How effective is instagram ads


Here are 8 Benefits to Advertising on Instagram

There was a time when business owners relied solely on referral marketing.

The “Word of Mouth” strategy was perfect for businesses operating in small communities where every customer could spread the word and attract other customers from the same town or city.

Things changed during the 20th century when radio and television gave people access to more information. However, it was the Internet that triggered one of the most important and most drastic shifts in marketing, business, and lifestyle. It changed the way we communicate and, of course, the way we market and advertise our products and businesses.

Now, there are no limits in marketing and advertising. The Internet makes it easier for everyone. Choose the right platform and the right way to communicate with your audience and success is right around the next corner. Let’s talk about the latest trends in social media advertising and one of the best platforms to deliver your message:

Table of contents

  • Aim for success and go visual!
  • Why advertise on Instagram?
  • What are the 8 benefits of Instagram advertising?
  • How to promote your small business on Instagram
    • 1. Free marketing
    • 2. Paid marketing
  • 4 Main Types of Instagram Ads
    • 1. Instagram Photo Ads
    • 2. Instagram Video Ads
    • 3. Instagram Carousel Ads
    • 4. Instagram Stories Ads

Aim for success and go visual!

Facebook and YouTube, both leading multimedia channels and social communities, are mostly visual.

This is, in many ways, the main reason why they’re so successful.

[clickToTweet tweet=”People react better to images and videos than texts and slogans.” quote=”People react better to images and videos than texts and slogans.”]

People want to see, hear and learn more, but their time is limited. The problem is classic social media platforms are time-consuming.

You need to deliver your message fast and concise to be able to attract fans or customers. And not all the social media platforms promote this kind of communication.

Is there a platform that is visual and popular, easy to access and able to deliver instant messages? Yes, there is, and we’re referring to Instagram and one of the many benefits of Instagram.



Why advertise on Instagram?

With more than 1 billion active users, Instagram is a leading social media platform. Not convinced by this number? Well, just a little while ago, Instagram announced its 700 million users milestone. A growth of almost 30+% in a little time tells us more about this platform’s popularity and future potential than anything else.

In simple words, it has become a huge and diverse online community with unlimited marketing potential.

Of course, Facebook has more active users than Instagram. However, shear numbers may not be the first thing to consider when advertising a small business. If you want to successfully promote your small business, you should look first at the relevant data. The statistics are more than just simple numbers calculated in order to attract more users.

According to Forrester, Instagram is the king of social media with a 4.21% engagement rate.

This is a huge number, considering that Facebook and Twitter combined barely reach a 0. 10 engagement rate. “Instagram delivered 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more engagement per follower than Twitter” Forrester ads.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Instagram is the king of social media with 4,21% engagement rate.” quote=”Instagram is the king of social media with 4,21% engagement rate.”]

What are the 8 benefits of Instagram advertising?

Here are the real benefits of advertising on Instagram.

  1. There are more than 700 million users on Instagram and the community is still growing.
  2. Instagram and Facebook are connected. So it’s easier to target your audience based on Facebook data. All budgeting and scheduling tasks, the setup and creation of ads are done through Facebook. So you don’t need to start from scratch and learn about Instagram, once you’ve already used its sister platform for marketing and ads.
  3. Instagram ads are non-intrusive and less likely to annoy your targeted audience.
  4. The engagement rate on Instagram is higher than the engagement rate on any other social media platform.
  5. You can easily integrate Shopify and sell your products instantly.
  6. Instagram measures the success of your campaign based on awareness, reach and recall instead of follower counts, likes or comments.
  7. Most people use their smartphones to read their news, socialize on Facebook or post their own stories and update social media timelines. Most smartphones feature high-end cameras that can shoot photographs to be immediately posted on Instagram. Everybody can be an amateur photographer. Instagram is the best channel for this type of media and it’s why most mobile users have Instagram accounts.
  8. In terms of ROI and cost, Instagram marketing returns the best results. It’s effective and less time-consuming than other online marketing channels.

There are several options when launching an Instagram campaign. But you need to know from the start exactly what you want and what your target is.

Learn as much as possible about Instagram and Instagram advertising by reading everything you can find online about this topic.

