A Step-by-Step Guide to Advertising on Instagram

Instagram Advertisements

Are you looking for a guide on how to advertise on Instagram?

If so, you've come to the right place.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Advertising on Instagram

In this blog post, we'll give you a step-by-step guide on how to create an effective Instagram ad campaign.

We'll also answer some common questions about Instagram advertising, such as why people advertise on Instagram and how much it costs.

By the end of this blog post, you'll have everything you need to get started with advertising on Instagram.

The Complete Guide to Advertising on Instagram

Whether you're a small business or a large corporation, advertising on Instagram can be an effective way to reach your target audience.

In this guide, we'll show you how to create an effective ad campaign on Instagram, from start to finish.

We'll also answer some common questions about Instagram advertising, so you can make the most of this powerful marketing tool.

How is Instagram Used for Advertising?

Instagram can be used for advertising in many ways, including photo and video ads, carousel ads, Stories ads, collection ads, and sponsored posts.

Businesses can use any of these ad types to promote their products or services to more than 1 billion monthly active users on Instagram.

How to Advertise on Instagram: A 5-Step Guide to Use Instagram Ads

Advertising on Instagram is a great way to reach potential customers where they're already spending time online.

But before you launch your first ad campaign, it's important to understand how the process works.

Follow these five steps to get started with Instagram advertising:

Identify your Goals

• What do you want your ad campaign to achieve?
• Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, or generate sales?
• Knowing your objectives upfront will help you create more effective ads down the road.

Choose the Right Format

• There are several different types of ads you can run on Instagram, each with its benefits and drawbacks.
• Consider what kind of message you want to communicate and which format will best suit your needs before making a decision.

Select an Engaging Image or Video

• Your ad should be visually appealing and capture people's attention right away.
• Make sure to choose high-quality visuals that are relevant to your product or service.

Write a Strong Call to Action

• Your call to action should be clear and concise, encouraging people to take the next step in the buyer's journey.
• Avoid using too much text in your ad; instead, focus on creating a strong headline and short description that will grab people's attention.

Set up your Ad Campaign

• Once you've created your ad, it's time to launch your campaign.
• Begin by setting up targeting options like location, age, and gender so you can ensure that your ad is being seen by people who are likely interested in what you're selling.
• Then set your budget and decide how long you want your ad campaign to run.
• Finally, hit publish and watch as your views (and hopefully conversions!) start rolling in.

Why do People Advertise on Instagram?

People advertise on Instagram because it provides them with an opportunity to reach out to a large number of potential customers in one go.

It is also an effective way to create brand awareness and build up a loyal customer base.

Additionally, Instagram advertising is relatively affordable, especially when compared to other forms of marketing and advertising such as television or print ads.

Is Instagram Advertising Good for your Business?

Yes, Instagram advertising can be good for businesses of all sizes.

As mentioned earlier, it provides businesses with an opportunity to reach out to a large number of potential customers in one go.

Additionally, it is an effective way to create brand awareness and build up a loyal customer base.

How much does it Cost to Advertise on Instagram?

The cost of advertising on Instagram depends on several factors, including your budget, the objectives of your ad campaign, and the targeting options you select.

Generally speaking, you can expect to pay anywhere from $0.50 to $2.00 per view or click on your ad.

Tell Me the Purpose of Instagram Advertising

There are several reasons businesses might choose to advertise on Instagram.

First, as of June 2018, there were one billion monthly active users on the platform.

This represents a huge potential audience for businesses that want to reach consumers through this popular channel.

In addition, Instagram is a visual platform, which can be very effective for businesses in industries such as fashion, beauty, travel, and food & beverage.

By advertising on Instagram, businesses can share beautiful visuals that tell their brand story and highlight their products or services.

Finally, Instagram offers powerful advertising capabilities that allow businesses to target specific audiences with laser precision.

For example, businesses can target users based on location, age, gender, interests, and more.

This ensures that businesses are only spending their advertising dollars on reaching individuals who are most likely to be interested in what they have to offer.

Should you Consider Instagram Ads?

If you’re wondering whether or not you should add Instagram ads to your marketing mix, the answer may depend on your business goals.

However, in general, these ads can be a great way to reach new audiences and achieve a variety of marketing objectives—such as building brand awareness or boosting sales—so they’re worth considering for most businesses.

To help you decide whether or not Instagram ads are right for your business, let’s take a look at five key benefits of advertising on this popular social media platform:

Reach a Large Audience

• As we mentioned earlier, there are now one billion monthly active users on Instagram—which represents a massive potential audience for your business.

