Instagram took a surprisingly big step forward as a marketing tool!!!

Initially released in 2010, Instagram took a big step forward as a marketing tool this week. Instagram announced that, for the first time, it will enable placement of live links in posts, as part a multi-image advertising format for the first time.

Speaking more precisely, Instagram is now offering a new carousel-based advertisement format for advertisers on its platform. The new format enables marketers to display multiple images that users can view by swiping left on the mobile screen. By offering this new function, Instagram wishes to help brands share stories through imagery and also to offer opportunity for users to know more about brands through the app. “Since we began offering a way for advertisers to reach people on Instagram in 2013, we’ve heard from marketers that they want to tell sequenced stories in beautiful, compelling ways that lead to meaningful results for their businesses,” Instagram said in its official blog announcing this launching. The blog also mentioned that Instagram also received feedbacks from users that indicate users’ interest of learning more about a brand though their substitution in Instagram.

More than this multiple imagery display, Instagram also allows advertisers to link their photo or video ads to outside websites and sources. Instagram simply put a “Learn More” button at the end of photos series.

Check the new ad format here!

This tiny magic button activates broad potential of online marketing campaigns on Instagram platform. “For instance, a fashion company could use the carousel to deconstruct the individual products in a ‘look.’ A car company might share an array of different features of a vehicle and provide a link to learn more about the new model. Or, an advertiser could showcase how multiple ingredients come together to make a delicious meal,” mentioned in Instagram’s official blog post.

The ability to link an imagery post to other sites will certainly be a welcome change for marketerst. One of Instagram’s shortcomings as a promotional tool is that there’s no way to include clickable links within posts. Because of that limitation, Instagram has long been considered a place for businesses to build their brand and plant their flag rather than drive traffic back to their websites.

Instagram, however, typically moves deliberately with new advertising foramt and so is this time; the company said carousel ads are being introduced on a limited basis. “In the coming weeks,” the blog post stated, “you may see carousel ads and might notice variations of the format as we learn what people are most interested in and what performs best.”