Instagram is now integrating ads into their platform, showing users shopping options and menu items from nearby restaurants. It’s also bringing in new iPhone features, such as 3D Touch and Apple Pay. The layout imposed suggests that the social network is looking to bring in unobtrusive shopping options that keep users in the app and also attract bigger brands to advertise.
The social network is already integrated with a lot of advertising, and not just in the layout of the social network, but within the content itself. However, Instagram is looking to take it into their own hands and bank in on what content makers are getting. The 3D Touch integration will allow users to toggle between options from a clothing brand, and a Shop Now feature will let them carry out the purchase while still remaining in the app. Apple Pay adds to this ‘frictionless shopping’, allowing users to buy something they see while still on Instagram.
Facebook, which is Instagram’s parent company, is obviously banking in on the sales of the products that Instagram generates, since the nature of the platform allows for branding in many places and in many different ways. It only makes sense that it goes a step further.
