The biggest question on everyone’s mind when Facebook acquired Instagram back in 2012 was how the company expected to get its money back. The app was certainly popular but wasn’t easy to put ads on or otherwise monetize. Three years later and Facebook is still experimenting with ways to monetize Instagram, the latest such experiment being “Carousel ads.”
Instagram helps brands share stories through imagery. And 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. We’ve also received feedback from the Instagram community that they are interested in learning more about a brand or product after they have been inspired by a sponsored photo or video. So, today we’re introducing a new format we’re calling carousel ads – a new way for brands to share more images with people interested in their posts. Carousel ads give brands more flexibility in telling their stories by allowing people who view their ads to swipe left to see additional images and link to a website of the brand’s choice.
In Latin, ad vertere implies “to turn toward”.