Instagram’s new ‘Boost’ feature lets businesses turn Reels into advertisement. Instagram has announced a new feature that will allow businesses to boost their Reels in order to turn them into ads and reach new audiences.
Boosted Reels will be visible in the feed, Stories, Reels tab, and explore page. To be eligible for a boost, your Reel must be less than 60 seconds long and have a 9:16 aspect ratio. It means it must be filmed vertically and in full-screen format.
Instagram’s new ‘Boost’ feature allows Businesses to boost their reels by going to their profile grid, finding the Reel, and clicking the “Boost Post” button. Instagram recommends checking your Insights after running your ad to see which ads received the most engagement.
Reels uses third-party IP, such as copyrighted music, GIFs, interactive stickers, or camera filters. They are not eligible for boosting at the moment, according to the social media giant. Reels that have been shared on Facebook are also ineligible for boosting.
In a blog post, Instagram said, “Keep boosting your reels to connect with your audience and attract potential new customers.”
“Instagram Reels are a fun and entertaining way to tell your brand’s story and reach new audiences. “Reels is our fastest-growing format and an important part of Instagram, as more people watch Reels to be entertained, learn more about their interests, or find new businesses.”
Release date of Instagram’s new ‘Boost’ feature
The release of the new feature coincides with Meta’s large bet on Reels. As part of its Q1 2022 earnings, the company revealed that Reels now account for more than 20% of the time spent on Instagram. Meta will most likely provide an updated figure when it reports earnings on July 27.
Furthermore, Meta recently added Reels APIs to several Instagram Platform endpoints for developers. Developers can use the APIs to schedule Reels and obtain Reel social interaction metrics. Using the new APIs, developers can also publish Reels on Instagram Business accounts. Developers will also be able to reply to comments, delete comments, hide/unhide comments, and disable/enable comments on Reels using the APIs.
