First off, I think we can agree that the new Instagram video update is a cheap move on their part. Vine is just starting to get big and here comes Instagram trying to knock them out already. One video on Vine puts it best when the guy says, “Are you okay Instagram? No, I’m just vine.” Then again it is business, so let’s not ignore that. So, even though Instagram already lured marketing teams through their pictures, what does the new video mean for marketers?
The new video strategy was pretty much inevitable, especially after the success of Vine. It provides another channel through which the media-sharing platform can help advertisers target consumers. In an attempt to rebuild their revenue, this video addition will build on top of what Facebook already has.
Targeted advertising grows as time goes on and in turn, the information to marketing teams increases as well. Through social media sites, marketers have unlimited information to users that can be used for business. Information can be sourced about a person’s age, sex, interests, followers, following, hashtags and locations. This allows brands to find a targeted audience much quicker, thus lessening the amount of irrelevant ads.
Advertising on social platforms stretches the reach of companies, as they can be reached on desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc., making the reach beyond the TV set. This allows video advertising and creation to become a lot more accessible. Let’s face it, TV advertising just costs so much as well. With video advertising on Instagram though, they can have ads at a much cheaper price. With the introduction of new technologies and platforms, video advertising will slowly become more accessible and more cost effective.
With Instagram Video opening a new chapter of advertising opportunities for brands, the real question is whether this is really worth a serious investment in time and money. These brands are going to have to revamp a lot of advertising to make it fit on Instagram. It’s new, so there is going to be a lot to learn. The brands that have already started working on Vine will have the easiest time with the new Instagram video, but even so, Vine is still a new concept to many companies as well.
The limitations of time and quality demand new creative and imaginative approaches. This poses the idea of what could come through all of this. It is going to take some creative ideas to get use the 15 second or less approach, while still getting their idea across.