Instagram opens ads to third-party vendors; Twitter experiments with news

Marketers can now purchase advertisements on the photo-sharing app; they could also benefit from a feature that tracks popular stories on the micro-blogging platform.

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Prior to Instagram’s API, Instragram ads were available only to brand managers who worked with an Instagram sales representative, and they were a costly investment that many smaller organizations couldn’t make.

Using these third-party platforms, marketers and social media pros will soon be able to plan advertising campaigns, monitor activity and promote Instagram content on other online platforms. These actions can now take place on one platform, without the need to switch between Instagram and other tools.

Salesforce has already announced a tailored suite of marketing tools, and Hootsuite unveiled a feature that can help PR and marketing pros schedule content on Instagram.

Instagram’s API doesn’t include tools for uploading services, but Hootsuite came up with the next best thing. The Next Web explained how the new feature—available to Hootsuite customers on Aug. 5—will work:

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