You’ll have to choose which type of your campaign will be the best for your business.



Basically, there are 2 advertising methods on Instagram, the free one and of course, the paid ads feature.

1. Free marketing

I am sure most people reading this article have already tested and used Instagram. If you already have a personal account you’ll need to set up a new account for your small business.

If you’re selling products, you can integrate Instagram, Facebook and Shopify and instantly sell to your followers. Posting relevant images and videos and build your brand online, and attract more customers and followers.

Be aware that these images should be targeted, attractive and at the same time, of high quality. If you are not a skilled photographer, hire one that can deliver the best images to be successful. You also need to pay attention to the best time to post on Instagram for maximum engagement.

While it might also be considered paid marketing, don’t forget about engaging with top Instagram influencers for collaborations as well as an additional option here.

2. Paid marketing

The most profitable method to advertise on Instagram is, of course, the paid one. If you’ve previously advertised your business on Facebook, then you already know how to advertise on Instagram.

Here are the types of ads you can post on Instagram and of course, how can you benefit from them.

Select an editor, such as “Ads Manager”, “Power Editor” or “Facebook API”, choose your objective, choose your audience and your budget.

4 Main Types of Instagram Ads

There are 3 main types of Instagram ads to choose from when starting an online campaign:

1. Instagram Photo Ads

You can tell a story or promote your products online through visually engaging images. Market your small business or brand to a broad audience or target just local customers from your geographic area or hometown.

2. Instagram Video Ads

Create video ads up to 60 seconds long and deliver them to your target audience. Time is very limited these days and I would recommend shorter videos. They’ll get maximum attention and the expected response from your potential and existing customers.

While photo ads are your best choice when dealing with Instagram, videos can be effective if they’re short and have the potential to go viral.

3. Instagram Carousel Ads

These types of ads make Instagram users swipe to see additional images and call to action on your official website to learn more about your products or services. In many ways, a Carousel Ads campaign is similar to a content marketing campaign because it delivers valuable information to users.

The main goal is to get your potential customers to visit your website once you’ve managed to draw their attention.

4. Instagram Stories Ads

Instagram Stories ads are the “new kid in town”. With over 250 million daily users it’s a great way to grow your brand awareness. Just like how Smartketer has done in this case study.

I will finish with a Slide presentation from Socialbakers on why Instagram is important for every small business owner in 2017.

Let me know in the comments which one of these marketing strategies you’ll use to help your small business get more results.

Photo by Brandon Lee on Unsplash

The Effect of Instagram Ads on Marketing

Contents

Mobile device usage and internet usage are increasing day by day. Now people meet their needs wherever they want with mobile devices without the need for a fixed computer to take advantage of the internet. With the proliferation of internet usage, the use of social media has increased every day. Today, there are many different social media platforms, and one of the most widely used social media networks through mobile devices is undoubtedly Instagram. Instagram, which now has 500+ million users, is one of the most widely used photos and video sharing platforms. Instagram ads are very crucial if we look at these numbers.

It is also very important that brands and companies are involved in a medium that people use so heavily. These media, which allow direct access to the audience, are also very important for advertising efforts. Thanks to Instagram ads, companies can easily make product and service promotions to large audiences. In this article, we will tell you about the effects of Instagram ads on marketing.

Important Instagram Insights

Let’s take a look at some stats of Instagram.

1 Billion Number of Active Users

According to June 2018 data, the number of active Instagram users has exceeded 1 billion. It is safe to say that European countries have more Instagram users than the total population.  

70% of Instagram Users are Looking for a Brand

70% of users are looking for a brand on Instagram. Being in this media is another reason to show yourself to your customers. 

80% of Instagram Users Follow a Business

This is a big reason why your business exists on Instagram. At the same time, 200 million Instagram users actively visit their business profiles every day.

10 Times More Interaction than Facebook

Although Facebook is one of the most important social media channels with more than 1.4 billion users, brands can interact 10 times more on Instagram than Facebook. 

60% of Users Learn About New Products with Instagram

More than half of Instagram users discovered a new product through this medium. At the same time, 30% of users say they buy these products they discover. So one in three people purchase Instagram. Do you have any awareness of how high that is?

