Instagram Videos Will Soon Have Skippable Ads In Stories

In another move similar to Snapchat, Instagram announced Wednesday the launch of ads being introduced to Stories. The five-second photo and 15-second video ads will appear between different stories, but they can easily be skipped.

In the next few weeks, Instagram Business Tools will provide more insights on stories. Businesses will soon be able to see the reach, impressions, replies and exits for their Instagram Stories.

Instagram Story ads will eventually roll out globally on all platforms, but will first be tested with partners, including Capital One, General Motors, Nike and Netflix. The company says at least 70 percent of Instagram users already follow a business, so ads won’t necessarily bore its users.

Airbnb will be using Instagram Stories to build awareness around its latest product launch - Trips on Airbnb. Through a series of 15-second videos, Airbnb will highlight experiences by connecting travelers with local experts who share the same interested, especially from art collectors or hikers.

For now, users won’t see the ads until they watch multiple friends’ Stories in a row. When the app advances from one friend’s story to another, Instagram put in an ad with a Sponsored label on it. Similar to user’s posts, ads can be a photo last up to five seconds or a video lasting up to 15 seconds. Users can watch the ad before it advances to the next story, or they can simply swipe to skip it.

Snapchat’s ads, work just like the Stories feature, though it’s more of a clone of Snapchat’s Ads. Snapchat’s work similar, except that users have to choose different people’s Stories to watch as a playlist, with ads playing in between.