Advertising on Instagram is a great way to market your business, but it can be hard to know if you’re doing it right.
If you don’t do things the right way, you could end up wasting money and not getting any results. Plus, there’s so much conflicting information out there!
We’ve got everything that we learned about running successful Instagram ads in one place for you. You’ll learn how to get more engagement with each ad and how to optimize every aspect of your campaigns including budgets, targeting, copywriting, and more!
What is advertising on Instagram?
Advertising on Instagram is the process of putting paid, sponsored content in feeds or on pages. Ads can include commercial messages, promotions, events, and content that appear in feed, stories, or on a profile. Ads may be displayed to users based on their interests, demographics, and who they follow.
That business can choose to Instagram advertise their products and services through pictures, videos, stories, and ads.
- Photo ads: Photo ads can also be square and shown as a single image or displayed as feed ads which will show up within the newsfeed. Photo ads tend to perform better than other ad types since people are more likely to engage with something that is visually appealing rather than logos and text-only advertisements.
- Video ads: With Instagram, advertising can also take the form of video. Video ads are made up of videos shared by your company on Instagram, or ads that are targeted to specific users through their search history. Video ads are similar to photo ads but are able to convey more information quickly and effectively than images do.
- Carousel ads: Carousel ads are used to communicate multiple messages at the same time. These types of Instagram ads contain multiple images that all relate to one another, allowing businesses to promote several different things without overwhelming their audience.
- Collection ads: Collection ads are an excellent way to showcase your products or services by grouping them into categories. These ads allow you to place your product in front of potential customers at just the right moment.
- Stories Ads: Stories Ads on Instagram is a new feature that allows users to share stories of their products or services with interested followers. These ads can be targeted and will only be seen by those who might need the product or service offered.
- Reels ads: Reels ads will include a brief video of your business and its products in action. Allowing potential customers to get a glimpse at what you have available without wasting their time by having to understand all the details about what you’re offering through words or pictures.
- IGTV ads: Instagram TV ads are a relatively new ad type that allows you to create long-form videos for your audience. These keep them engaged for longer periods of time which can lead to more conversions and sales.
- Shopping ads: As the name implies, shopping ads are designed to help you quickly see if your product is available on one of your competitor’s websites. Since these are often time-sensitive deals, you will more than likely get a lot of traffic from users who are searching for that specific sale or deal at that exact moment.
How can I advertise on Instagram?
One of the best strategies to use when creating an Instagram business or personal account is to start social marketing advertising early. But how do I advertise on Instagram? Follow steps!
Step 1: Create a business account.
For you to advertise on Instagram, you’ll need to have a business account as opposed to a personal one. When creating this account, you’ll need to know whether you’re going to be promoting your business or creating an ad for a client.
Step 2: Link your Instagram to your Facebook page.
Instagram recently added the ability to link your Instagram with other social media platforms, including Facebook! These links make it easy for you to reach an even larger audience, but they also make it simple for advertisers to understand how well your account is performing. To link or reconnect your Instagram with Facebook, go into settings and scroll down until you see the option.
Step 3: Create your ad.
Now that you have a business account, there will be an option for ads at the bottom of your feed. Just click on this button and follow the prompts! If you’re advertising your business, then you’ll need to know the basics: how much are you willing to spend on an ad, what do you want it to accomplish, and who is your target audience? For client ads, you’ll need additional information about the product or service that you are advertising.
Step 4: Promote your ad.
The more people who see your ad, the higher chance that they will convert into new customers. A few of the best ways to do this is to follow other popular Instagram accounts and comment on their posts with your ad. This will raise awareness about your ad and will also help you get your first few followers. Another great way to promote an ad is to use the not many tags as possible. You want people to see your beautiful picture, not your long list of tags.
Step 5: Analyze your results.
At the end of each week, you should receive an email with a link to your Instagram advertiser’s performance report. Here you’ll be able to see which ads are performing well and which ones aren’t. If your ad is underperforming, then you may need to change the price or the audience.
There are a few things that you will need to advertise on Instagram, but they’re all free for business accounts! Follow steps and get more successful!
Why should I advertise on Instagram?
Instagram has a large user base with an average of 100 million active users daily. Instagram users are also more likely to convert than other social media platforms, making advertising on Instagram one of the best options for advertisement currently.
This is mainly because Instagram’s target market is the younger generation, so having a presence on this platform shows your business as a whole as being modern and up to date.
How much does it cost to advertise on Instagram?
The first question that brands typically want to be answered is how much it costs to advertise on Instagram. The good news is that Instagram ads are incredibly affordable compared to other advertising channels.
There is no minimum budget for Instagram campaigns, but brands can expect to pay between $1 and $5 CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions). A campaign could be as little as $100/day or less if it’s targeted to the right audience (more on that in a bit).
The benefits & disadvantages of advertising on Instagram
The Benefits: Instagram has a huge user base and there’s a good chance that one of your users will follow you back, allowing them to see updates on your business.
Advertisings on Instagram are cheaper than other social media networks, making it easier for small businesses or new startups to advertising. It can help build up brand awareness and present your business as a more modern aspect of the industry.
The Disadvantages: Instagram is flooded with advertisements. If you’re looking to promote your business, it can be difficult for you to even be noticed by many users because they’re constantly being targeted by other ads. It’s not that easy to get people to follow you back or become loyal customers if they don’t interact with you.
Examples of companies that use Instagram ads for marketing purposes
Brands run advertisements on Instagram to build awareness, drive traffic, and increase conversions. The best results from Instagram ads come from those that are simple, creative, and aesthetically pleasing. Here’s a rundown of some of the most successful campaigns:
United Airlines hired celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz to create a stunning Black & White ad promoting its first-class experience. This one image encouraged people to swipe up and visit a link to learn more. The ad improved brand sentiment by 28%, increased website visits by 122% and generated awareness among new audiences without increasing media spend.
Disney Parks provided guests with the ability to virtually experience vacation packages, flights, and hotel stays from their mobile devices. Visitors could quickly see what each destination had to offer so they could book a vacation on the spot. The ad was successful in increasing brand awareness while also driving up to 10% of visitors to book a trip.
Fitness chain Equinox promoted workouts that customers could do at home with minimal fitness equipment. Utilizing Instagram Stories, the content displayed tips and tricks along with video demonstrations of each exercise. The ad resulted in a 15% increase in web traffic and more than 20,000 the number of people opting into the fitness studio’s mailing list.
What strategy does Instagram use?
Instagram’s strategy is based on the development of Instagram, a photo-sharing application. The main objective is to increase and improve the number of users and their interaction with the app. This way it will be able to monetize better its content and can become more attractive for advertisers.
How can I advertise for free on Instagram?
You can use Instagram to advertise for free when you have a large following of over 100k followers. A method recently popularized by an online marketing group is dropping a full-size photo on your profile with a link attached in the caption and in hopes that some of your followers will click through to whatever website or service you are advertising.
Is advertising on Instagram effective?
In a word, yes! Brands are reporting 96% of Instagram ad campaigns have seen positive results. Read on to learn more about the benefits of advertising on Instagram and some best practices.
The bottom line is that Instagram advertising works. It has helped brands reach new customers, increase sales, and grow their following. Just make sure to set a goal for your campaign before you start so you know what kind of ROI to expect when the time comes. Once you’ve done this, it’s just a matter of making good choices about targeting audience segments with ads on the platform in order to get the most out of your budget.
