Instagram currently has more than 1000 million active users. This, however, is just one impressive stat: it’s also the second most used social network (behind Facebook) and the fastest growing network in recent years. Nowadays, advertising on Instagram is an absolute must for most companies.
Instagram Ads are a way for companies to advertise themselves by way of pictures and visual content on Instagram. There are many different ways to create these campaigns, something which we will discuss more in depth in the coming paragraphs.
Launching an Instagram Ads campaign requires you to have a Facebook advertising account (if you already use Facebook for promotional purposes, you can use the same login), or you can open “Instagram for Business” account. Instagram Ads are managed via Instagram Ads Manager or Facebook Power Editor.
Although Instagram Ads are promotions on social media, not all of them work the same way. Therefore, it’s important you have a solid understanding of the basic concepts before starting a campaign. Instagram Ads appear on the newsfeeds of users you have selected to be a part of your target audience. These posts will be clearly labeled as “Sponsored”. In order to decide if an ad will be shown or not, a selection criteria, based on bids and user relevance, is followed.
In addition to this, it's important to be familiar with the different types of Instagram Ads which are at your disposal. Depending on your business's goals, some ads may prove to be more helpful or relevant than others:
Ads with pictures:
as the name suggests, these advertisements are ads which also include a photographical element. The visual aspect of Instagram is crucial and, thanks to the clean platform interface, any image can be converted into a much more attractive format.
Ads with videos:
if you want to offer a full user experience, video-based Instagram Ads are a fantastic option. The rest of the parameters remain the same but, as the name suggests, instead of a picture, a video is shown to the target market.
Sequential Ads:
if what you’re needing is to show your target audience a series of pictures or videos, this type of Instagram Ad is your best bet.
Awareness:
this type of campaign is geared towards brand awareness. If you intend to further increase your reach, as well as the frequency of how often users 'remember' you, we recommend to use this type of campaign. This campaign is also well-suited for local dispersion.
Consideration:
we recommend this type of campaign in order to achieve objectives related to getting clicks on your website and for presenting yourself as a worthy adversary during the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey. You can also improve your reach and rate of interaction within your target market.
Conversion:
if what you're looking for is App interaction, content downloads, lead acquisition or sales accrual, this campaign is without a doubt the best option.
