Instagram

First Network To Test 3D Touch Ads

3D Touch ads are being tested by Instagram, the popular online mobile photo and video sharing service used by 400 million monthly users. These commercials use an interesting tactile function, which enable users to apply added force to their clicks in order to swipe between numerous photos. Such ads are still in the testing, as well as development phase, yet it has been expected that these will become ‘the future of advertising’, as e-commerce has gained a lot of ground lately and is, of course, anticipated to grow at an exponential rate in the future. The 3D touch capability is a new interactive way for customers to look at products, get their ‘real’ feel and access information about them instantly. Toggling between shopping deals and offers in the fastest way possible is the novelty and the advantage of such ‘tactile’ functionality.

To be more precise, such ads will run online or on the mobile page of your Instagram, not opening up like intrusive banners that have caused a lot of dissatisfaction to the users, yet, instead, they will appear in your ‘Feed’ (taking also into account your interests and likes), storing all the information in the ad format. This method is certainly expected to boost the number of sales for any item or service, making shopping more frictionless, as you will not have to look for the ‘shop now’ option or get redirected to a website in another tab, yet view the item and then swipe to get more info and details, as well as tap to see other offers as well.

Since Instagram has becoming more and more interested in the features of 3D touch ads, it has started (quite early on) to develop a vast array of ad formats, investing also in targeting. Also, taking into consideration the fact that Facebook owns the photo and video platform, there might be a chance for users to see in their timeline such ads and ad formats. And things are moving fast, so who knows when and how early we can swipe through photos of new and noteworthy products?

1.1 Billion Users on Facebook

We all use social media platforms on a regular basis and know for certain that a social media website like Facebook will continuously grow each and every day, yet, according to the latest statement of CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg and eMarkter statistics and report, the number of users has just surpassed a staggering record, as, of this month, there are 1.1 billion active individuals.

Leaving way behind other social platforms like Instagram (which has recently announced its record number or monthly users, namely 400 million), Facebook managed to beat all estimates in its third quarter earning ($0.57 earnings per share, as well as $4.5 billion in revenue). Also, according to the latest estimates, more than 700 million use the Facebook Messenger app each month and more than 8 billion users check out video content on this platform. It is not a shade of doubt that there is an impressive and huge potential in video services and apps, analysts stating that Facebook has not quite invested that much in it or investigated how much it could help the platform grow. Nevertheless, when it comes to advertising, the teams behind the social network are developing a strong and consistent strategy. Together with Instagram, Facebook is the most important and profitable platform, research firms confirming that these two earning immediately money due to their efficient targeting and ad investment.

In the US, it has been shown that 167 million users log in to Facebook each day, whilst in Asia and the Pacific area, the numbers rise to almost 300 million. Furthermore, in the rest of the world, there are almost 309 million individuals on Facebook each and every day.

According to Zuckerberg, the main priority is to build a better mobile content sharing and social experience, as more and more people give up using their computers and laptops in favor of their smartphones. Furthermore, various research agencies have predicted that the annual mobile ad revenue will surpass 500 million dollars in the following year.