by Instagram Ads is one of the best ways to increase your earnings through social media network advertising. It has grown to be a big advertising platform just like Facebook. In fact, by projection, its believed that by 2024, Instagram Ad is likely to exceed two billion users, according to Statists projection.
If you are not quite sure how to run Instagram ads or you are worried about how much they cost, read on to find out how you can run effective and result-oriented Instagram ads with little…
Is Instagram Ad Right for Your Business?
Currently, there are over 400 million business accounts on Instagram, and obviously, the number does not seem to be decreasing any time soon. That is to say, the Instagram ad is not only growing considerably, but it is also bringing in some serious cash for businesses and individuals that are engaged. Worth noting, it is also attracting millions of big brands on a regular basis because it is well worth it to advertise there. Even if you are not a multimillion-dollar brand, Instagram ads are still just as important for your brand promotion.
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The following are factors considered to be the main reasons why any business organisation or individual should consider Instagram Ad running as a way to promote their brands, services, and products:
- Anyone can run Instagram Ad as long as they have created an account.
- On Instagram, you can target audiences with Facebook data since Facebook owns Instagram.
- Audience engagement is limitless while running Instagram Ads. Businesses can interact with users in the comments section of their photos.
- Post Instagram ads look just like any other shared post on Instagram, which makes them feel less conspicuous.
- There are multiple ways to advertise on Instagram, including Stories, videos, IGTV, and Shopping ads.
- Whether you want to increase brand awareness, get more clicks to your website, generate sales, or boost downloads of your latest e-book, Instagram Ads can help you reach a huge audience.
What are Instagram ads?
Instagram ads are posts that are more of a picture for which businesses and brands can pay to serve Instagram users. That is to say that Instagram advertising is a method of paying to post sponsored content on the Instagram platform to reach a larger and more targeted audience. Similar to Facebook, Instagram ads appear throughout the app, including in users’ feeds, Stories, Explore, and more. They look similar to normal posts but always contain a “sponsored” label to indicate that they are an ad. They also often have more features than a normal post, such as links, CTA buttons, and product catalogues.
How Much Do Instagram Ads Cost?
Running an Ad on Instagram are cost based on a variety of factors, and as you may have suspected these factors are not all revealed to us by the platform. The model is based on CPC (cost-per-click) and CPM (cost per impressions), and prices are determined according to Instagram’s ad auction. The cost of Instagram ads is highly dependent on a variety of factors – there is no average or benchmark price. Some cost factors include:
- Your targeting Audience.
- Competitiveness of your industry.
- Time of year costs often goes up during holiday shopping periods in Q4 such as Black Friday.
- Placement costs can differ between ads shown on Facebook vs Instagram and Social Media that run Ads.
However, the best way to evaluate your budget is to set up a draft campaign in Ads Manager and look for the Audience Definition and Estimated Daily Results modules, which will tell you if your budget settings will be sufficient to reach your desired audience within your desired duration. There is no best practice for how much to spend. You can get started by spending just a few dollars a day, and scale up from there based on success. In order to control the costs of your Instagram ads, you can set either daily budgets or lifetime spending limits.
What Are the types of Instagram Ad Formats?
- Image/ Photo ads
- Stories ads
- Video ads
- Carousel ads
- Collection ads
- Explore ads
- IGTV ads
- Shopping ads
- Reels ads
Instagram Image/ Photo Ads Format:
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There are four different ad formats you can use on Instagram Ads. These are single-image ads, carousel ads (also known as “multiple image ads”), video ads, and Instagram Stories. Since Stories are technically a different type of placement, we will talk more about them in-depth in the next chapter.
Single-image formats can be very clear and straight to the point. They work well for simple concepts and ads featuring a single product. If you are selling something with a high visual appeal, you can not go wrong with a single-image ad.
Your Single image/photo Ads should have the following features:
- Have an image ratio of 1.91:1.
- Your image size should not be anything less than 800 x 428 pixels.
- Have less than 20% of the image containing text
Multiple image formats can be a dynamic way to showcase several products. It gives you more visual space to elaborate on the point you are trying to make. You can also add videos to one or more slides in your carousel to make them even more engaging. These images and videos should be square instead of rectangular. Encouraging users to Swipe is beneficial for these ads, as they are not as obvious on Instagram as they are on Facebook.
