How Instagram Has Changed New Product Launches

Here’s Kyle from MIRA’s take on it…

Since March 2023, we’ve all been getting used to Instagram Reminder Ads and how they are used to drive scarcity and excitement for a new launch or event.

“Hold up, What’s a ‘Reminder Ad’?”

This is Instagram’s ad format that makes it easier for businesses to announce, remind and notify people of future events or launches that they might be interested in.

Let’s say you are a shoe brand with a well-engaged audience, and your new Autumn-Winter drop is landing in 4 weeks. You want to create a bit of hype, but times and dates are easy to forget when you’re a month away. That’s where reminder ads are ideal. Your audience can sign up to receive reminders just before launch. This increases the likelihood of them being ready and willing to purchase as soon as your collection goes live.

“So what changed?”

Previously, reminder ads could only be created using organic posts on Instagram. Now, you’re able to create them directly in Meta Ad Manager using the Engagement objective. This should be more familiar to you if you’re already used to setting up ads in Ad Manager, rather than in Instagram itself.

Reminder ads can now also feature within Instagram Stories, in addition to appearing on feeds. Placement is key when it comes to reaching different audiences, with some being more receptive to certain formats than others. So having another place where people can see and engage with your ad is certainly a plus.

“I’ve got a drop in 8 weeks! What do I do!?”

You need to have two things ready.

1. Is launch day ready? Do you have the product ready to roll, the section on site populated and ready to go? If not, get it ready.

2. Get them excited! Your product is awesome, your audience knows it rules, let’s get them amped! To increase the scarcity and FOMO factor, we would recommend having a 2-stage drop. This gives subscribers a 24-hour head start on the drop. This then increases your organic following and email subscriber list which we know adds revenue down the road.

“What’s the benefit?”

Marketers love a good push notification, especially if it’s building up excitement for something that a user has opted in for and said “YES, I want this”.

It’s about as direct a supported teaser campaign as you can get. In total, Instagram will nudge the user 3 times ready for the drop. First is a day in advance, second is 15 minutes before and finally a notification on the exact time it launches.

“Sounds Amazing! What are the Risks?”

You have to be able to deliver what you say on the tin. Keep a check on the number of people signed up for the launch or event. Then cross-reference that with your site’s typical bandwidth and the largest spikes you have been able to manage in the past. If you’re not sure how to do this, we can help out.

Also, it might sound obvious, but we have worked with clients in the past where they have worked hard to generate awareness, and on that day, the category page wasn’t ready to run.