Just months ago Instagram announced that a select number of lucky businesses would have access to immersive, full-screen ads in Stories. This week, any business regardless of size can advertise on the platform. In other news, Facebook announced it will transform your ordinary messages inbox on Pages to a centralized hub for Messenger and Facebook posts as well as Instagram comments – making it easier than ever to manage interactions with customers and fans. More details on these stories and more below.

More details on why this matters, and what else is happening in social media below.

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Instagram Stories Ads – Now Available For All Businesses Globally

Instagram Stories Ads are now available for purchase by businesses of every size. The ads can be optimized and run through Facebook’s Power Editor and Ads Manager tools. The reach objective for ads in Stories began rolling out this week.
Why does this matter?
Instagram announced the launch of full-screen, immersive ads back in January of this year. Only a select number of businesses have had access to purchasing Stories ads since the testing began. All businesses can now advertise and reach buyers across the platform at a price that matches their budget.

Facebook Rolling Out New Pages Inbox

Facebook is updating Pages inboxes from the standard “Messages” tab into a redesigned “Inbox”. The inbox enables brands to manage their Messenger messages, Facebook posts and Instagram comments in one centralized hub, which reduces the need to log in on different platforms to check your comments and messages.
Why does this matter?
The update, to be made available on desktop, has an interface with a sidebar separating 3 distinctly colored tabs for Messenger, Facebook and Instagram. In addition, users can mark items as “Done” or “Follow-up”. These items will then be separated into separate folders of the same name.

Instagram Testing Out Partner Tags to Improve Influencer Marketing

Instagram is the fastest growing app at the moment. Marketers and advertisers are looking to tap into the audience to generate exposure. Instagram announced plans to make influencer marketing more transparent by using Partner Tags.
Why does this matter?
Instagram announced a new process that would enable brands to tag partner businesses in their posts. A new field under the “Tag People” option will allow partners to be tagged. The launch of the update has not yet occurred making it unclear how it will appear in posts. However, influencer marketing transparency is a hot subject and Instagram continues to lead the way.

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