What Are Instagram Ads?

The unstoppable development of technology allows different innovations to enter our lives every day. You can instantly meet your needs with technological advances that increase internet and mobile device usage.

As internet usage became more common, interest in the social media platforms has increased. One of them is the most used social media platform in the world. Users are constantly following Instagram to discover photos and all shares of the people they are interested in. With an average of more than 500 million users, Instagram offers a very important opportunity for both large and small businesses through different advertising options.

You Can Empower Your Business by Advertising on Instagram

Instagram brand awareness, which has received a lot of attention in recent times, is one of the most important platforms for the increase. According to research among Instagram users, nearly 60% of users say they have discovered new products through Instagram. 75% of users say ads on Instagram inspire them. This is the best proof of what a powerful advertising tool Instagram is!

People who use mobile devices and the internet spend most of their time on Instagram. Corporate and brand awareness comes to the fore, as each user follows at least one business. Accounts with a high interaction rate can quickly increase the number of customers of the company with the ads they share in their stories.

Although Instagram is the last established platform in social media areas, it has reached a large audience by gaining great momentum. 

When advertising on Instagram, you set criteria such as age, gender, behavior, location, and interests. This allows you to quickly attract attention by creating ads that best suit your audience. You can also increase your visitor numbers with Instagram ads that greatly reduce your ad costs.

Effective Instagram Ads

The effect has become a place where social media companies can make their promotions most appropriately. Instagram is getting a lot of attention, especially within social media networks, which is one of the first places to apply for news and information. The high interest makes Instagram popular in the field of advertising.

Instagram users who are users of Millennials have a very serious impact. However, to make the most of this effect and to bring brand awareness to the forefront, you need to build the advertising strategy correctly and planned. As a result of serious strategy and planning work, you can advertise smoothly and effectively. Anyone can advertise brands, products, or fog. However, it is very important to work with a team of experts to make the impact of these promotions high. 

By correctly identifying the audience and making the ad at the right time, you can achieve success in a short time.

What’s the Purpose of Instagram Ads?

Ads on Instagram can aim for several things. Let’s take a look at their purposes.

Creating Brand Awareness

Brands or businesses should provide descriptive information about this product and service by delivering their products, brands, and services to potential customers. In light of this information, you should do appropriate advertising strategies to enable users to download and purchase the mobile app. You can use Instagram ads such as access, access – frequency, local awareness, and brand awareness for these strategies.

Attracting Attention

One of the goals we want to achieve with Instagram ads is to raise interest in users. You can use Instagram ads such as website clicks, access – frequency, and video views to reach potential customers and get the most out of the way by promoting products.

Transformative

One of the main objectives is to achieve transformation. Advertising options such as downloading the company’s mobile app, increasing sales of products or increasing store visitors, dynamic ads, website conversions, interaction with a mobile app, and mobile app installations are very popular!

Benefits of Advertising on Instagram

It has recently become an important network that hosts the customer potential of people who want to promote the Instagram brand and its product, the most popular social networking network in recent times. When compared to other internet ads, Instagram ads are more likely to attract attention.

There are many different factors to distract on other social media platforms. However, there are no distractions on Instagram because there are only videos and photos. Accordingly, Instagram ads are the first in almost every brand’s advertising preferences.

Facebook purchased Instagram. Therefore, when you run an integrated advertising strategy with Facebook, your number of users will increase in a short period thanks to ads that will be directly visible.

With the right strategies, your Instagram ads increase brand awareness and strengthen the corporate company’s image. With ads that you can easily promote products and services, you can reach more people than your target audience. Here’s how we can sort the benefits of Instagram ads to companies and brands:

  • Brand awareness increases, and sales of products and services increase.
  • Advertising costs fall.
  • Budget-appropriate ads in line with targets reach the right audience.
  • The number of users of the web site’s mobile platform and an increase in website traffic occur.
  • You will be able to promote products and services in the best way.
  • The brand’s attention increases.
  • You can re-reach old visitors through the remarketing system.
  • You can instantly convey current campaigns and opportunities.
  • The number of customers increases, and your business is stronger.
  • With precision targeting options, you can only reach users you’re targeting.
  • You can set targets by locations such as countries, regions, and cities.
  • You can accurately determine the target audience by criteria such as age, language, and gender.
  • It is possible to start or end ad campaigns at any time.

