Instagram Ads are a way for businesses to advertise themselves, of course, through images and visual content on Instagram. Instagram Ads are posts or stories that may also include a call-to-action button to drive traffic or conversions.
Ever encountered an Instagram post on your feed with a “Sponsored” label just below the account username? Well, there you have it — an example of an Instagram Ad.
More and more marketers are running towards Instagram to lay out their digital advertising campaigns and initiatives. While that seems like a no-brainer considering Instagram advertising’s success over the last couple of years, it’s important to note that the key to using Instagram Ads effectively for your brand is to get to know the users of the platform.
The best thing about Instagram is that as much as there are so many ways for you to put the word for your business out there, you can buy, run, and track ads on Instagram in 3 different ways!
The easiest way to run ads is by promoting posts you've shared on the Instagram app itself. You can easily do this by selecting the post you want to promote, and then be able to track the results immediately.
Ads Manager, available on desktop and mobile, uses the same powerful advertising tools as Facebook. You can set up, make changes, and see results for all your Instagram campaigns, ad sets, and ads in one place!
If you're short on time or in need of additional help, find an Instagram Partner to help you with everything — from setting up ads, to managing a business’ Instagram community, and creating and sourcing content.
Knowing who Instagram users are is synonymous with understanding who your potential audience is, and how to craft compelling, effective campaigns for them.
Millennials take center stage as Instagram’s largest user base, followed by Gen Z. Here’s a detailed breakdown of Instagram users from a global perspective:
Globally, more women are using Instagram compared to men, specifically with 52% female and 48% male users.
Currently, there isn’t a more detailed breakdown than “males vs. females” if you’re looking for more in-depth data on gender demographics.
As of July 2020, the United States is the global leader in active Instagram users with a whopping 130 million users!
Some countries are continuously seeing massive growth in Instagram users day by day. Here’s a top 10 list of the countries with the most Instagram users:
Given the statistics above, can you just imagine your potential reach among audiences if you run your very own Instagram ads?
Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms — which you probably already know at this point. How is this relevant to your business? With the app’s massive audience growth, you will be able to reach people who matter most to you and meet business goals at the same time.
Make your ads reach the exact audience you want by using the app’s precise targeting options based on user location, demographics, interests, behaviors. And most importantly, meet your business goals by:
Instagram gives your businesses 7 distinct methods for advertising:
This is the most standard ad format, and likely the most common type of ad that users see when scrolling through their feed. Image feed ads are single images that will appear as a native experience — or ads that don’t feel like ads — when executed well.
Technical requirements:
Image stories ads are a lot like image feed ads, except that they are for Instagram stories!
Technical requirements:
Get the same visually immersive quality as photo ads — with the added power of sight, sound, and motion. Best part? You can share videos up to 120 seconds long in landscape or square format!
Technical requirements:
☝️ Pro Tip: If your video is not meeting the above requirements, you can always run it through the video transcoders (like Handbrake) to make necessary adjustments.
Instagram stories are the place to be to find users who expect to see videos, so the “selling” part of advertising your brand, service, or product doesn’t feel as forced.
Technical requirements:
The carousel ad format allows you to choose from up to 10 scrollable images within a single ad, each with its own link. Exciting part? Videos are also an option!
Technical requirements:
Collection ads include a swipeable carousel-type of images that will allow your audience to browse your products without having to leave Instagram.
Image Source: Instagram
☝️ Pro Tip: Have your images and videos linked to your website or your product pages to drive eCommerce purchases.
Explore is one of the best places for people to discover, shop, and connect with people, businesses, and creators alike. It's usually where people go when they want to see photos and videos related to their interests (specifically from accounts they are not yet following).
