Instagram ads are a great way to boost your reach and engagement on the platform.
There are 2 billion monthly active Instagram users, and the average user spends 53 minutes per day scrolling. With that kind of engagement, Instagram ads can help you significantly broaden your impact.
This guide is intended to serve as a starting point for those unfamiliar with Instagram advertisements.
If you’re interested in learning more about Instagram advertising, its benefits, and how to launch your ad campaign, keep reading!
What is Instagram advertising ?
Instagram ads are a paid service used by brands to spread awareness of their content. After Facebook acquired Instagram in 2013, the platform began providing advertising space to select businesses. Instagram started accepting ads from any company in 2015, and by 2017, the number of advertisers had risen to 1 million.
Why should you advertise on Instagram ?
Although organic social media strategies may appear inexpensive at first, they are reliant on much trial and error and can only get you so far when competing with constantly updating social media algorithms.
Because of this, you need to make sure your social media strategy includes both free and paid methods. In this way, you can enjoy the advantages of both options. With Instagram posts, you’re interacting directly with your audience, and with ads, you’re able to reach a wider audience that may be unfamiliar with your brand.
Instagram ads are a fantastic visual platform for showcasing your product. And now, with Instagram Shopping, you can turn those Instagram users into buyers more quickly and easily than ever before.
How much does Instagram advertising cost ?
Instagram advertising rates fluctuate based on a number of variables, such as the type of mobile device being advertised for, the target audience, the time of day, and whether or not the ad is scheduled to air during a nationally televised event.
Knowing who your target audience is on Instagram is essential. Ads and campaigns should only be funded if they are expected to increase profits.
Promote the posts and articles you know will do well organically by investing in them. Find out what works best through testing, and focus your marketing efforts there. Don’t forget to keep track of how well your ads are doing and make note of anything that falls short of expectations.
How to create Instagram ads
- Log in to Facebook Ads Manager: Instagram ads are managed through Facebook Ads Manager, so you will need a Facebook account to get started.
- Choose your campaign objective: Facebook Ads Manager offers a variety of objectives to choose from, including brand awareness, traffic, app installs, lead generation, and conversions.
- Set up your ad account: If you haven’t set up an ad account before, you’ll need to create one in Facebook Ads Manager.
- Define your target audience: You can choose a specific demographic or geographic target audience for your Instagram ads.
- Choose your ad placement: Select Instagram as your ad placement.
- Set your budget and schedule: Determine your daily or lifetime budget for your Instagram ads, and choose the start and end dates for your campaign.
- Create your ad: Choose the ad format you want to use for your Instagram ads, such as image, video, carousel, or story ads. Then, create your ad by adding your creative elements (such as images or videos) and your ad copy.
- Review and publish your ad: Before you publish your ad, review all of your ad details, including your target audience, ad placement, budget, and creative elements.
- Monitor and optimize your ad performance: Once your Instagram ads are live, monitor their performance through Facebook Ads Manager. Use the data to optimize your ads for better performance, such as adjusting your ad targeting or creative elements.
Creating Instagram ads directly from Instagram app
It is possible to create Instagram ads directly from within the Instagram app. Here are the steps:
- Open the Instagram app on your mobile device.
- Go to your profile and tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner to open the menu.
- From the menu, select “Settings” and then “Ads”.
- Tap “Create Ad” to start the ad creation process.
- Choose the objective for your ad (e.g. increase website visits, increase video views, etc.).
- Select the target audience for your ad, including factors like age, gender, location, and interests.
- Set your budget and the duration of your ad.
- Choose the format of your ad, including image or video, and then create your ad content.
- Preview your ad to make sure it looks the way you want it to.
- Submit your ad for review and wait for it to be approved by Instagram before it begins running.
That’s it! Once your ad is approved, it will begin running on Instagram and you’ll be able to track its performance through the Ads Manager in the app.
Conclusion
You should hopefully have a better understanding of how to advertise on Instagram now that you’ve read this. Spend some time learning about the different options you have, and then build your marketing campaigns. You’ll see very soon how marketing on Instagram can bring in targeted customers who can help you increase your sales.