Instagram Ad Models

Instagram has 2 basic advertising models: Video visual and Carousel and Stories advertising, which allow you to scroll and view a few images. As a team, we are doing the right advertising strategy so that the company can get to its targeted destinations in a short time. With your ads for the right time and right audience, you will quickly increase the number of users and increase the website’s interaction rate! To achieve these goals, you can use the ad models:

Instagram Image Ads

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A photo you specify is the ad model for which you run ads. You can format it squarely or horizontally by specifying the most accurate photo. You can add remarkable content to the bottom of this image. It is possible to make remarkable action calls that allow users to redirect them to the site.

With the button you can add over the picture you specify, you get users to go directly to the website or Instagram page. During these operations, it is also worth paying attention to visual resolution.

This is one of the simplest and most effective ad models in Instagram ad models. With the photo and advertising text that clearly describes the company’s purpose, the success of advertising increases exponentially. Choose both short and striking sentences, and make different designs.

Instagram Video Ads

Instagram users’ video viewing habits are increasing day by day. This allows you to advertise video in the best way by explaining your purpose in short videos. These videos, which you can use horizontal or vertical format at your request, are up to 30 seconds.

Feel free to enhance the visual effect you get with photography by supporting it with the power of sound and motion. Prepare effective video content about the content you want to advertise. With video ads that you’ll optimize based on your goals, you can have users download or visit your website.

Instagram Carousel Ads

You specify 4 different photos about the product or service you want to advertise, and you sort them repeatedly. This allows you to provide visual integrity and have the right effect on users. With this ad model that allows you to reach your target audience, users will flock to your website!

Stories Ads

Stories you will use on Instagram has attracted a lot of attention from day one. When Instagram users log into their accounts, they first look at the Stories shares of other Instagram accounts.

Stories ads, which give users an immersive ad experience on full screen, have also managed to become one of the most effective ad models. In this ad model, you can use videos or photos in users’ stories. If you’re going to share a visual, it’s supposed to be 9:16 in size and vertical format. If you’re going to use video, the video must be limited to the same format and 15 seconds.

Concluding Instagram Ads on Marketing

In this article, we have explained the huge impact of sequential effects on Instagram ads and marketing. Brands can reach audiences through Instagram ads in addition to creating a strong profile and engaging followers through regular posts. And why not? Instagram is a great platform to connect with 800 million monthly active users and a 60 percent audience under 30 and build your brand. More than 2 million companies reach audiences and use Instagram ads to promote their products. If your company starts joining them and advertising on Instagram, it’s definitely on the right track.

If you liked this article, please see our other articles about digital marketing. You may like an in-depth article about creating Instagram ads as well.

Should I start advertising on Instagram?

The visual component drives brands to promote on Instagram. Instagram is one of the largest social networks in the world, with over 500 million users. And according to the latest research, Instagram ads are more engaging than facebook/twitter ads.

Instagram allows the user to learn the story of a brand or product, and not just see the sales component. Insta advertising is worth a try for at least a few reasons:

Easy to create

When you create an ad on Facebook, you automatically create it on Instagram in the placement section as well. No need to look for additional tabs and checkboxes.

Optimization

Depending on the purpose of the ad, targeting will be automatically optimized like in facebook. If the goal is “clicks to the site”, then your ad will show users the most suitable for this goal.

No Instagram account required

Many brands, and almost all products, do not have a dedicated Instagram account. And even if there is, then it is poorly promoted and there is no desire to show it yet. But that's not a problem, Instagram ads only require you to have a Facebook page. This is enough to get started.

Are Facebook and Instagram ads the same?

The unequivocal answer is no. These are still two different social networks, although the owner is the same. Instagram is a purely visual component, while in FB a photo is one of the opportunities for content. There are several types of ads on Instagram. nine0003

Ad photo

Through the ad photo, you can tell the story of your brand, engage the user in participation, and generally just take the first step and get to know him.

Ad Carousel

Here you can add some more pictures and back them up with a call to action, for example redirecting people to your site.