Cost-effective

• Advertising on Instagram can be very cost-effective when compared to other paid media channels like television or print advertisements.

Highly Targeted

• As we mentioned before, one of the great advantages of advertising on Instagram is the ability to target specific audiences with laser precision.
• This ensures that your ad dollars are being spent efficiently by only reaching individuals who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer—which leads us nicely to our next point.

High Conversion Rate

• Thanks to the targeting capabilities we just discussed combined with the fact that users are already in “buying mode” when they’re scrolling through their feed (i.e., they’re already in the mindset to make a purchase), Instagram ads tend to have high conversion rates.
• One study found that Instagram ads have a 1.08% conversion rate—which is higher than any other social media platform.

Boosts Brand Awareness

• If your goal is to raise awareness for your brand or product, Instagram ads can be very effective.
• Research has found that users who are exposed to Instagram ads have a better recall of the ad message and are more likely to remember the brand name than those who see ads on other social media platforms.

5 reasons to use Instagram Ads

As we’ve seen, there are several reasons businesses might choose to advertise on Instagram.

To recap, these key benefits of advertising on this popular social platform include:

Reach a Large Audience

• With one billion monthly active users, there’s a huge potential audience for businesses that want to reach consumers through this popular channel.

Cost-effective

• Advertising on Instagram can be very cost-effective when compared to other paid media channels like television or print advertisements.

Highly Targeted

• Thanks to Instagram’s targeting capabilities, businesses can ensure that their ad dollars are being spent efficiently by only reaching individuals who are most likely to be interested in what they have to offer—which leads to higher conversion rates (more on that below).

High Conversion Rate

• Thanks in part to the targeting capabilities we just discussed combined with the fact that users are already in “buying mode” when they’re scrolling through their feed (i.e., they’re already in the mindset to make a purchase), Instagram ads tend to have high conversion rates—higher than any other social media platform, according to one study.

Boosts Brand Awareness

• If your goal is to raise awareness for your brand or product, Instagram ads can be very effective.
• Research has found that users who are exposed to Instagram ads have better recall of the ad message and are more likely to remember the brand name than those who social media platforms.

What are Instagram Ads?

Now that we’ve looked at some of the key reasons businesses might want to advertise on Instagram, let’s take a closer look at what these ads are.

Instagram ads are simply sponsored posts that appear in users’ feeds—just like any other post from an account they follow.

However, these posts are marked as “sponsored” so that users know they’re seeing an ad.

Instagram offers a variety of ad formats for businesses to choose from, including:

Photo Ads

• These are simply static images that businesses can use to showcase their products or services.

Video Ads

• These can be up to 60 seconds long and are a great way to grab attention and creatively showcase your brand.

Stories Ads

• These full-screen vertical videos or photos appear between users’ Stories (i.e., the temporary snaps they share with their followers) and are a great way to reach users when they’re already engaged with the platform.

Carousel Ads

• These let businesses tell a story or highlight multiple products by allowing users to swipe through a series of images or videos—up to 10 in total.

Collection Ads

• These are designed specifically for businesses that sell physical goods and allow users to browse and purchase products without leaving the Instagram app.

How Effective is Instagram Advertising?

Instagram advertising can be an effective way to achieve a variety of marketing objectives—such as building brand awareness, boosting sales, or increasing website traffic.

And thanks to the platform’s targeting capabilities, businesses can ensure that their ad dollars are being spent efficiently by only reaching individuals who are most likely to be interested in what they have to offer—which leads to higher conversion rates (more on that below).

Why Advertise on Instagram?

As one of the most popular social networking platforms, with over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram provides businesses with a large and engaged audience to reach out to.

And, as a visual platform, it is especially well-suited for promoting products and services that are visually appealing.

Additionally, Instagram offers many powerful advertising features that businesses can take advantage of to reach their target audiences more effectively.

Why Advertise on Instagram?

How to Create an Effective Instagram Ad

The first step in creating an effective Instagram ad is to identify your goals.

What are you trying to achieve with your ad?

Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or boost sales?

Once you know what you want to accomplish, you can create an ad that is aligned with your goals.

Choose the Right Format

• There are several different formats for Instagram ads, so it's important to choose the one that best fits your goals.
• If you're looking to increase brand awareness, for example, a story ad would be a good choice.
• If you're trying to drive traffic to your website, a carousel ad would be a better option.

