All You Need To Know About Instagram Advertising: A Full User Guide

Instagram is not just a builder of trends. It’s a trend itself. One that’s here to stay and makes it easier for brands to reach their audience through Instagram advertising. And if you’re not jumping on this trend, embracing it, and making it your own, then consider your brand to be on the verge of disappearing.

All you need to do is identify the ideal audience, create the perfect campaign, and launch. It’s really that simple.

With this blog, we’ll discuss how Instagram advertising works and how you can create a campaign strategy to win over your audience.

What is Instagram Advertising?

Instagram advertising is a way for businesses, brands, and individuals to promote their products or services through paid ads on the platform to reach specific audiences. The platform currently holds over 2 billion users, providing a large base to pick your ideal audience from.

Instagram ads can take the form of sponsored posts, stories, reels, or carousels that appear on a user’s feed or Explore tab. You can target them to reach people based on their demographics, interests, behaviors, and a lot more.

Whether you want to build awareness and engagement or fulfill marketing goals like website traffic, app installs, leads, and sales, Instagram advertising is here to do it all for you.

Time and again, Instagram has proven itself to be the perfect place to reach Gen Z and Millennials, with other age groups close behind. In the year 2023, 80% of global marketers used Instagram to advertise their business (Statista). You can guess the reasons behind it – everybody loves the results it delivers.

Why Instagram Advertising Works for Businesses

Instagram advertising has proved to be a favourite for businesses. Let’s check out the reasons and statistics behind it.

It’s a part of Meta

Since Instagram is a part of Meta, advertisers can benefit from its vast user base and tools. You can target audiences based on user interests, platforms, behaviour, and demographics collected from both Instagram and Facebook. The result is seamless cross-platform advertising with personalized ads and unified performance tracking.

Makes the brand easy to discover

The visual-centric nature of Instagram makes it easier for brands to impress and leave a lasting impression. Pair this up with paid promotions, and your brand is set for discovery.

Acts as a purchase inspiration

A report by Sprout Social states that 61% of social media users turn to Instagram to find their next purchase. They may come across an ad for your brand, a post you boosted, a reel of their favorite influencer, or simply search.

Builds up engagement

Most brands look for impressions, likes, shares, and real conversations with their audience. The good news is that Instagram users are willing to engage with brands, with 50% of them interacting with a brand at least once a day, as stated by Sprout Social.

Is a top platform for making purchases

Despite being an entertainment-first app, Instagram users don’t hold back from making a purchase when they find something they like. The Sprout Social Index found that 29% of users make purchases on the platform. Brands can present their offer and sell directly to their social audience.

Improves conversion rates

Instagram advertising doesn’t let you falter on your conversion rates. According to reports by DriftLead, they differ from industry to industry, falling between 1% and 5%.

Think of it as a chain reaction.

Better Quality Ads → Higher Engagement → Increased Conversions

Types of Instagram Ad Formats

Instagram offers several ad formats to fulfill different business goals and reach audiences effectively. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of it:

Image Ads

Image ads are your standard everyday ad formats that consist of a single picture. You can use high-quality images of your brand, product, or service to capture attention and convey your story in one single image.

Video Ads

Video ads make use of your basic video content for promotions. You can showcase your products, give a tutorial of your service, or tell your brand’s story. Fluid movements, catchy sounds, and smooth transitions make them ideal for visibility and engagement.

Instagram now has two types of video ads.

• Regular video ads that only appear on your home feed.
• Reel ads that appear both in your home and on the reel feed.

Carousel Ads

Carousel ads are formed with a series of images or videos, often appearing on feeds and within Instagram stories. You can share up to 10 of these to showcase multiple products/services at once, or for a sequential storytelling of your brand.

Collection Ads

Collection ads are pretty similar to carousel ads, where you can showcase multiple products/services. The only difference is that they feature an attractive cover image or video, followed by other small images below it.

All images are actually a part of the advertiser’s catalogue, which they upload to their Instagram feed.

Stories Ads

Instagram stories ads typically consist of images or videos that are shown to users in between their story swipes. You can add text, stickers, and links to make them more engaging.

