The moment TikTok was banned in India, Facebook saw an opportunity and introduced its clone in the form of Instagram Reels. This new video format borrowed all the recipes from TikTok – vertically scrolling and with engaging content.
Now Facebook has announced that it will launch ads on Reels globally to monetize the new platform. These ads will be vertically oriented and will be a maximum of 30 seconds long. Further, users will be able to like, comment and interact with these ads as they would do with a regular reel. Though the advertisements will carry a disclaimer at the bottom to separate themselves from organic content.
The social media giant has been testing Instagram Reels ads in India, Brazil, Germany and Australia since April before trying other markets like Canada, France, the U.K. and the U.S. and brands for various global brands such as BMW, Louis Vuitton, Netflix and Uber.
Instagram’s Chief Operating Officer Justin Osofsky said that “Brands of all sizes can take advantage of this new creative format in an environment where people are already being entertained. He added, “We see Reels as a great way for people to discover new content on Instagram, and so ads are a natural fit.”
According to Instagram, these ads will be visible wherever users see the Reels including – Reels tab, Reels in Stories, Reels in Explore and Reels even in your Instagram Feed. Additionally, these adverts will also be visible in the Reels posted by the users.
That being said, it is not clear how many ads a user will see. According to Instagram, the count of ads one sees will be dependent on how they use the application. Though the platform promises to keep a check on the user feedback around these advertisements and their implementation.
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