Select an Engaging Image or Video

• Your ad should include an eye-catching image or video that will grab attention and stop scrollers in their tracks.
• The visuals should be relevant to your product or service and reflect the tone of your brand.

Write a Strong Call to Action

• Your call to action should be clear and concise, and it should tell viewers what they need to do next (e.g., "Click here," "Visit our website," "Shop now").
• The CTA should be placed prominently in the ad so that viewers can't miss it.

Set up your Ad Campaign

• Once you've created your ad, it's time to set up your campaign and start running it.
• You'll need to choose a budget and schedule for your ad, as well as select the targeting options that are right for you (e.g., location, age, gender).

Measuring the Success of your Instagram Ad

To measure the success of your Instagram ad, you need to first check your campaign's key metrics.

These metrics will give you insights into how well your ad is performing and whether it is achieving your desired results.

There are many different metrics that you can track, but some of the most important ones to look at include:

1. Reach, This metric measures how many people have seen your ad.
2. Engagement, This metric measures how people are interacting with your ad, including things like likes, comments, and shares.
3. Click-through rate (CTR), This metric measures how many people are clicking on your ad.
4. Conversion rate, This metric measures how many people are taking the desired action after seeing your ad (e.g., signing up for a free trial or making a purchase).

Analyze your Results

• Once you've checked your campaign's key metrics, it's time to analyze your results to see what's working and what isn't.
• To do this, you'll want to compare your campaign's performance against its goals.
• If it's not performing as well as you'd hoped, don't panic.
• There are many ways that you can improve your Instagram ads.

Some things that you can do to improve your ads include:

1. Testing different images or videos to see which ones perform best.
2. Changing the copy or call to action in your ad.
3. Targeting a different audience.
4. Adjusting your budget or advertising schedule.

Make Improvements

• As we mentioned above, if you're not happy with the performance of your Instagram ad, there are many things that you can do to improve it.
• But before you make any changes, we recommend testing different versions of your ad so that you can see which one performs best.
• Once you've found an ad that performs well, you can then roll it out to a wider audience.

Some things that you can test include:

1. Images or videos.
2. Copy or calls to action.
3. Target audiences.
4. Budget or advertising schedule.

How much does it Cost to Advertise a Post on Instagram?

The cost of advertising a post on Instagram depends on many factors, including your budget, the type of ad you're running, and your target audience.

Generally speaking, you can expect to pay anywhere from $0.20 to $2.00 per click (CPC) for an Instagram ad.

Can you Post Instagram Ads?

Yes, you can! We recommend it.

Posting Instagram ads is a great way to increase the reach and engagement of your posts, as well as improve your chances of conversion.

Creating Instagram Ads using Facebook Ads Manager

To create an Instagram ad using Facebook Ads Manager, first navigate to the Ads Manager page.

From there, click on the "Create Ad" button in the top right corner. Then, select "Instagram" as your ad type.

Engagement

• Engagement is one of the most important metrics for judging the success of an Instagram ad.
• Make sure to include a call-to-action in your ad that encourages users to engage with your brand.
• For example, you could include a link to your website or online store in your ad copy.

The 8 Different Objectives of Instagram Ads

There are 8 different objectives that you can choose from when creating an Instagram ad:

1. Brand Awareness.
2. Reach.
3. Traffic.
4. App Installs.
5. Engagement.
6. Video Views.
7. Lead Generation.
8. Conversions.

Select the objective that best aligns with your marketing goals.

How do I Start Advertising on Instagram?

To start advertising on Instagram, first, create an account and business profile on Instagram if you haven't already done so.

Then, create a Facebook Page for your business (if you don't have one already).

Once you've created both of these accounts and linked them together, you're ready to start creating ads.

Set your Marketing Objectives

Before you create your first Instagram ad, it's important to set some marketing objectives.

What do you want to achieve with your ad campaign?

Are you looking to increase brand awareness?

Drive traffic to your website?

Generate leads?

Once you know what your objectives are, you can start creating ads that are more likely to achieve those goals.

Configure your Target Audience

You'll need to set a budget for your ad campaign. You can do this by setting a daily or lifetime budget.

You can also choose to run your ad continuously or on a set schedule.

To set a budget, go to the Ads Manager and click on the Campaigns tab.

Then, click on the name of the campaign you want to edit.

Under Budget & Schedule, click Edit.

From there, you can either set a daily or lifetime budget.

If you choose a lifetime budget, your ad will run until it reaches that amount.

If you choose a daily budget, your ad will reset every day at midnight and stop running once it reaches that amount.

You can also choose to run your ad continuously or on a set schedule.

