Instagram reels its focus on creators and brands

Instagram, the photo-sharing social media app from Facebook, has announced a slew of measures to accentuate branded content. From bringing the ‘Branded Content’ tag to Reels and Live to allowing tappable content such as mentions and hashtags in Branded Content ads in Stories, these measures are aimed at creators and brands to reach their audiences sharper and to help them stand out.

The apps inclination towards its creators was already there and the recent campaign video ‘We Make Today’ is further evidence. The 60-second video focuses on diverse creators present on Instagram: beauty, make-up, comedy, music, dance, non-profit…

Keeping these very creators in mind, Instagram on 20 November 2020 announced it was bringing the ‘Branded Content’ tag to Reels and will be testing it in Live for the coming few weeks. “We want to ensure creators can clearly disclose when they’re creating branded content, no matter what format they choose to use,” said the app. This feature comes in addition to tools like badges in Live and IGTV Ads the app had earlier introduced.

On the other hand, Instagram has made life simpler for brands and businesses to run Branded Content ads. Until this announcement, one could only run such ads by promoting the existing posts from creators. “Advertisers can create Branded Content ads without the need for creators to post organically on Instagram first.” Adding to this, Branded Content ads on Stories “can now include tappable elements, such as @mentions, location and hashtags.”

Also, businesses can now promote content posts with product tags - This content that makes it easy for people to shop directly from creators that inspire them. This new format will begin testing in the coming months.

And lastly, brands and creators can “set a minimum age for their branded content feed posts on Instagram. They can choose to set a default minimum age or a minimum age for specific countries, or a combination of both.”