Video ads

Instagram, like Facebook, also supports video ads. Restriction - the video is not longer than 1 minute. nine0003

Should I mix Facebook/Instagram ads?

There is only one interface for creating ads, one analytics, so maybe it's worth creating one ad for both social networks? I would not advise you, as I have said in dozens of my articles, in advertising you need to create narrow audiences, and this rule also applies to the type of placement.

You probably have the same target audience for both social networks, but you also need to track ad performance, user interaction, pricing, engagement, and more, right? nine0003

Make the same targeting, similar texts, but choose different types of placement. It will take 2 minutes but will give a thousand times better statistics.

How you can effectively track Instagram ads

As I wrote just above, Instagram conversion tracking happens in the facebook ads panel.

Don't forget to use utm tags for ads on insta and fb to understand exactly where the lead comes from. For example, utm_source = Facebook and utm_source = Instagram. nine0003

So advertising on Instagram?

The unequivocal answer is yes. Visuals now make up more than 50% of the world's population and Instagram advertising is the best solution to attract these users.

But do not forget about a couple of important details that I personally checked:

— the audience on Instagram is younger and more careless, you won’t burst into uninteresting pictures and slogans, creativity is more serious than on FB,

— the cost per click is at least 1.5 times higher than on Facebook. But I will say this, for brands with visual content it pays off with a vengeance, fb with its cheap clicks is not suitable for them in terms of % of lead conversion. nine0003

- before launching ads on insta, you should understand ads on facebook. After all, there is only one analytics account, and if you don’t understand anything about Facebook advertising, it will be hard for you.

I remind you that advertising on Instagram can be done from a separate Instagram account, without linking to facebook. But it seems to me that the synergy of the two social networks is the most powerful tool, so I personally do everything through my facebook account.

It has been scientifically proven that the best promotion method is trial and error. So, just go ahead! nine0098

"Instagram has opened up advertising opportunities for all businesses, and it's no surprise that marketers' use of the platform will grow rapidly," said Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at eMarketer. - Her close ties to Facebook are a key asset."

According to Admixer, as of October 2015, there were 830,000 registered users from Ukraine on Instagram, most of which - are girls aged 18-35.

About a month ago, advertising appeared in the Instagram feeds of Ukrainian consumers, and companies received a new platform for advertising and a new way to communicate with customers. We asked several Ukrainian companies about the experience of using advertising on Instagram, in particular, about the specifics of working with this tool. nine0003

Anastasia Maltseva and Anna Shepilova, creators and owners of the Window to the Courtyard Concept Store:

. During the use of advertising, the flow of followers was two to three times higher than the daily natural flow of people who come to us. And also after it, people began to come more actively - this is called "prolonged action." The ad was shown to a specific audience, and that audience was followed by friends. They might not see the ad, but they saw that one of their friends liked, subscribed, or left a comment. nine0003

In my opinion, Instagram ads should not be abused, they can become intrusive. And I also want it to be personalized.

Sorry, frequency settings are not yet available. You can only select the period of the advertising campaign and the audience.

Advertising is configured via Facebook. And the statistics are also displayed through it. There is a Power Editor app that only works with Google Chrome. You can set up ads in it, run it and see how it works. The software is still “raw”, applications are terribly “buggy”. nine0003

Our purpose for using advertising was to increase the number of subscribers to our page. Yes, people see these ads. But there is a big problem. You can like a post, comment on it, go to the page yourself and like it or not like it. But if you click on this ad, it redirects the user to our site! Therefore, unfortunately, this function is not ideal now.

But we were satisfied with the "raw" options that we have. In three days, the number of subscribers increased by almost a thousand people. Now we have 10,700 subscribers. Advertising on Facebook, since there has been a well-established mechanism for years, works much more efficiently. nine0003

The price of advertising on Instagram is identical to the price on Facebook. The auction system works: all such advertising and audience are displayed, an auction is held. Whoever set the limit per day more, this show costs less. We never use large amounts, so we pay about 10 cents per click.