Instagram Stories Ads:
Instagram Stories Ads are full-Screen image or video Ads that appear between users’ Stories.
The Stories are usually positioned where they will be well-used on any part of the app, with over 400 million Instagram users viewing Stories every day. Engagement is often higher with Stories ads, as the format covers the whole mobile screen and feels much more immersive than in-feed ads. To make the best of these types of Instagram Ads, Instagram recommends using motion-focused content, with the message upfront, to fit well with the fast-paced nature of stories.
The best Instagram Stories Ads are ones that look and feel like normal Stories and do not stand out as ads. When designing Stories ads, Here businesses can use all organic Instagram Stories features like filters, text, GIFs, and interactive stickers
Instagram Video Ads:
Similar to Instagram image Ads, video ads on Instagram allow businesses and individuals to give users a closer look at their brand, products, and services. A good In-feed Instagram video Ad can be up to 60 minutes long, but shorter videos are usually more effective. However, when you create video Ads for your Instagram, you will want to think about your objective and goals. You may choose to provide lots of information right there in the video to entertain and educate or you may even use this ad as a teaser to get people to click through to learn more about your brand and products.
Instagram Carousel Ads:
Carousel Instagram ads take photo ads to the next level. With this style, you can create a series of up to 10 photos or videos in a single Ad. Just like the photo Ads, they exist in the Instagram news feed, but each photo or video can connect to a different URL or location. This allows you to showcase a collection or group of products.
If you are not sure whether to choose between photo ads and carousel ads, think about what you are trying to promote. Always try and resist the urge to think about carousel ads as a way to just stuff more photos into an ad. They should function together and make sense as a unit.
Photo Ads or Video ads are like a one-page ad in a magazine or newspaper, while carousel Ads are like lookbooks or mini catalogues themselves. When you are announcing a new product line or a seasonal collection, these are great options. Carousel ads feature a series of images or videos that users can swipe through. They can appear both in-feed and within Instagram Stories, with a call-to-action button or swipe-up link that leads users directly to your website.
The Carousel ads can be used through :
a.Showcase a collection of related products
b.Tell a multi-part story
c.share up to 10 images or videos
Instagram Shopping Ad:
Instagram shopping ads are an interactive option for showcasing your products, either in the Instagram feed or in the explore section of Instagram. With Instagram shopping ads, you can add shopping links to your photos for viewers to click and learn more about the product and even purchase directly from the Instagram app.
You will need to set up an Instagram shop to use this ad option. If your brand uses the Instagram shop feature, this is a smart way to get the word out to a new audience about your products and services.
You can use flat lays, real-world images, or other detailed photos of your products, and create tags to point people to where they can purchase them directly. This is great if you have unique products, maybe with a seasonal or local twist.
Instagram Creators Ad:
Social media influencers play a big role in the content marketing world these days. Branded creator ads are a component of this game. They can consist of photos or videos that one Instagram account creates organically and another shares as an ad.
However, to make this happen, an Instagram creator account needs to provide permission to a business partner or a brand they are working with, to share that particular post.
These types of Ads are built on an existing relationship between creators and brands. If you are working with an influencer already, these are a great way to showcase organic content they have created with your products or your services.
Instagram Reels Ad:
Instagram reel Ads are Ads that are usually input in between reel videos. They follow the same format as an Instagram reel video, allowing the ad to feel like a natural part of the reel video feed. Instagram reel ads can be up to 60 seconds long and play in a loop, on a full vertical screen. However, you can also think of using the TikTok format of Instagram.
You may want to use this format of Instagram ads if you have eye-catching and intriguing short video content people are likely to engage with and share.
Instagram IGTV Ads
IGTV ads are video Ads that play usually after a user clicks to watch an IGTV video from their feed. Videos can be up to some seconds long, and is always designed at a vertical full screen viewing. It is commonlly used in USA,UK,and Australia.
How To Choose The Best Instagram Ad Type:
With so many different ad types available, it can be overwhelming to select one to use for your campaign. The good news: Ads Manager is well set up for experimentation, which means you can test multiple formats and see which one performs best before running a full campaign. To help you solve the formats selection problem, use these questions to guide you.
- How can I drive traffic to website?
- What type of video views can i get for my new product?
- How can I increase brand awareness for my new business?
- I want to get and drive ecommerce purchases, app installs, or email signups?
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