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Instagram Has Become SkyMall

clivethompson.medium.com

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Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#201

Post by dunnevens »

barry-cotter wrote: post #195
dunnevens wrote: post #183

I don't use Instagram much, but I am on Facebook too often. The limitations of the advertising algorithms are very interesting to me. For example: I participate in ex-evangelical groups because of my childhood experiences. Also follow pages which discuss American Christianity from a secular or journalistic perspective, and in Christian groups which interpret their beliefs from a left-ish ideology. "Liking" any post f…

> It's very rare when I see progressive churches advertise. You’d just be setting your money on fire. You’re trying to find the people at the intersection of progressive attitudes and serious commitment to Christianity. Progressive churches have lower commitment because they have minimal to zero differences in morality with progressives who don’t go to church and they’re less likely to have children continue in the f…

I think this depends on what the ads are being used for. Majority of ads I see are for church services, or long rants on a particular religious topic by individuals who aren't selling anything. Most of my religious ads are not part of a big marketing campaign.

Centrist or progressive churches would also benefit from telling people what time services start. And some progressive Christians would want their opinion piece or podcast promoted. I'm sure those ads exist. I just don't see them very often.

For ads of this type, we're not talking about expensive bids. These fall squarely into the "$20 to promote this post" category.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#202

Post by app4soft »

avalys wrote: post #144

I get great ads on Instagram. Generally, they’re niche products related to my interests from small companies I’ve never heard of before. Yes, there’s a few misses, but it’s way better than the absolute scum-sucking garbage I see elsewhere on the internet from other ad networks. “Doctor shares one weird trick for emptying your bowels every morning”, “Alan Greenspan tells you what to buy instead of Litecoin”, and simil…

> I get great ads on Instagram¹.

¹ S̶o̶c̶i̶a̶l̶ Ads network.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#203

Post by hectormalot »

dunnevens wrote: post #200
smt88 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't necessarily think you're experiencing an important flaw here. I'd wager that the vast majority of people interacting with content related to evangelical Christianity are in the "pro" category, so people in the "anti" category are an acceptable false-positive. For example, if I'm trying to sell something to evangelical Christians and 95% of my views are "pro" and 5% are "anti", that's still hugely valuable to…

You're probably right and it isn't necessarily a huge flaw. But, the failures are interesting. Especially when it involves a subject where the for / against lines are so clearly drawn. If Facebook is failing at such an easy subject, then what else are they getting wrong?

Their definition of successful targeting is different than yours. Back in 2019(?) Google published average display ad click rates of 0.03% I think. If FBs targeting gets them to 3% (100x better), that’s hugely valuable to them, while you still see mostly non interesting ads.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#204

Post by [deleted] »

barry-cotter wrote: post #195
dunnevens wrote: post #183

I don't use Instagram much, but I am on Facebook too often. The limitations of the advertising algorithms are very interesting to me. For example: I participate in ex-evangelical groups because of my childhood experiences. Also follow pages which discuss American Christianity from a secular or journalistic perspective, and in Christian groups which interpret their beliefs from a left-ish ideology. "Liking" any post f…

> It's very rare when I see progressive churches advertise. You’d just be setting your money on fire. You’re trying to find the people at the intersection of progressive attitudes and serious commitment to Christianity. Progressive churches have lower commitment because they have minimal to zero differences in morality with progressives who don’t go to church and they’re less likely to have children continue in the f…

[deleted]

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#205

Post by tsimionescu »

gccs wrote: post #70
Taek wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Advertising works at a subconscious level. The more you see a product, the more you subconsciously learn to like and trust the product, especially if you are being exposed to that product in a trusted context (popular celebrity posing with it, etc). I wish I had saved the link, but I read a study that showed people consistently underestimated how likely they were to buy a product after seeing an ad. They would buy it…

Coke stopped buying advertising once. Cause everyone already knows about them, so why pay for ads? Their sales dropped dramatically. Now they pay for lots of ads.

That's only surprising if you mistakenly imagine ads to be about competition. Instead, ads are about getting you to consume things you don't need, and since no one needs Coke,lless advertising -> less sales overall. Of course, that's only a bad thing for Coke, and should be encouraged actually.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#206

Post by fakedang »

dunnevens wrote: post #201
barry-cotter wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's very rare when I see progressive churches advertise. You’d just be setting your money on fire. You’re trying to find the people at the intersection of progressive attitudes and serious commitment to Christianity. Progressive churches have lower commitment because they have minimal to zero differences in morality with progressives who don’t go to church and they’re less likely to have children continue in the f…

I think this depends on what the ads are being used for. Majority of ads I see are for church services, or long rants on a particular religious topic by individuals who aren't selling anything. Most of my religious ads are not part of a big marketing campaign. Centrist or progressive churches would also benefit from telling people what time services start. And some progressive Christians would want their opinion piec…

I guess the simple answer is that progressive churches, or any progressive places of worship for that matter, don't receive as much funding as their conservative equivalents. Nor do they harangue their masses for funding like their conservative equivalents.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#207

Post by jasonkester »

Is it the app that shows ads? I just checked Instagram for the first time in a week, and I made it all the way down to where I’d left off without seeing a single ad.

This is using the website on an iPad, with no ad blocker or anything.

If it’s just the app, then no worries. I gave up trying to use it on my phone because the photos and text are just too small to see and they go out of their way to make sure you can’t zoom or change the font size to something legible. Its just way more pleasant on a tablet or desktop.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#208

Post by baby »

avalys wrote: post #144

I get great ads on Instagram. Generally, they’re niche products related to my interests from small companies I’ve never heard of before. Yes, there’s a few misses, but it’s way better than the absolute scum-sucking garbage I see elsewhere on the internet from other ad networks. “Doctor shares one weird trick for emptying your bowels every morning”, “Alan Greenspan tells you what to buy instead of Litecoin”, and simil…

Same. I bought a bunch of stuff from instagram ads (unless they’re easy scams/dropshipping products which you can easily tell). These days I’m looking at modular floor couch (like roche bobois majhong, I recommend checking that if you don’t know about these couches because they look amazing) and I’m now getting a bunch of more affordable alternatives as ads.

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#209

Post by baby »

LeftHandPath wrote: post #152
avalys wrote: post #144

I get great ads on Instagram. Generally, they’re niche products related to my interests from small companies I’ve never heard of before. Yes, there’s a few misses, but it’s way better than the absolute scum-sucking garbage I see elsewhere on the internet from other ad networks. “Doctor shares one weird trick for emptying your bowels every morning”, “Alan Greenspan tells you what to buy instead of Litecoin”, and simil…

I agree. Honestly, as a consumer, Instagram is the best advertising experience I've ever had. It's scarily good. I find sales from e.g. Cole Hann, Brooks Brothers, Piloti, etc all the time. It's quite possibly the only platform where I would say I bought an item specifically because I saw it an ad.

Cole haan are my favorite brands of shoes as well! Check allbirds as well they’re super comfy :)

Re: Instagram Has Become SkyMall

#210

Post by beardyw »

dunnevens wrote: post #183

I don't use Instagram much, but I am on Facebook too often. The limitations of the advertising algorithms are very interesting to me. For example: I participate in ex-evangelical groups because of my childhood experiences. Also follow pages which discuss American Christianity from a secular or journalistic perspective, and in Christian groups which interpret their beliefs from a left-ish ideology. "Liking" any post f…

Sorry to sound stupid, but I live in the UK and have literally never seen an ad from a church (except maybe on a board outside). What is the purpose of the ad? What is their motivation?
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