Key concepts:
Why to use Instagram for ads
How to create ads in 10 steps
Instagram has become a quite popular platform with fast shared contents and intense visual context. It is preferred by a lot of young generations and so the number of users is increasing day by day.
Using Instagram ads can bring you a lot of visibility and for a quite low price, but which gives great results if you set it properly. Everything goes visual (images, videos) so the texts are reduced to the minimum.
Benefits of Instagram Ads
You can configure and set the ads as you want;
You can publish at the same time both on Facebook and Instagram the ads;
You can segment the audience as you please;
You can test various ad versions and see which one works better;
You reach faster a young target group, and the age is increasing (currently is at the age of 18-34 the big majority);
You can get highly more followers than on Facebook;
You can improve your marketing strategy though this social media;
You have access to more than 25 millions of users globally;
You pay very few for a lot of reach and engagement (cost per click).
10 steps to create your Instagram ad
Check your competition - check other ads that are running on Instagram and even Facebook Ad Library and see which ones are having high results and what are their characteristics. You can filter the ads by names of the competitors, brands.
Know your audience - having a well established and detailed persona of your audience will help you create and target them the best way. Knowing who they are, their age, where they live, what they like, how they talk, what their needs are etc., can give you the answer you are looking for.
Make your personal brand stand out - you are who you are even behind the business. Don’t be afraid to show yourself so people can put a face to that ad and business.
Use hashtags - create your own hashtags (which will gain power in time) while also adding the ones that make you visible in the sector.
Tests A/B - once you have the profile of the target group it is easy to play with different variations of the same and see which ones are working better. Use the results of this analysis in the future also. Test everything until you find the proper way to reach your audience.
20-80 rule - 20% text, 80% image is a non-written rule for Instagram. The text must be placed on the image and yet to be extremely reduced because here images speak louder than words.
Quality of images - make sure they have enough size (not pixelated, not blurred), have enough light/darkness contrast and anything that makes the viewer want to see the ad. Use people and faces that show emotions, use animations, try different angles, bring something new.
Improve your photos - use various apps (Canva, Crello, Ripl, Unfold, Adobe Spark Post, Photoshop Mix, Plotaverse, Quick, Boomerang etc.) or even the Instagram itself to improve the views of your photos in a creative way
Instagram profile ready - when opening an Instagram profile, you will be shown with 9-12 contents so this is the minimum you should already have before making an ad. You don’t want the profile to look very empty and also to already start giving some ideas of the content types you want to address. Make a plan to publish regularly, use stories and any feature the platform offers to make it look good and appealing for the viewer.
Copy-writing usage - short text, yet full of potential: grabs attention, generates curiosity, raises interest, calls for action. Get inspiration from other ads (step 1).
What to include in your ad:
Same image with various texts, titles, calls for action;
Different images with same text;
5-6 words in a title that call for action;
Use numbers;
Catchy, yet with fear of missing out opportunities: free, exclusive, valid for a limited time;
Language close to the profile of the target group, friendly, informal
Make a confession, a promise, something different or quite contrary than what the others say;
Propose a thinking situation of “what ifs”.