Instagram advertising may soon appear in places you previously didn’t see them. A few new ad positions are now being tested on the Meta-owned app to provide businesses more opportunities to be found. One of those test sites includes advertisements in its search results. If you use the app to search for a specific term, such as “makeup,” postings that are labelled “sponsored” will appear in the stream when you tap on any of the genuine results. Instagram stated in its statement that it would roll out the placement internationally in the upcoming months.
The app has also partnered with a few brands to explore a format that would allow companies the authority to remember or inform you of upcoming events or releases. You’ll receive notifications from Instagram one day before, 15 minutes before, and at the start of the event if you choose to participate in the app’s “reminder ads” for a certain event. These notifications will show up on your lock screen and behave just like any other Instagram notification.
After a year in which the company’s quarterly income shrank for the first time, ads—Meta’s lifeblood—have been given additional opportunities to profit from them. For example, the business recorded ad revenue of $31.25 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022, down from $32.64 billion for the same quarter in 2021. Also declining from $114.93 billion in 2021 to $113.64 billion in 2022 was its ad revenue year over year. In November, Meta made its first-ever mass layoffs and let more than 11,000 employees go. Meta has been drastically tightening its belt in recent months. Recently, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the business will lay off an additional 10,000 employees and restructure its divisions in April and May.