Instagram introduces ads on its Stories video feature, giving Snapchat a run for its money

The rapidly growing world of social media advertising is about to get a bit bigger, after Instagram today revealed it will begin inserting advertising into its “Stories” feature.

Stories, which was launched in August of last year, allows users to share moments in their day via a collated video that any follower can view for 24 hours. The feature is almost identical to rival company Snapchat’s Stories feature, which was integrated into the app in 2013 and also includes advertising.

The Instagram Stories ads will be full screen and skippable, and will be inserted between user’s clips of their day, reports Fortune. The initial trial will feature 30 corporate partners, including McDonalds and Nike.

Advertisers will soon have access to the Stories platform, which will offer analytics and metrics on a number of views and interactions. According to Instagram, 70% of users follow at least one business on the platform, so the new advertising capability could represent a significant opportunity for brands.

“Instagram Stories will roll out globally on the reach objective and to all interfaces in the coming weeks. From there, we’ll help you meet even more of your business objectives with direct response options available in the coming months,” the company said in a blog post.

Fortune reports Instagram’s daily active users on its Stories feature alone has reached 150 million, which is neck-and-neck with Snapchat’s most recent report of daily users, which hit 150 million in June 2016.

However, the number of active users on Instagram Stories has grown by 50% since October last year, signifying the Facebook-owned service might be the new go-to for advertising your business.

Check out how the new ads will look below.

This article was first published on SmartCompany.

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