Want to take your business’s social media game to the next level? Creating social posts for your followers is a great way to gain followers and to organically increase your brand awareness. But have you ever thought about taking advantage of social media as an advertising platform? More specifically, is your business optimizing Instagram to its fullest abilities when using Instagram advertising?
If you’re sleeping on Instagram, it’s time to wake up! What was once known as a photo-sharing app for hipsters has become one of the best marketing platforms for businesses to use. There are over 1 billion people who use Instagram every month, and of those users, 81% of people use Instagram to research products and services. That means there is a BIG opportunity for your business to grow your bottom line if you leverage the tools at hand!
So, if your business is on Instagram and posting regularly, that’s fantastic. However, if you’re not using Instagram Ads, your business has so much more to discover.
Below we’ve outlined why we love Instagram Ads, along with our top 3 favourite ad formats on the platform you can create, and how to choose which one will create the best results for your business.
Why Instagram Ads?
There are many reasons why we love Instagram Ads. Firstly, they’re fast and easy to create, saving you a lot of time and money. Speaking of money, save even more by setting ad budgets that fit your business goals (your can update or increase it at any time). It’s also an excellent platform to get creative and expressive with the type of advertisements you want to make. It’s simple, flexible, and easy to track your ad performance to better optimize your advertising strategy in the future.
However, to make Instagram ads work for your business, you need to understand the different types of ad options available. Each Instagram ad type is good for a specific purpose. So, before you jump into creating Instagram ads for your business, you need to understand each one and what it’s best used for.
1. Instagram Explore Ads
Explore on Instagram is the screen where users discover new content and accounts on the app. Every month, over 50% of users check out the Explore section. When you share an Explore ad, however, it does not appear until someone clicks on a photo or video in Explore.
Explore ads support the following objectives:
- Awareness
- Engagement
- App installs/Conversions
- Traffic
- Reach
If any of your marketing goals are in line with the above objectives, Explore Ads might just be the right ad format to get you closer to achieving your marketing goals.
Below is an example of what an Explore ad looks like.
2. Instagram Feed Ads
As the name suggests, Instagram Feed Ads appear in a user’s newsfeed. If you have Instagram, you have probably seen these types of ads before. They almost appear as a regular post except they are labelled as ‘sponsored’ near the top of the ad and you can add in a call-to-action near the bottom.
Feed Ads come in a variety of forms:
- Carousel Ads: An ad with two or more scrollable images or videos.
- Single Image: Create up to 6 ads with one image each at no extra charge
- Single Video: An ad with one video
- Slideshow: Create a looping video ad with up to 10 images
- Canvas: Tell a more immersive story by combining images and videos
Feed ads are quick and easy to use and one of the most visible types of advertisements on Instagram.
Instagram Feed ads support the following marketing objectives:
- Reach
- Traffic
- Conversions/App installs
- Lead generation/ Brand awareness
- Post engagement
- Product sales
- Store visits
Below is an example of how a Feed ad appears on Instagram.
3. Instagram Stories Ads
Instagram Stories Ads are full-screen advertisements that appear while users are watching Stories on Instagram. They appear when a person is going from viewing one users’ Story to the next user’s Story. Over 500 million users watch Stories every day on Instagram, making it a HUGE opportunity to get your message in front of your customers.
What’s awesome about Stories is that there are so many fun and interesting features for you to take advantage of. Whether it be photos or videos, you can use filters, video effects, and text to enhance your ads. There are a large variety of call-to-action buttons you can also add, making it a fun and simple tool to work towards achieving your marketing goal.
Instagram Stories Ads support the following objectives:
- App installs/ Conversions
- Brand awareness/Reach
- Store traffic/Website traffic
- Lead generation
- Views
Below is an example of what a Stories Ad looks like.
Want to start using Instagram Ads to grow your business? We can help!
At 3SIXTY Marketing Solutions, we’re always up-to-date on the latest advertising trends, tools, and reporting systems throughout all the biggest social media apps. From Explore ads to Feed ads, we’ve got you covered – 3SIXTY. Give our team a call today to get the ball rolling, and make this month the month you take your advertising returns through the roof. Call 705-252-4180 now — You know you wanna.
