, with plans to roll out access to all advertisers over the next few months.
Behind Instagram Ads API: What it Does
This news means that marketers will now be able to create ad campaigns the same way they do on Facebook and Twitter:
- Scheduling and publishing targeted ads
- Monitoring audiences and marketing activity (including photos that aren’t ads)
- Sharing access to Instagram accounts across teams
- Tracking ad campaign analytics
In the past, Instagram advertising was an involved process that required a big time ad budget investment, requiring agencies to contact Instagram sales representatives directly.
But back in June, Instagram announced that it would soon be expanding its advertising interface to include call-to-action buttons, allowing users to take actions such as Shop Now, Sign Up or Install Now directly from ads. The company also said it was working on an Instagram Ads API, which we’ve all been eagerly anticipated ever since:
People want to connect with businesses of all sizes on Instagram, from their favorite local clothing stores and restaurants to the largest brands in the world. To give all businesses the opportunity to reach the right people, we are working to make Instagram advertising available through an Instagram Ads API and Facebook ad buying interfaces over the coming months.
API Anticipation: What Marketers Are Saying
The Instagram Ads API partners that have been announced so far are also big names in Facebook’s group of marketing partners:
- 4C
- Ampush
- Brand Networks
- Kenshoo
- Nanigans
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud
- SocialCode
- Unified
Instagram’s partners are excited about the new API, and they’re definitely not trying to hide it:
- Jamie Tedford, Brand Networks CEO and cofounder, told Business Insider in an email: “This is one of the most anticipated moments in the evolution of advertising, and we expect the platform’s offering will continue to expand rapidly.”
- Unified chief product officer Jason Beckerman wrote in an email to AdWeek’s SocialTimes: “I’ve not seen anything this powerful since the launch of the original Facebook advertising API in 2011, which has since driven substantial success and revenue for some of the world’s biggest brands.”
- Ampush CEO Jesse Pujji wrote in a press release: “Instagram is the mobile marketer’s platform of choice for a highly engaged and growing audience. It presents a great opportunity to deliver in-feed, mobile advertising at true scale with its user base of over 300 million monthly active users.”
The launch of the Instagram Ads API is major step forward for brands looking for effective ways to engage their audience and drive revenue. We’re counting down the days until we can take it for a spin ourselves.