Instagram Introduces Promoted Search Results and Reminder Ads

Just a few weeks after Meta announced its fresh focus on ads as the primary source of revenue on Instagram, two new advertising tools have been launched on the social media platform. Search results on Instagram will now include advertisements, usually related to the search query.

The search ads are meant to reach a highly targeted audience based on their search intent.

The other new feature is Reminder Ads", which allows businesses to reach out to users who might be interested in their future events or product launches.

The new features have been rolled out at a time when Instagram is struggling to generate ad revenues due to weak demand. Search ads and Reminder Ads are expected to woo more businesses by giving them new and more effective ways to connect to their target audience than standard ads.

When Instagram users search for specific content, businesses, or products, relevant ads will show up among the search results.

For instance, users searching for Skin care" will find promoted search results from skincare brands in the search results feed. However, the promoted results, i.e., ads, are labeled as Sponsored" right under the advertiser's name.

In other words, Search Ads will appear to users who might already be looking for a related product or service. It's likely to appeal much more to businesses than the more traditional advertising tools on Instagram.

Meta announced it has already begun the initial phase of testing ads in search results. In the coming months, the feature will be launched globally.

Reminder Ads - How do they work?

Instagram's Reminder Ads aims to help businesses reach out to interested customers. Users interested in future product launches and events may opt-in to receive reminders. Subsequently, they'd receive three notifications, with the first one coming a day before the event or launch.

The second notification is sent out 15 minutes ahead of the event start time. There will be a third and final alert once the event begins.

Reminder ads, rolling out to all advertisers as an option in feed, help advertisers build awareness, anticipation, and consideration for upcoming moments.Instagram Blog Post

Businesses can leverage this feature to build awareness and anticipation for events by notifying and reminding their audience. Reminders can be set as early as three months ahead of an event. Meta announced that Reminder Ads is being rolled out globally, and will be available to all advertisers in the feed.

Meta's attempt to revive ad revenues

Lately, Meta has been witnessing a decline in ad sales - the company's primary source of revenue on its social media platforms. Meta first reported a drop in quarterly revenues in the second quarter of 2022.

To counter the declining ad sales, the company increased ad load on Instagram and introduced ads on the explore home page and profile feeds. At the same time, a new ad format for reels was launched on Facebook too.

When revealing its earnings for Q4 2022 in February, the tech giant reported a year-on-year decline in ad revenues.

Meta generated $31.2 in ad revenues during the last quarter of 2022, compared to ad revenues of $32.6 billion in the same quarter of 2021.

Apparently, Meta isn't the only company dealing with declining revenues from ads. In February, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel reported a stagnancy in ad demand due to advertisers being more cautious in the face of economic uncertainty.

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