Instagram advertising There are now over 1B people on Instagram, and 63% log in every day to get inspired, follow causes and interests, and learn about brands and products. Are you tapping into this business resource? Advertising on Instagram is the best way to grow your Instagram presence and generate quality social media leads you can convert into paying customers.
And all you have to do is get started. Click on the topic below that interests you the most to skip to that section. You can come back to the top here when you’re ready to move on to another step.
- Choose the Right Instagram Ad Platform
- Guided Creation vs. Freestyle
- Establish Goals
- Select Audience
- Ad Placement Selection
- Define Budget
- Set Ad Duration
- Create Ad Copy
- Track Ad Performance
1. Choose an Ad Platform that Works Best for You
You have two ways to set up ads on Instagram. The fastest way is promoting posts through Instagram directly. But the most customizable way is through the Facebook Ads Manager (like professional ad managers). In either case, you’ll need a business profile on Instagram and Facebook.
To quickly promote a post through Instagram, simply click the promote button under the post. Select your options. Then create. To monitor the performance of this post, click the promotions tab on your Instagram profile.
Quick Instagram post promotion is a great way to continually expand awareness among your target audience. As a general rule, you’ll promote posts that convey your brand message well and generate some buzz among your existing followers. That’s how to get the most out of that post.
But to run full-scale campaigns, you’ll want to use Facebook Ads Manager. The remaining steps will focus on setting up advertising on Instagram through that tool.
2. Choose to Go Guided or Freestyle
If you’re new to advertising on Instagram or Facebook, the Guided Creation option walks you through each step to ensure you don’t miss anything important. Guided Creation helps you set up a basic ad with no frills or complications.
But once you’ve been through these steps a few times, you can choose Quick Creation to take more creative license with the ad creation process.
These steps will follow the Guided Creation tool since this is how to start advertising on Instagram if you’re the DIY type.
3. Set Your Goal
You need a goal not only to understand how well your ad is performing. This also helps Facebook’s Ads Manager understand the relevance and effectiveness of your ad. If an ad appears to be non-relevant to the audience you choose, Facebook will limit the number of people who see your ad. So be honest about what you want the ad to achieve to get the best results.
4. Choose Your Audience
Again, relevance is so important, so only promote as broadly as you can stay relevant. And realize that you may need different ads for different audiences to maximize relevance.
On social media…
Relevance = Results.
If women 18-34 are your more likely customers, then don’t choose men and women of all ages just to be inclusive. There will always be some audience overlap. But Instagram users will have the best experience when they only see highly relevant ads.
If you are a local business, don’t forget to target a local area to avoid attracting people who cannot become your customers because of the distance.
5. Choose an Ad Placement
Your best option in the beginning is to let the Ads Manager choose the best placement. Facebook succeeds when your ad succeeds. The shared interest will encourage them to put it in the best places.
As you become more experienced, you may find that some locations are better to meet the goals Facebook does not measure, like Revenues or Average Order Value. As you learn what works, take control of ad placement to get the best results.
6. Pick a Budget You Can Live With
Your daily budget must be large enough to gain traction, but it’s okay to start smaller, figure out what works, and grow your advertising budget from there.
For most industries, $10-30/day is a good starting point. That’s enough to earn around 10-25 clicks a day. But keep in mind, many more people will see the ad, and a percent of them will click if they keep seeing it, so even non-clicks have some value.
7. Decide How Long the Ad will Run
Choose to run the ad continually. Or set an end date. It’s up to you.
But it’s usually best to set end dates for a certain ad. While you need to continually measure ad performance, this gives you a clear point in the future to measure overall ad performance to compare that your other ads.
This also helps you prevent ads that “overstay their welcome.” Keep your campaigns fresh and engaging.
8. Create Your Ads
Here you’ll choose an ad format. Do you want to create a carousel, collection, or a single video/image? Don’t let yourself get stuck with one format. Explore your options and experiment. Some are better than others at helping you meet specific goals.
9. Track Performance
You can track some performance in Facebook Ads Manager. But it’s important to set up Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics on your website to better understand your conversions. A web design professional can set that up for you.
Test various ad formats, copy, images, timing, and more to optimize your advertising on Instagram.
Advertising on Instagram
Are you struggling to get the best ROI on Instagram Advertising? We can show you how to grow your Instagram presence and get measurable business results that matter.