To do this, click on Continuous under Run Ad Set.

If you want to run your ad on a set schedule, click Set Schedule and enter the start and end dates for your ad campaign.

Choose your Place

There are three places where your ads can appear on Instagram:

1. In People's Feeds.
2. In Stories.
3. Explore.

You can choose one or multiple placements for each ad campaign depending on your goals.

Keep in mind that not all objectives are available in all placements.

For example, if you're trying to increase brand awareness or reach more people with your message, then consider using feed placements.

If you're trying to get people to take action like visiting your website or making a purchase, then consider using Stories or Explore placements because people are more likely to be in an active mindset when they're using those features.

To choose your placements, go to the Ads Manager and click on the Campaigns tab.

Then, click on the name of the campaign you want to edit.

Under Placements, click Edit.

From there, select where you want your ads to appear.

You can choose from Automatic Placements, which lets Instagram optimize your ad delivery for the best results, or you can select Custom Placements and choose specific placements for your ad.

Create your Instagram Ads

Now it's time to create your ad! To do this, go to the Ads Manager and click on the Campaigns tab.

Then, click on the name of the campaign you want to edit.

Under Ad Sets, click on the name of the ad set you want to edit.

Under Ads, click +Create Ad.

From there, you'll need to select a format for your ad.

The options are single image or video, carousel, story, or collection.

Once you've selected a format, you'll need to upload your creative assets.

For images, you can choose from JPEG, PNG, or GIF formats.

For videos, you can choose from MP4 or MOV formats.

You'll also need to enter a headline and description for your ad as well as a call-to-action button (e.g., Learn More).

Navigate to Facebook's Ad Manager

To create an Instagram ad, you'll need to use Facebook's Ads Manager.

To get there, go to facebook.com/ads/manager.

From the Ads Manager, you can create a new ad campaign or edit an existing one.

To create a new ad campaign, click on the +Create button in the top left corner of the screen.

Then, select your objective (e.g., Increase brand awareness, Get more website visitors, etc.).

How do I Advertise the Post on Instagram?

Now that you've created your ad campaign and chosen your placements and target audience, it's time to promote your post.

To do this, go to the Instagram app and navigate to the post you want to promote.

Tap on the Promote button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

From there, select your ad objective (e.g., Increase brand awareness) and target audience.

Then, enter your payment information and tap Promote.

Your promoted post will now appear in people's feeds.

How Effective is Instagram Advertising?

There are five types of Instagram ads:

1. Photo.
2. Video.
3. Carousel.
4. Stories.
5. Collection.

Each ad type has its benefits and best practices.

Photo ads are great for promoting products or services, as they allow you to showcase your brand in a visually appealing way.

Video ads are perfect for telling a story or highlighting a key feature of your product or service.

Carousel ads let you tell a longer story by featuring multiple images or videos within a single ad.

Stories ads let you take advantage of the popular Stories format to reach people with short, attention-grabbing content.

Collection ads let you showcase multiple products within a single ad, making them perfect for promoting sales or special offers.

How much does it Cost to Advertise on Instagram?

The cost of advertising on Instagram depends on your goals and budget.

You can set a daily budget, which is the amount you're willing to spend on your ad each day.

You can also set a lifetime budget, which is the total amount you're willing to spend on your ad over its lifetime.

The cost of an Instagram ad also depends on the type of ad you choose (photo, video, carousel, Stories, or collection), as well as the audience you're targeting (location, age, gender).

How do I Find an Ad I Saw on Instagram?

You can find an ad you saw on Instagram by searching for the company or product name in the search bar at the top of the app.

If you can't remember the exact name of what you're looking for, try searching for keywords related to the product or service (e.g., "clothes," "shoes," "fashion").

If you still can't find the ad you're looking for, try contacting customer support for help.

Is Instagram Good for Advertising?

Instagram is a great platform for advertising because of its vast and engaged user base, its visual platform, and its advertising capabilities.

With more than 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, Instagram offers advertisers access to a large and engaged audience.

And since Instagram is all about visuals, it's perfect for businesses that want to showcase their products or services in a visually appealing way.

Additionally, Instagram offers powerful advertising features that allow businesses to target specific audiences with laser precision.

Conclusion

Instagram advertising is an incredibly effective way to reach out to potential customers and promote your business.

However, it's important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to advertising on Instagram.

The key is to identify your goals, choose the right format, create an engaging ad, and measure your results.

With a little bit of effort, you can create an ad campaign that will reach your target audience and achieve your desired results.