Exploring the Official Advertising Service on Russian Instagram: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Predictions

Introduction: On September 30, the popular photo-sharing service Instagram introduced its official advertising service in Russia, a highly anticipated feature by many businesses. However, the initial results may not have met their expectations. In this article, we will delve into the reasons behind this and examine the advantages and disadvantages of the new service. Furthermore, we will provide insights on how businesses can effectively leverage official advertising to capture and engage the Russian Instagram audience. Read on to learn more in this comprehensive analysis by Quarter Billion Agency GROUP.

Two years ago, the world market witnessed the emergence of advertising on Instagram, with renowned American designer Michael Kors leading the way as the first to test its potential. A captivating image featuring luxurious gold watches against a backdrop of popular macaroons, exuding warmth and appeal, garnered a staggering 100,000 likes from Instagram users. This tasteful and unobtrusive advertising left a lasting impression. Inspired by the success of the designer, major companies across various industries swiftly embraced this official advertising service, and the results were nothing short of remarkable. Ads took root, driving additional sales and proving the effectiveness of advertising on Instagram.

Out of the 400 million Instagram users worldwide, approximately 16 million are from Russia, making our country the 5th largest user base on this popular social network. As per the company’s announcement, the number of users in Russia is consistently increasing at a rate of over 25 percent each year.

Just under two months ago, there was great excitement among prominent Russian companies as Instagram launched its official advertising service in Russia on September 30. This highly anticipated development offers a substantial expansion of opportunities for business promotion on the fashionable and popular social network, enabling direct access to the platform’s entire user base of 16 million individuals.

You might start noticing advertisements on Instagram within the next few weeks. They will be labeled with a “Promoted” sign. You’ll have the option to click on them to hide ads that don’t interest you and ensure that the displayed ads are relevant to your preferences.

The option has several advantages:

• It targets the right audience, ensuring that ads reach the intended viewers.
• It helps promote websites that previously faced challenges.
• It enables users to publish videos up to 30 seconds (15 seconds for standard users).
• It offers a new form of advertising called Carousel, allowing for the display of multiple pictures in a slideshow format.
• Payment is based on real clicks or views of the advertisements.
• Detailed statistics are available, enabling advertisers to track the effectiveness of their ads.
• There is no minimum budget requirement, making the service accessible even to small companies.
• Detailed stats are provided, facilitating the tracking of ad performance.
• There is a wide selection of clickable calls to action, such as viewing full ads if the user is interested, visiting a website, or downloading an application.

In order to create an advertising post on Instagram, you will need a Facebook account, a public page for your company, and a valid bank card. In Russia, the official provider for advertising on Instagram is AiTarget. Their website offers a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to use their service and create a promotional post.

Earlier, there were reports that IMHO VI would handle advertising on this popular social network. However, this service is not available on the company’s website. While you may come across similar offers from various sources online, experts strongly advise working with the official representative, as a highly demanded new product often attracts fraudulent schemes.

The initial challenges faced by Russian companies with advertising on Instagram stemmed from a combination of misunderstandings about how the service functions and certain imperfections within the platform itself. While we won’t delve into the basic lack of understanding regarding the creation of a public page on Facebook, these minor issues tend to be resolved over time. However, a notable example highlights the difficulties encountered.

Even a behemoth like Sberbank experienced a major setback, failing to achieve its objectives and facing a significant influx of negative comments from dissatisfied Instagram users. Elena Piskareva, an Instagram business promotion coach, provides insights into the reasons behind this failure:

Sberbank intended to promote its Instagram profile officially. They chose the “go to website” action and directed a link to the account through the web version of Instagram. Unfortunately, when users clicked on the ad, they were redirected to the web version and required to log in to subscribe to Sberbank. Understandably, people were reluctant to enter their login credentials solely to become a subscriber. Additionally, there was an alternative clickable option: “Open in the application.” However, this created an extra step that users generally dislike. Furthermore, clicking on this option caused Instagram to completely shut down. In conclusion, the company did not test the CTR (Click-Through Rate), and they failed to consider the importance of customers’ time and ensuring a seamless viewing experience for their advertising.

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Another reason for the failure stems from the inherent irritation that imposed advertisements often evoke. This pattern emerged during the introduction of similar services on popular social networks like Facebook and Vkontakte, and it continues with Instagram. It will require some time for people to become accustomed to seeing advertisements without feeling negative about them. Ekaterina Frolova, the renowned author of PRO-SMM.com, shares her insights on this matter as well:

While advertising may currently be viewed as a rare curiosity by users, it follows the natural cycle of channel development. We have already experienced this progression with advertising on platforms like Yandex Direct, Vkontakte, and Facebook. The situation with Instagram will follow a similar trajectory.” Ekaterina acknowledges this perspective. However, she believes that this situation presents an opportunity that should be seized. One advantage is that Instagram advertising is currently affordable, with no minimum limit. However, she predicts that within six months, as users become more adept at utilizing and benefiting from the platform, the prices will be determined and significantly increase. Therefore, to capitalize on this moment and achieve success, one should channel all their efforts into creating excellent content and captivating visuals. In this scenario, even unsolicited advertising can generate interest.

Elena Piskareva, an expert in the field, highlights an instance of unsuccessful imposed advertising. In this case, a tattoo studio failed to captivate users with their unoriginal presentation of services, leading to negative comments on the advertisement. Unfortunately, it is usually not possible to remove comments on advertising posts. As a result, the company neglected the interests of its audience and the conditions of post publication, ultimately undermining its own reputation. Potential customers who witnessed this post are unlikely to choose this studio for any procedures, considering the negative reaction from commentators.

–Oh my goodness, advertisements really frustrate me!

That tattoo you got is absolutely awful! It’s fortunate that you only paid two thousand instead of ten. Advertisements are terrible!

The ads and the website display completely different things.

It’s not a public relations or Instagram promotion course; it’s a fraudulent scheme.

You, folks! Please don’t embarrass yourselves any further and remove your ads.

Nevertheless, there are some positive examples, even in forced advertisements. One such example is incorporating a humorous element into publications. The Knorr spices post, for instance, was met with great amusement by the audience and received a tremendous response. Users truly appreciated it.