Types of Instagram Ads

Instagram offers entrepreneurs 3 different ad formats:
• Photo ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads

Advertising on Instagram: photo ads

With classic photo advertising, businesses rely on expressive photos. Whether it’s furniture, fashion, or a lifestyle. When implemented correctly, an insertion ad into the subscriber's content flow feels completely natural. The goal is to integrate ads as simply as possible into the user’s content flow.
Elements that are too heavy in text, such as long slogans, for example, have a disturbing effect. Therefore, marketers should forgo the advertising concepts of classic Instagram advertising.

Video ads

Videos are also a popular form of advertising on Instagram. In addition to 15-second snapshots, private users can upload up to 60 seconds of video since spring 2016. This feature has long been available for commercial users. Instagram responded to a significant shift, as in the 6 months prior to the introduction of longer videos, video usage on the platform increased by 40%.
Video ads differ from images in sound and motion, of course, but most importantly allow companies to tell a more complex story than is possible with only images. The food industry, in particular, is aware of the business opportunity that resides in video ads. During the summer of 2016, we witnessed a veritable flood of cooking videos on Facebook and Instagram. Videos from sites like Buzzfeed Tasty generated millions of clicks within hours. This boom has also spilled over to the advertising industry, with a remarkable number of video ads coming from major food brands.

Carousel ads

This type of advertisement allows advertisers to show more than one page to their customers. Carousel ads are formats with multiple consecutive photos. By a sweeping movement (“Swipe”), the user moves on to the following images. A sequence is composed of a maximum of 4 images. Short photo galleries allow, for example, to tell a story or show product details.