Instagram quickly evolved from a social media platform to share photos with friends into a place to capitalize on advertising. In fact, Meta’s ad revenue increased by 23.8% in the last quarter of 2023. With that being said, Instagram is a fantastic place for businesses to invest in ads to expand their reach. Not sure how to advertise on Instagram? Read on for our tips on how it works.
Narrow Down Your Objective
First, you’ll need to figure out what your goals and objectives are for your Instagram ad campaign. Some common goals for social media advertising are:
- Increasing organic website traffic
- Generating new leads
- Increase app installation rates
- Expand brand awareness to new markets
Once you’ve narrowed it down to what you want to focus on, you can start crafting your campaign.
Get Familiar With Meta Ads Manager
After you’ve decided what you want to focus on, you’ll need to create the Instagram ads. It’s important to note that there isn’t a specific Instagram ad manager, and that you’ll need to go through a Facebook account to do this. There are several options to choose from, such as:
- Meta Ads Manager
- Power Editor
- Meta’s Marketing API
Power Editor and Facebook’s Marketing API can be much more complex than Ad Manager. So, for the sake of simplicity, that’s what we’re going to focus on. It’s also the most common method used for advertising on Instagram.
From the main Facebook page, you’ll want to click on the left side to access the Facebook Ads Manager.
Choose Your Target Audience
Once you’ve poked around in Facebook Ads Manager, you’ll choose your target audience. You should have gotten a good idea of who this will be when choosing your goals and objectives for the ad campaign.
Facebook’s Ad Manager has tools that make it easy to customize who you’re targeting. It’s important to make these choices carefully because if you just guess, your ads won’t be reaching anyone remotely close to the demographic you’re looking for.
Set Your Instagram Ad Budget
Another key component when advertising on Instagram is to set a budget and figure out how long you want to run the ads for. According to data, the average cost for Instagram ads can be broken down into a few different price points. Keep in mind that the cost can also fluctuate depending on the industry and your campaign objectives.
- Cost per Click (CPC): ranges from $.20 to $2.00
- Cost per 1000 Impressions (CPM): ranges from $.00 to $4.00
- Cost per Engagement: ranges from $.03 to $.08
Pick Your Instagram Ad Format
Next, you’ll need to choose the format you’d like to use. It’s important to figure out your budget before the format because the cost can vary depending on what type and the duration of the ads. Instagram has a variety of ad formats, such as:
- Photo ads
- Video ads
- Carousel ads
- Explore ads
- Stories ads
- Reel ads
Essentially, you can take any type of Instagram post and turn it into an advertisement.
Design the Ad
The most important part is going to be designing your ad. Once you’ve chosen a format, it will make it easier to determine how to do this. Create your video or images and make sure that you add your call to action! The caption is key to making your ad successful.
Tips for Creating Instagram Ads
- Maintain consistency including your branding and visual aesthetics
- It’s more important to create quality content instead of churning out ineffective ads
- Encourage engagement with call-to-actions that make the advertisement interactive.
- Use Instagram’s Analytics and Insights tools to track the performance of your ad
Submit the Ad for Review
Once your ad is ready to go, it will need to be approved by Instagram before it’s posted. Once it’s approved, your ad should be live immediately.
Closing Thoughts
Advertising on Instagram doesn’t have to be complicated. Following these steps should put you in good shape to experiment with advertising on Instagram and find what works for you!
