Instagram introduces updates to ads on Stories, and now lets users share Direct

Instagram Stories Direct shareInstagram has made updates to the way advertisers create and buy ads in Stories, in order to make the process more flexible.

Instagram Stories has now been integrated with Facebook Canvas, enabling advertisers to bring a full-screen interactive ad experience to the popular app feature.

In addition, Instagram has introduced a new uploading tool to get the most out of the new full-screen ads. This tool enables businesses to extend the reach of their existing creative by having it live permanently within Ads Manager and Power Editor for future use. It will also enable advertisers to camera features such as stickers, face filters, geofilters, boomerangs and drawing tools to create organic content and repurpose it as an ad.

The final update will see the introduction of the ability to add Instagram Stories to an existing campaign. Placement Optimisation lets stories be added to any Facebook, Instagram, In-Stream, or Audience Network campaigns with the aim of maximising efficiencies across all placements. This feature will be rolled out globally in the coming weeks.

On top of the advertising update, Instagram is enabling users to send stories as a direct message. While watching a story, users can now tap on the Direct icon and choose a friend or group of friends they wish to share it with.

Instagram launched Stories in August 2016, and has since reached 250m daily active users. Last week, it was reported that Instagram was testing a feature that would enable users to share their stories directly to Facebook.