A Guide to Advertising on Instagram
Each social media site works differently, for example, Twitter only allows users a specific word count per tweet to keep comments short and sweet. Where Facebook allows family and friends to connect together through statuses and images. Instagram is used specifically for sharing images and videos. If users take photos or shoot videos, Instagram is the best place to upload it due to its easy accessibility.
Businesses that advertise on Instagram circumvent the natural algorithm of Instagram ads, by sponsoring their posts to be moved to the front centre on a user’s display to be integrated with normal content. Whatever form of advertising you are using, you are essentially paying for a “priority override” that inserts your content in and among the content a user would naturally see. Want to know how to create the perfect ad for Instagram? Read this blog our marketing team has put together for you!
Know your Insta audience
Instagram knows the age of its users, their locations, interests, hobbies, what kind of content they like to see and what they don’t. You are able to use this data to refine exactly who sees your adverts. For example, if you only want 25-year-olds in the UK whose interests are food to see your advertising, you can do this and specifically target that demographic. After you know who your audience is going to be, you are able to do some research on them to refine your content even further.
Choosing the right content and ads
With Instagram being heavily focused on photos and videos, it is a good idea to keep to this with your content and make sure it’s not too text-heavy. People thinking of advertising on Instagram have a few options of what to include:
- Photographs
- Videos
- Carousel ads
- Stories
What works and what does not work with ads
There are many ways for advertisers to promote their product or service. For a good Instagram ad and to produce tangible results, you need to play to the strengths of the product and also the strengths of the visual side of the app. Imagery is crucial to Instagram, a colourful, impactful image will always make an impression. What doesn’t work is large amounts of text or lengthy explanations. The same applies to images and videos, make sure videos are kept short and don’t inundate your audience with too many posts because they will just move on.
Instagram advertising costs
Instagram uses a different payment system where advertisers bid on the placement of their ad, and the costs are determined by the type of response you want or the cost per click total. This allows for more reach, better results and useful user data that can help you to better your target market.
