Hating all of the ads you’re seeing on Instagram? Well, the company has a solution for you — MORE ADS.
In a blog post, the company announced that it is launching two new ways to advertise on the social media platform: Reminder Ads and Ads in Search Results. With these additions searching for anything will potentially show you ads and, even when you leave the app, you could end up getting a push notification from the app…that’s also an ad.
The first product the company is rolling out is Reminder Ads. With these, users can opt into receiving notifications about upcoming events or launches. For example, if you see an ad for a TV show premiere or a product launch in your feed, you can tap on “Remind me” and get three reminders from Instagram: one day before, 15 minutes before, and at the time of the event.
These notifications will be shown both in the app as well as through push notifications sent to your phone. Instagram says it has been testing the feature already with Starz, who have been using it to promote its television shows.
The company is also adding ads to search results. According to Instagram, the ads will appear in the feed that users can scroll through when they tap into a post from search results. So, if you search for sneakers, you might be an ad from Nike in your search results. According to Instagram, this is currently being tested but the company plans to roll it out globally “in the coming months.”
Both moves by Instagram aren’t surprising. The company has continued to increase advertising and other monetization features on the platform in order to monetize its massive user base. Search is an important part of the platform, with many users turning to Instagram to discover new content, products, and businesses. By adding ads to search results, the company is looking to squeeze out even more revenue from users and brands.
The announcement comes about a week after Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said that the app has too many ads and has lost its “soul.” Meta, its parent company, has also just rolled out paid verification for both Facebook and Instagram in the United States.
