We know that paid search has the power to boost ROI. At the moment, you might be advertising on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, but it’s Instagram that’s skyrocketing right now- so make sure your business is reaping the rewards.
Why Instagram?
Instagram experienced enormous growth last year, and it’s not too difficult to see why. Through ever-evolving algorithms and advanced tech, Instagram has become far more than a photo-sharing app. Its ads can reach over 1.2 billion people- which is 20% of the world’s population over 13.
27% of users say they find new services, products and brands through Instagram advertising, which gives businesses an opportunity to tap into new niches, engage consumers, and nurture customers towards making a purchase. So if you want to reach the right people, at the right time, with the right message, Instagram ads are the perfect way to do just that.
Let’s get into the details about how Instagram ads work, and how you can create your own in just a few taps.
How ads work
Instagram ads offer businesses a means of paying to post sponsored content to reach a larger, targeted audience. They work in a very similar way to Facebook ads– which isn’t too surprising given they’re both owned by Meta.
You can target people based on their age, interests and behaviours, with or without a Facebook account. Simply set your specifications, and your ad will appear throughout the app.
Instagram ads look really similar to normal posts, but will always contain a “sponsored label” to show users that it’s an ad. Sponsored ads also tend to have more features than normal posts, such as links and CTA buttons.
As Instagram is a visual platform, you’ll need some sort of multimedia element to promote your business. One single photo can work well, but you’ll need to think about other kinds of sponsored ads for your business too. And there are a fair few options to choose from.
You’ll need to consider:
- Stories ads- a full-screen image or video that appears in between user Stories
- Video ads- similar to image ads, which give users a closer look at brands
- Carousel ads- a series of images or videos that users can swipe through
- Shopping ads- an eCommerce feature that takes users directly to a product description page
- IGTV ads- video ads that play automatically after a user clicks to watch an IGTV video
- Explore ads- ads that appear in the Explore tab, where users can discover new content
- Reels ads- similar to Stories ads, which should include sound or music
As you can see, there’s quite a few options on the table here. Whatever kind of Instagram ad you decide on, the end goal will be the same- to connect with your audience and increase conversion rates. How you do that depends on what it is you want to achieve with your content.
Creating your ads
Instagram ads are really easy to use. Whether you’ve used Facebook ads before or not, you’ll be able to find your way around things pretty quickly.
There are a fair few ways you can create Instagram ads, but the most popular tends to be through the app itself or Facebook Ads Manager.
To get started, you’ll need to first choose a marketing objective. You’ll be given a list of options, including Brand Awareness, Lead Generation and Traffic.
Next, you’ll need to choose your audience. You can target a very specific kind of audience based on factors such as location, age, gender, interests and behaviours.
Once you’ve chosen your criteria, Instagram will provide you with some handy placement options. This is fairly straightforward- just choose whether you want automatic placements or edit placements, which allow you to tailor your ads according to Instagram Feed, Stories and more.
The next and final step is to set how much you want to spend on your Instagram ads, and how long you want to run them for. You can either select a daily budget or a lifetime budget (the total amount you’ll spend over the lifetime of the ad). All you then need to do is set a start and end time on your ad, or you can let it run continuously until you hit your lifetime budget. Then you’re good to go!
If you’re wanting to get the most out of your Instagram ads, it can be beneficial to partner with a team of specialists who are capable of achieving the outstanding results your business needs to thrive.
Whether you’re looking for paid advertising services in Manchester or beyond, we’re on hand with the tools and knowledge to help you take your digital marketing to the next level.
Get in touch with our experts today to find out how you can turbocharge your success.
