August 6, 2021
Instagram provides a unique way to express your brand’s unique personality. There are hundreds of technology based companies on the rise in the United States every year, but what makes yours so special? With Instagram, you can accurately depict that.
Some Quick Instagram Business Facts
Much like its parent company Facebook, Instagram has its own business subsection. Did you know:
- Instagram has over 700 million users worldwide
- 400 Million of those users use Instagram each day
- 80% of users follow at least one business on Instagram
- Over 5 million businesses use Instagram in some way to advertise their business
- 60% of users say that they find new products on Instagram
Making an Instagram Ad
Making an advertisement on Instagram is much the same process as making an advertisement on a Facebook page or on Facebook Messenger, so for ease, take a quick review of the ad making process:
- First, go to www.facebook.com/ads/create
- Then, choose from one of the ten pre-selected objectives for your ad
- Next, choose a target audience using the variety of filters (age, gender, location, etc.)
- Choose the placements for your ad (on what platform the ad will be visible)
- Then, choose the daily budget and calendar schedule for the advertisement
- Finally, set up what the ad will look like by uploading an image or video, writing the description, and providing any available URL(s)
- For Instagram ads, you may only choose from a single picture or single video format
- Before you finish off your advertisement, try to be aware of the meter on the left side of the screen. It will tell you how broad or specific your target audience is. Now, there is no set correct amount of people for your ad to reach, but this meter is a clear indication of what direction your ad campaign is heading as far as general reach
A Special Case For Instagram Stories
When using Instagram as a viable source for your ad campaign, it is almost impossible to avoid utilizing Instagram stories. Luckily for you, the Instagram Ads program comes with a built in format for creating story based advertisements.
How To Get Started With Stories
As always, the first thing to do when creating an ad is to choose an objective. With Instagram Stories, only a small selection of objectives are allowed. This includes:
- Reach
- Video Views
- Conversions
- App Installs
- Traffic
If you are looking to choose an objective outside of these five, you’ll not be able to use Instagram stories for advertising purposes.
What you’ll need to do next is go to the “Placements” section, and select “Edit Placements”. From there, choose the “Instagram” option, and then choose the “Stories” options. Continue with the rest of the ad making process as normal, and once you are done, click the green “Place Order” button to finalize your advertisement.
Keep in mind that with Instagram advertisements, you are going to want to specifically appeal to the emotional aspects that ads can provide, because Instagram is a place where people tend to go for more of an emotional escape.
How To Improve Your Instagram Marketing Campaign
If you are interested further in marketing via Instagram, then you are going to need some extensive knowledge on the subject. Look below at some of the ways that experts have found to utilize your Instagram marketing experience.
Create A Good Strategy
More than ever with Instagram, you need to know what you are saying and what sort of feeling you are trying to invoke in the viewer. How will you measure success if those reading the advertisement show interest in your brand? Strategy goes beyond the advertisement, and you’ll need to prepare for success the same way you would prepare for failure
With Instagram Ads Are Not Really Ads
On Facebook and Messenger, it is OK for your viewers to notice that what they are looking at is in fact an advertisement. With Instagram, things are a little different. When a user is scrolling through photos of friends, family, and famous celebrities, they do not want to be stopped dead in their tracks by a barrage of product offers and sales opportunities.
As it has been said here many times before, look to appeal more to the emotional aspects of your brand; make the viewer naturally interested in reading through the rest of the ad.
Utilize Influencers
If you have the chance, using an influencer is a sure fire way of getting more people interested in your brand. Influencer marketing is essentially adding a key figure, a mascot if you’ll, to sponsor your product to their followers. It has been shown to work time and time again.
Are you a small business? No need to worry, because an influencer does not need to be a five star celebrity, it can be someone influential in your local community who can get a fair following behind them.
Try To Tell Your Own Story
Earlier on, you learned how to advertise using Instagram Stories. This knowledge was not for nothing. Being able to tell the story of your brand in a few simple pictures is by no means an easy task. If done correctly however, it is a perfect way to add a sense of emotional depth to your brand or company, so that others will not see it as just a business, but as a lifestyle.
When In Rome
In a way, this combines all that you have looked at in this video. With Instagram, you want to find the perfect line between being professional, but not appearing as though you are professional. The worst thing that your ad could do is to stick out like a sore thumb. Advertising on Instagram is all about finding that perfect balance between uniqueness and compliment with the rest of the website.
