Owned by Facebook, Instagram is currently the leading social media platform for visual and video content.
And through Facebook's ad creation tools, you can also run ads on Instagram as well.
But if you've never created an ad campaign on that platform before, there are some things you should probably know about it.
One is that there are a bunch of formats you can choose from.
You can even incorporate more than one image.
Instagram offers single image and video ads, slideshow ads, and carousel ads, so you can incorporate as much visual content as you need to get the point across.
You also don't need to worry about hashtags on Instagram.
While you should have engaging captions, there's no need to clutter up your Instagram captions with tons of relevant hashtags.
In a recent blog post, Hootsuite explains how Instagram's advertisements work, and what marketers should know before trying it.
Despite higher ad costs than many other platforms, they recommend Instagram for its impressive reach and popularity among millennials and gen Z.
There are a number of ad formats to choose from
Instagram’s mobile feed ads aren’t limited to a single image (though these can be extremely effective). You ad could include:
- A single image
- A single video
- A carousel ad, with a minimum of two images or videos that users can scroll through
- A slideshow ad, which is a looping video ad that contains up to 10 images
[image source: Hootsuite]
You don’t need to use hashtags
Because you pay for them, Instagram ads are guaranteed to be delivered to your target audience. And that means you don’t need to use hashtags to boost the visibility and discoverability of your content.
So go ahead and unclutter your Instagram captions and leave hashtags out.
High engagement means Instagram ads are worth the cost
Though Instagram ads may cost more than other platforms and placement options within the Facebook ads system, the high engagement makes them undeniably worth it.
Instagram’s organic content consistently has some of the highest engagement rates amongst all social media platforms, so it’s not much of a surprise than their ads do as well.
Several studies back this up.
Forrester’s independent research of Instagram ads concluded that users are 58 times more likely to engage with branded content on Instagram than on Facebook, and 120 times more likely to do so than on Twitter.
It’s also worth noting that visitors stay on a site 192 seconds longer when they come from an Instagram ad.
Even if they cost more, I think most businesses would agree that paying more for good quality leads is worth it.
You can find more helpful Instagram advertising tips over at Hootsuite.
CHALLENGE Yourself to Profit!
Free Download: Build Your Profit-Generating Online Business With This Free Blueprint
Sign Up, follow the easy steps and You'll get the tactics, strategies & techniques needed to create your online profit stream. It's free!