Explore Ads

Explore ads are images and videos appearing in the Explore section of Instagram. You can see them with the ‘Sponsored‘ label alongside other posts. But that’s not all. You can also find them once you click on a post and scroll down.

The Winning Strategy For Instagram Advertising

We know everything looks exciting, but let’s not rush into things. It’s best to create a strategy before you spend your money on Instagram advertising aimlessly.

Know what your goals are

First things first, what do you want to achieve with your Instagram ads? Do you want more followers and engagement on your Instagram profile? Or maybe you’re looking at the broader set of things and want to achieve marketing goals like awareness, website traffic, leads, and sales.

Defining your goals clearly can set the tone for the rest of the strategy. Make sure they are SMART enough (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) for your reference.

Spend time researching

Next up is doing your research, obviously. Look out for these three things:

• Audience: Your ads aren’t meant for everyone. Segment the audience based on their demographics, location, interests, behavior, and custom and lookalike audiences. Understand what they like to see and on what corners of Instagram they are in.
• Competitors: See what your competitors are doing. Are they using the same ad formats you’re planning to use? What has worked for them before? You can check what ads they are running through the Meta Ad Library.
• Keywords: While you don’t exactly bid on keywords, they are required for brand discoverability. Hashtags and keywords are important in serving relevant content to the users.

Figure out effective ad formats

You’ve probably heard that video ads are the real deal right now. But are they right for your business? Or maybe you should opt for other ad formats? You have a lot to choose from- Image, Video, Carousel, Collection, Stories, and Explore ads. Take your pick after considering:

• Whether your advertising objective aligns with the ad format.
• If your marketing budget is sufficient to afford the ad format.
• Ease of creation and effectiveness
• Audience’s response to each ad format

Create your ads

Finally, it’s time to get to the creative part of things.

Instagram is a platform meant to impress. Not even your brand can escape that. You need to create ads that woo your audience, speak their language, and offer them a meaningful experience.

Ensure that they have;

• Visuals that connect with your brand and audience
• Ad copy that supports the visuals and adds to the offer
• Reflection of your brand story and elements

Users don’t like to be interrupted during their social time, so be as entertaining as possible if you want their attention.

Test and Optimize after Launch

Once your ads are live, it’s time to see how they perform in the real world.

Monitor your analytics and track key performance metrics. Was the response just like you expected? Identify which elements, such as visuals, ad copy, ad format, and target audience, resonate the most with them. Continuously test different variations to uncover what works best. Use these insights to refine and optimize your future campaigns, ensuring that each one performs better than the last.

Do other things on the side

While you wait for your ads to do the magic, start doing other things on the side to support it. You can:

• Start posting consistently and establish a charming Instagram presence
• Interact with followers and other parties to form a connection with them
• Understand your audience better and personalize ads for them
• Run polls, contests, and other engagement activities

All this ensures that users aren’t met with a blank canvas once they check out your profile through your ads. Plus, Instagram loves active accounts and will push your ads forward on its own.

How Much Does Instagram Advertising Cost?

You’re probably wondering if Instagram advertising falls within your budget. That’s a really good point to consider. Understanding costs can help you structure your campaigns for maximized returns.

According to Wordstream, the cost of Instagram ads usually falls between:

• CPC (cost per click): $0.40 to $0.70
• CPC with destination URL: $0.50 to $0.95
• CPE (cost per engagement): $0.01 to $0.05
• CPM (cost per impression): $2.50 to $3.50

While there is no minimum budget limit, Meta recommends $5 over six days. Other factors, such as objective, ad format, auction, audience, competition, frequency, etc., also affect it.

How to Start Advertising on Instagram

When it comes to Instagram, you can run ads in two ways:

• Boost a post
• Use the Meta Ads Manager

Method #1:  Boost a Post

Boosting posts is a quick way to turn existing Instagram posts into a paid advertisement to reach more people. The method is quite easy, and you can either do it yourself or seek an Instagram Ads Agency.

