The world of advertising has changed dramatically over the past few years. Once an insular, word-of-mouth industry, advertising is now a fragmented, digital landscape where every brand has access to millions of potential customers. In this new era, businesses must advertise in ways that are relevant to their target audience. While print ads and billboards may have once been effective means of reaching broad audiences, social media platforms like Instagram have become a focal point for advertisers looking to increase brand awareness.
With such a large user base, brands can take advantage of advertising on the platform to reach their ideal customers directly. Moreover, because so many users follow accounts related to fashion and lifestyle brands on Instagram, it’s a particularly effective channel for e-commerce businesses who want to drive sales from visitors who are browsing through images – as opposed to other social networks that privilege text or video as the primary medium for advertising and communication between users.
What is Instagram advertising?
In its simplest form, Instagram advertising is the act of promoting a product or service on Instagram through paid media – meaning that brands can buy space in the form of advertisements on a broader feed of user-generated content. Because it’s a paid service, advertisers can access additional analytics and use a range of targeting and optimization features that are not available through the organic (or free) posts that brands upload to their accounts.
All ads on Instagram appear in the “Explore” tab of the app, where users can swipe through a feed of images and videos selected by an algorithm tailored to their interests based on the people they follow, the photos they like, and the posts they view. However, Instagram ads also appear in the user’s “Feed” – the main feed of images and videos that appear in chronological order based on when they were published.
Why use Instagram advertising?
Instagram’s user base continues to grow each year, and with it, the potential for businesses to reach new customers and sell more products. Moreover, the platform is highly visual, meaning that ads are consumed primarily through images. Unlike other social networks, visual content appears at the top of the feed and is, therefore, more likely to grab attention. If you’re planning to begin a paid advertising campaign on Instagram, it’s important to consider the type of imagery your posts will contain. Ad images should be visually appealing, incite curiosity, and be tailored to the interests of your target audience.
How to create an ad on Instagram?
To create an ad on Instagram, navigate to the “Ads” tab in the app and select “Create an Ad.” From here, you’ll be prompted to select a campaign and ad type. Once you’ve selected the type of ad you’d like to create, you’ll have the option to select an image and add a description. When creating your ad image, it’s important to keep in mind that most users will not click through to your website to purchase a product like they would on a computer or desktop. Instead, they’ll swipe through their feed and click the “more” button to expand the image to a full screen. Therefore, your images should be large and high quality, so they’re easy to see when they’re expanded.
Understand the Instagram Audience
Before you begin creating ads, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the user base for which you’re creating content. The best way to do this is to examine the demographics and interests of your existing audience on Instagram. Once you’ve identified the types of people who are following your account, you can then create ads that are tailored to those specific interests and more likely to be clicked on by the same people.
Gender: On average, women are more likely to follow and engage with brands on Instagram, though this varies based on the category of products being advertised. For example, men are more likely to follow car brands, and women are more likely to follow fashion brands.
Age: The largest demographic on Instagram is 18 to 29-year-olds.
Location: Most users are based in the U.S., though the app is also heavily used in places like Australia and India.
Building an Effective Marketing Mix
When you begin creating ads on Instagram, it’s important to think about the other marketing channels you’re using to promote your business and products. When creating your content, you should keep in mind that it’s part of an overall marketing strategy and exists in a greater digital landscape. You should also be aware of the competition and how your ads stack up against other brands in your niche.
Because Instagram is such a popular platform, it can be challenging to stand out from the crowd. If you want to increase your chances of success, you need to create ads that are genuinely engaging and focus on building a relationship with your audience. Most importantly, your ads should be relevant to your customer's interests.
Creating Beautiful, Engaging Content
The most important thing when creating ads on Instagram is to be creative and engaging. Indeed, attention spans are growing shorter and shorter thanks to the constant feed of new information through social media, email, and other digital channels. What this means for businesses is that they must create engaging content that quickly and effectively conveys the value of a product or service.
This is particularly true when it comes to Instagram ads. Instagram ads are not just advertisements in the sense that they are trying to sell a product. They are also advertisements in the sense that they are trying to build a brand. To build a brand on Instagram, you have to create good content. You have to create content that people will like and that people will engage with. You need content that people will share with their friends.
Using Video Ads to Stand Out
While many businesses will create image-based ads for Instagram, it’s also possible to upload short video ads to the feed. Because video has become such a prominent medium in recent years, it can be a highly effective strategy for grabbing attention. However, it’s important to remember that not all video ads are the same. Video ads fall into two categories: Informative and Explainer.
Informative: These ads are designed to inform users about a product or service. They might feature a spokesperson discussing a new product or a behind-the-scenes look at the factory where a product is manufactured. -
Explainer: Explainer ads are used to explain the benefits of a product or service. They are often used to close the sale – meaning they are typically a short, high-energy sales pitch that features a spokesperson highlighting the benefits of the product.
Using Unexpected Creative
While ads that are informative and highlight the benefits of a product are important, it’s also important to include visual content in your ads to make them stand out among the feed. You can accomplish this by adding graphics, stickers, or emojis to your images. Instagram even allows you to add polls and quizzes to your ads, which can be a fun and engaging way to grab attention. Additionally, you can add stickers to your images to add a call-to-action to your ads.
How to measure the ROI of your ads?
Once you’ve created your ads, it’s important to keep track of their performance. This will help you to determine how much to spend on ads, identify which creatives are the most engaging, and determine if your ads are reaching the right audience. To measure the ROI of your ads, you can use the analytics features included in the Instagram advertising platform. These features allow you to track important metrics, like the number of impressions your ads receive, the number of interactions they receive (likes, comments, shares), and the number of direct purchases they generate.
Bottom line
Instagram advertising is an easy way for businesses to gain exposure and attract new customers through a visual medium in which they’re already engaging. However, it’s important to remember that Instagram is a highly competitive platform, and brands must create engaging content to stand out from the crowd and drive results. Visit SYP.net to understand your target audience and create compelling content that resonates with people in their feeds.