Instagram is very promising in terms of sales. But its main function - is aesthetic, it is the display of beautiful photos. The better your photo, the more likes and comments. If you make competent content, then Instagram can bring good income. Advertising in the form in which it is now, it seems to me, will either sink into oblivion or be transformed to the needs of both consumers and advertisers. nine0003

We have a very large percentage of sales from Instagram. Facebook gives the most sales, then Instagram, then the website (offline store - is unrivaled). Moreover, the ratio of sales on Facebook and Instagram is - 60/40, we are striving for 50/50.

Our site is very fresh. We have been running Facebook for 2.5 years, Instagram - for two years, website - for less than a year.

Interest jumped 5-6 times during the ad. Many customers appeared, and sales increased primarily for those products that we advertised. nine0003

Lera Borodina, creator and owner of Oh My Look! and G.Bar:

- I am very good with Facebook and Instagram. We started Oh My Look! with support in these social networks. More efforts and money were invested in Facebook, Instagram has always been a free social network for us, in which we posted news. At first, we didn't pay much attention to it. When Maidan began in Ukraine, the situation changed dramatically for our business. Because, firstly, unfortunately, Facebook completely changed the tools for issuing information in the feed and it turned into a news feed, where there was no place for a holiday, or dresses, or advertising for such products. This information is no longer accepted by customers. For any post of an advertising nature, the company was immediately anathema. nine0003

At that moment, promoting on Facebook became impossible, and we threw all our strength into Instagram. Since February 2013, we have started to work more on Instagram, and at the moment it is our main tool for sales and communication with the target audience.

Kyiv account Oh My Look! 64 000 subscribers, Odessa - 11 500. G.Bar - of our new service, beauty salon - in 3.5 months 17 000 subscribers, which, of course, greatly affects our sales and promotion of the brand in general. I believe Instagram is 9 at the moment0097 - is the best social network for sales.

We are launching our services in Belarus and today we started a test advertising campaign for Minsk, which will last for a week and a half. Trial campaign budget - a few hundred dollars. It will be possible to talk about efficiency in January-February at best.

Advertising on Instagram - is a logical and understandable development of events. I am sure that it can be effective if it is used correctly, if ads are placed correctly. Because Instagram is the most important - is the picture you come out with. Content is of the utmost importance here. I believe in Instagram ads, but they have to be beautiful.

I really like and impress the audience of Instagram, because it is about 80% of women. These are girls with smartphones, who are our target audience. Therefore, for us it is a cool social network and audience.

Instagram is now dominated by business. Every day a huge number of shops, services and services subscribe to me. When I log into my personal account every few days, it is already very difficult to choose among them. nine0003

The Instagram market in Ukraine is growing very fast. There are more and more users, and before that, the methods of attracting an audience did not change. At 64,000 followers on Instagram Oh My Look! didn't spend a dollar. All of them came to us out of love and independently subscribed to our account. I've always liked it because it's honest. People follow you because you are beautiful, or useful, or they like you.

Therefore, probably, advertising on Instagram - is an acceleration of the subscription, but you can’t force anyone to subscribe. All you need is - is to be a beautiful profile, and then they will subscribe to you.

Anastasia Yurko, founder of doob, a line of wooden clutch-books of the vosk brand:

Creating our product a year ago, we immediately created an Instagram account and started promoting there. In addition to Instagram, we also use Facebook as a sales channel.

We cannot but believe in Instagram, because we are actively working on this platform. About 60% of orders are made by buyers through Instagram. And if your product is beautiful and of high quality, then Instagram ads are for you - is inexpensive and effective.

Kirill Stotsky, Instagram promotion service iBoost.com.ua:

The most effective advertising is hidden advertising from trusted sources. A person always trusts the choice of a comrade / idol more, and the herd instinct still prevails in him. With the right targeting, Instagram ads can generate a very large increase in visitors and followers.

Competition is growing every day. Therefore, a company that sells something using an Instagram account needs to do it in a quality and beautiful way. "Shablonshchina" will not work, publications of this format only scare away. iBoost promotes Instagram accounts. One of our clients is Idea Shop Gifts & Accessories. After two months of work, the number of subscribers increased from 50 to 5,700, out of 1,000 subscribers, seven become clients. nine0003

Instagram ads can be bought in two ways.

  1. Official. In automatic mode, you place advertising material through the Facebook Ads Manager.

    Learn more