Step 1: Set the Basic Requirements

Before you start, check if you have a Business or Creator account. Your posts cannot be boosted from a Personal or Private account.

Step 2: Choose the Post

Go over to your profile and tap the post you’d like to boost. These can either be the best-performing ones or the most informative ones. Meta recommends not posting images bigger than 8 MB. Click on the ‘Boost’ button below the post.

Step 3: Set your Goals

Set the goal of what you want people to do when they see your ad. This can either be more profile visits, more website visits, more messages, or a mix of all. Add the necessary links along with it.

Step 4: Select Target Audience

Targeting options when boosting Instagram posts are limited compared to Meta Ads Manager. You can choose between:

• Automatic (let Instagram target people similar to your followers)
• Create your own (you choose the interest, location, age, gender, etc.)

Step 5: Set Budget and Duration

Select how much you want to spend on the ads daily and for how many days you want the post to run. Instagram will show you the estimated reach based on the budget and duration you select. Once done, tap on ‘Next’.

Step 6: Link your Facebook Account

If you aren’t linked to a Facebook account yet, you will be prompted to do so. You can either link to an existing account or choose to ‘Skip’. When you tap ‘Skip’, you won’t see this step again in the future.

Step 7: Preview your Ad

Review the placements your ad will run on. Once again, check your goal, audience, budget, and duration. Make sure your payment method is added.

Step 8: Complete your Boost

Tap on the ‘Boost Post’ to complete your boost. Your ad post will be submitted for review to ensure that it meets Instagram’s ad policies. It will begin running once it’s reviewed and approved.

Method #2 : Use Meta Ads Manager

If you want to create an ad campaign from scratch, Meta Ads Manager is your best option. While it’s a bit more complicated and you might benefit from a Meta Ads Agency, it offers far more advanced features and flexibility.

The process is essentially the same as setting ads on Facebook since Meta Ads Manager covers Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network all in one place.

For a step-by-step guide on creating a campaign, check out our blog on What is Facebook Advertising and How Does It Work? 

Hire an Instagram Advertising Agency For Your Business

If you’re not advertising on Instagram yet, you’re missing out BIG TIME. Your brand could be growing and connecting with the audience that matters the most. With over two billion users, Instagram has turned into more than just a social platform- it’s a powerful channel for businesses looking to boost awareness, engagement, sales, and whatnot.

But to truly make your presence known, you need more than just pretty posts. You need a smart strategy.

As an Instagram agency that has helped hundreds of clients across multiple niches, we know how things work inside and out. Logelite can get your brand noticed by the right people and spark real engagement. We’ll handle everything from creating strategies and ads to launching and optimizing them for you.

Here’s How We Make It Happen

We offer Instagram ads management services like:

• Instagram Ads Strategy and Planning
• Creative Ad Design and Copywriting
• Campaign Setup and Management
• Budget & Bid Management
• Performance Tracking and Reporting
• Instagram Shop and Product Tagging Setup

Conclusion

And that’s a wrap on how Instagram advertising works! With the right strategy and a good Instagram ads management team, you can reach more people, grow your brand, and get better results. It’s all about knowing what the audience wants and how you can offer it to them, without crossing your budget. As intimidating as it looks now, consistency is the key. So if you’re ready to scale your business, Instagram is the best place to get started!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Instagram advertising?

Ans. Instagram advertising is a way for businesses, brands, and individuals to promote their products and services through paid ads on the platform to reach specific audiences.

How does Instagram advertising work?

Ans. Instagram advertising works by setting campaign objectives, targeting, ad format, budget, bidding, and adding relevant creatives.

What types of Instagram ads are there?

Ans. Instagram offers several ad types, including image, video, carousel, collection, stories, and explore.

Do I need a huge budget for Instagram advertising?

Ans. No, you don’t. You can begin with a small budget and scale up, or let an Instagram marketing company manage it all for you.

How long does Instagram advertising take to show results?

Ans. Results from Instagram advertising may vary depending on campaign type and objective, but you may start seeing engagement within a few hours and conversions within a few days.