Instagram introduces banner ads

Instagram has taken a step closer to being a “direct response channel” for marketers by introducing banner ads linked to profile pages. The banner will prompt users to take action such as visiting a website or downloading an app. More than 200,000 businesses advertise with Instagram every month, while 400 million users spend an average of 21 minutes a day on the app.

Slowly but surely, Instagram is turning into a direct-response platform for brands, and now calls-to-action look a little bit more like banner ads than highly styled and edited posts.

The Facebook-owned app is rolling out a feature that links ads to profile pages so that when someone clicks on an ad from the news feed, a banner pops up at the bottom of the screen. The banner prompts people to take an action, like to visit a website or download an app.