Get Engagement on Instagram

If your brand isn’t on Instagram then you’re sure to be left behind by competitors who are. According to Econsultancy, during an average day, Instagram users post 70 million photos and videos, and Like over 2.5 billion posts. While Likes don’t always equate to sales, engagement on Instagram is off the charts in comparison to other social networking sites. Socialbakers did a test with the top 25 most engaging brands on social media and found that the average post engagement rate is 3.31% on Instagram, compared to only 0.07% on Twitter.

What’s more engaging than still photos on Instagram? Cinemagraphs

Cinemagraphs are the hot new thing that’s just about to explode all over Instagram. Brands and photo enthusiasts have been picking up this mesmerizing photo effect like wildfire and now it’s becoming one of the most sought out advertising mediums. In fact, one of the very first cinemagraph video ads on Instagram and Facebook was only created in April of this year by the famous shoe brand, Stuart Weitzman, seen below.

Auto-looping & auto-playing video make Instagram the perfect platform for cinemagraphs

Cinemagraphs help brands break away from static content. In a content driven world with millions of videos, photos, articles and infographics, marketers are always searching for new and interesting ways to produce more content. Content that tells stories. Content that engages. Content that sticks. Cinemagraphs are not as noisy and action-filled as video, yet more mesmerizing than still photos. With Instagram and Facebook auto-playing native video content, cinemagraphs seamlessly play in HD. Instagram even auto-loops video, making the platform perfectly suited for hybrid photography. Scrolling through the Facebook and Instagram newsfeed, cinemagraphs are becoming this naturally integrated, highly engaging content form that catches people’s attention. Due to the balance between photo and video, cinemagraphs take the best of both artistic forms.

Lays, Toyota, Mercedes Benz and Dunkin Donuts are a few of the first companies to use cinemagraphs in their Instagram ads. Check out some of the posts below!

Raise a cup to sunroof weather! #RoaDDTrip #Cinemagraph A video posted by dunkindonuts (@dunkindonuts) on Jun 7, 2015 at 2:53pm PDT

Here’s our vision of @instagram’s #WHPHoldstill. #KeepItWild with your Weekend Hashtag Project. #4Runner.   A video posted by toyotausa (@toyotausa) on May 31, 2015 at 12:04pm PDT

Of course you want to own one. But, right now all you want is to drive one. #MercedesBenzCanada #AMGGT A video posted by @mercedesbenzcanada on May 22, 2015 at 2:34pm PDT

Another perfect day by the grill. #Lays #LaysSummer #chips #☀️ #(#127828#) #cinemagraph   A video posted by Lay’s (@lays) on Jun 8, 2015 at 9:43am PDT

The Next Steps For Ads on Instagram

A week ago, Instagram announced that their next step is to make Instagram ads available to businesses of all types and sizes. What is unique and really revolutionary about Instagram’s advertising platform, is its design. The whole advertising experience feels native to the platform. As a user, scrolling through a feed of rich photo and video content, no one wants to be bombarded by ads. By using sponsored posts that blend perfectly into the UI, Instagram ads don’t feel like ads at all. From photo to video to their new carousel feature, brands are able to tell a deeper story, while also providing a link for viewers to learn more. Not only is it more visually appealing for users, Instagram ads also drive results.

“Across more than 475 campaigns measured globally with Nielsen Brand Effect, ad recall from sponsored posts on Instagram was 2.9x higher than Nielsen’s norms for online advertising.”

Finally, the wind is in our sails and the right people in the right places are catching up; cinemagraphs are taking social media and digital marketing by a storm. In the next few months, cinemagraphs will become one of the most sought out advertising mediums on social media. Attention photographers, videographers and marketers: if you haven’t already, now is the time to add cinemagraphs into your digital media arsenal. Here at Flixel, we’re excited to have produced such an effective and easy-to-use app for cinemagraph creation. Cinemagraph Pro for Mac and iOS is the premium software for hybrid photography. Give it a try for free today, and mesmerize your clients.