Tim Peterson says, “Instagram’s direct-response advertising business was born a year ago with a silver spoon in its mouth. Its parent company, Facebook, had spent years developing ad formats, honing targeting capabilities and building measurement systems and attracting marketers that didn’t want people to only see their ads but to act on them, to click on them and install an app, visit a product site, buy something. Conceivably Instagram could have inherited that business and its customers and called it a day, like a restaurateur’s heir opening a cafe next door. But it’s not that... [...]

Jay Baer says, “At this moment, the only things more plentiful than Olympics coverage and Presidential faux pas are predictions of Snapchat’s imminent withering and demise, due to the near pixel-for-pixel mimicry of the newly launched Instagram Stories. Here’s but one doomsday account. Use your favorite search engine to turn up dozens more. It’s a convenient—although not particularly insightful—narrative to proclaim that “new thing will kill old thing.” It’s a trope as old as media itself. (While you’re searching, look for some “TV will kill radio” coverage.) Inconveniently,... [...]

Tim Peterson says, “Instagram has brought a ringer to its recently escalated rivalry with Snapchat. To give its new Stories product more than a fighting chance against Snapchat’s original, Instagram is using an algorithm powered by data from parent company Facebook to decide the order of the Stories appearing atop the app’s main feed. Instagram’s algorithm will decide the order of Stories by referencing whose content people engage with on Instagram as well as on Facebook, according to an Instagram spokesperson. Based on those signals and others that weren’t disclosed, the algorithm... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “Social platforms are looking to innovate and evolve as they seek to win the battle for the hearts, minds and attention of consumers. From video to algorithmic feeds, major platforms have seen major changes in the past year. This week, Instagram announced the launch of a major new feature, Stories, that could help it thwart Snapchat’s rise. Here’s what marketers need to know… They are like Snapchat Stories, but (maybe) better Instagram Stories are essentially a copy of Snapchat Stories, which allow users to weave together a collection of photos and... [...]

Marissa Breton says, “On Tuesday, Instagram introduced Instagram Stories, a new feature with remarkable similarities to Snapchat. Stories provides Instagram users with a place to share posts at a higher frequency. While Instagram photos are typically reserved for perfectly composed shots, Stories allows you to share the little moments that may not be as picture-perfect. Instagram is positioning this feature as a solution to overposting. Stories live in a separate space, and you can post as frequently as you want without worrying about over saturating your friends’ feeds or filling the grid... [...]

Ellen Bartolino says, “With 500 million active monthly users, Instagram offers a unique opportunity for marketers to reach their target audiences through ad campaigns. The other perk of advertising on Instagram? The ads can look almost no different than regular posts, making them much less invasive than other ad types. But setting up ads on any platform requires a lot of thought: What should your target audience look like? What should your copy say? What image should you use? Not to mention, the more technical aspects like what size your image needs to be or how long your ad should run for.... [...]

Christina Kumar says, “Instagram has risen to the half-billion number of users. This is a very high number compared to many similar social media apps and is considered the fastest growing app of all time. How did Instagram get to this level and how can you leverage your business on this app? Instagram’s CEO, Kevin Systrom announced, “It’s a big milestone for us because we set to create a community, not just a photo-sharing app.” (TIME) While the app has grown exceedingly since its acquisition by Facebook, there are a few ways which Instagram has specifically used to gain the record... [...]

Verónica Jarski says, “Knowing the ins and outs of Instagram can help you use the platform as a marketing tool, not just a social network. “Mondays and Thursdays drive the most engagement,” states the following Sprout Social infographic. You can also boost engagement and gain new followers by having contests via Instagram. Moreover, “users tend to interact when they see others in their city,” suggests Sprout Social. “Post from different locations to pique people’s interest.” To find out more about building your audience on Instagram, check out the... [...]

Jenny Mudarri says, “So, you want to push the envelope with Instagram video but you don’t have the budget, resources, or expertise to get the job done, right? Wrong. Sure, you may have noticed an array of dazzling and creative Instagram videos on the platform, but don’t let mega-brands with huge video teams and endless budgets get you down. Carving out your piece of the pie doesn’t have to be scary, time-consuming, or even expensive. In fact, there are a ton of tips and tricks you can use to produce noteworthy video content without all the fuss”. How to Make Great... [...]

Jean L. Serio says, “With 100 million daily users and everyone from teens to Millennials and seniors uploading and viewing photos and videos, it’s easy to see why Instagram is no longer simply considered “one to watch”. The fact is, Instagram is now a full-scale social network. And a force to be reckoned with. Furthermore, as of 2015, Instagram is the “king of social engagement,” delivering 29 percent more engagement than Facebook and 60 percent more than Twitter, says Nate Elliott of Forrester Research. Their research evaluated 11.8 million user interactions... [...]