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Instagram is one of the most popular social networks in the World and advertising on the social media platform provides brands with an opportunity to reach an audience of millions.

If your objective is to market your business, create value and build a brand — simultaneously. Advertising on Instagram via Facebook, automatically gives your business a number of advantages and a number of paths to take to achieve your overall advertising goals.

Whether it be driving awareness, increasing your customer base or cultivating a brand identity among a highly active audience. Instagram provides businesses with a seamless experience tailored to inspire action.

No matter the size of your budget, advertising on Instagram offers your business an easy way to meet your business goals and get results. Since Instagram is a part of the Facebook ecosystem.

There are three main campaign types:

1. Awareness — Increase the number of people who know about your content, product or services (Reach, Reach & Frequency, Brand Awareness & Local Awareness).
2. Consideration — Direct people down a path to learn more about your content, product or services (Website clicks, Video Views, Reach & Frequency)
3. Conversion — Boost content views/streams, product purchases, even visitors to your online store ( Website conversions, Dynamic ads on Instagram, App Install & Engagements).

In a sense, Instagram has become a stronghold within the Facebook ecosystem. Bolstering 2 million monthly advertisers and over 25 million business accounts.

The platform has become a mainstay for brands, Influencers, photographers and puppy connoisseurs alike.

44% of Instagram’s active users utilize the platform for search and discovery of top brands.

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RELATED: Introducing Instagram Ads in Explore Feed

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With that being said, visual content DOES matter.

53% of Instagram users follow their favorite brands on the platform. Given the exposure, small businesses have a social media platform to express their creativity and establish a voice locally and globally.

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Why Use Instagram Ads?

Instagram is hugely popular around the World, and its users have high engagement rates with businesses.

• Over 200 million users visit at least one business a day.
• 80% of Instagram users follow a business.
• 72% of users have bought products influenced by Instagram.
• 65% of the best performing posts contain products.

Instagram continues to create immense value for businesses interested in targeting a specific audience. Lets check out some of Instagram’s precise targeting options.

Location

Instagram advertising allows you to target people based on their location — This includes cities, states, provinces and countries. This is a very valuable feature for those interested in promoting events, live performances or building a local brand.

Demographics

The Demographics targeting option allows you to refine your audience based on gender, age and languages.

Behaviors

This is a key targeting option when it comes to product advertisement. This includes ‘Behaviors’ on Facebook as well. For example, those customers who are interested in outdoor activities (such as hiking, camping and water sports)

Interests

The ‘Interests’ targeting option is different from ‘Behaviors’ in a way that it focuses more on app usage, the accounts you follow and the advertisements customers have clicked on.

Custom Audiences

Do you have an ever-growing email list? Or thinking about starting one? This targeting option is a great way to create an audience based on phone numbers and email addresses.

Lookalike Audiences

The ‘Lookalike’ feature on Instagram advertising is a great way to utilize brand association. This targeting option allows you pinpoint user that are similar to your existing customers.

Automated Targeting

This is one of Instagram’s in-house services. The social media platform creates an audience who might be interested in your content, product or services. The audience is based on a number of factors including interests, location and demographics.

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The 6 Types of Instagram Ads

There are number of different advertising formats that you can use in Instagram to help you achieve your business objectives.

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Photo Ads

Photo ads are a great way to keep your advertisements clean and simple. They consist of one or more images in a landscape or square format.

PRO TIP:Avoid using stock or standalone product imagery straight from a catalog.

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Video Ads

Video ads are a great way to ad to add sound, motion and include an added visual aspect to your Instagram advertisement. Videos can be up to 120 seconds long or a GIF — which can contain text and links in the description.

PRO TIP: To get users to follow through, select “Add a website URL” to add a Call To Action button that directs potential customers to your site.

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Carousel Ads

Carousel ads are an addition to photo ads on Instagram. This ad format provides a layer of depth for businesses because they can include photos, videos, GIFs and allows customers to scroll through your Instagram post.

PRO TIP: Carousel ads can be used to give customers a step-by-step guide on how to use your product.

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Collection Ads

Collection ads on Instagram is a great way to help potential customers discover your products, services or content.

The Instagram ad type allows businesses and brands to craft a message around their story with photos, videos or both.

Collection ads create value by allowing businesses to present a brand story surrounding interests, products and content.

PRO TIP: You can add deep links to enable user tracking through third party application such as Iconosquare and Buzzsumo.

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Ads in Explore

Instagram’s Explore advertising is a great way to reach people who are discovery mode and looking for inspiration outside of the core group of accounts they already follow.

Ads in Explore aim to increase reach, brand awareness and grow your follower base into engaged customers. The key is to always add value.

A great example is Kylie Jenner’s Instagram account where she mixes fashion, lifestyle and beauty products to produce a highly active follower base.

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PRO TIP:Create a clear action path for user by giving simple steps and describing the results of actions, for example, “Tap the ball to make it bounce”.

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Instagram Stories Ads

Instagram Stories Ads is a great way to connect with Instagram’s 500+ million user base already using Instagram Stories daily to grow an audience.

This type of ad format appears in between Instagram Stories in the form of single images or single videos.

PRO TIP:60% of Instagram Stories are viewed with the sound on, so include music or voices to make your Story stick out.

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Understanding The Different Campaign Objectives

Facebook Ads Manager allows you to choose the focus surrounding your ads so that they are targeted at the right people, at the right time, for right reasons.

Brand Awareness

Choose this objective to increase visibility and get seen by people who could be interested in your services or products but are unaware of your content, company or services.

Ad Formats Supported

• Photo Ads
• Video Ads
• Carousel Ads
• Stories Ads
• Explore Ads

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Reach

Choose this objective to maximize the number of people who see your advertisements on Instagram. Reach focuses more on location rather than interests.

Ads Formats Supported

• Photo Ads
• Video Ads
• Carousel Ads
• Stories Ads
• Explore Ads

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Traffic

Choose this objective to bring more visitors to your brand’s website, content or app store page.

Ads Format Supported

• Photo Ads
• Video Ads
• Carousel Ads
• Stories Ads

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App Installs

Choose this objective to get more people on Instagram to download and install your app.

Ad Formats Supported

• Photo Ads
• Video Ads
• Carousel Ads
• Stories Ads

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Engagements

Choose this advertisement objective to promote offers, further interaction with your account and to get Instagram users to engage with previous posts.

Ad Formats Supported

• Photo Ads
• Video Ads
• Explore Ads

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Video Views

Choose this objective to increase awareness of your videos and get more Instagram user to discover your content. This advertising objective is a great way to promote your catalog and build a fan base.

Ad Formats Supported

• Explore Ads
• Video Ads
• Carousel Ads
• Stories Ads

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Conversions

Choose this advertising objective to get people to take specific actions. For example: download your app, purchase merchandise through an online store or sign up for your newsletter.

Ad Formats Supported

• Explore Ads
• Video Ads
• Carousel Ads
• Collection Ads

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Lead Generation

Choose this objective to improve your overall marketing capabilities by collecting information from potential customers, such as email addresses or account follows on Instagram.

Ad Formats Supported

• Photo Ads
• Video Ads
• Carousel Ads
• Collection Ads

Instagram ads are an effective and cheap way to connect with a wider audience.

Check out our full Instagram guide to help you create ads that can make a difference for your business, brand or content.

Sources | Infographic

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