Businesses have been using Facebook advertising for quite some time now. And advertising on Instagram is gaining more popularity among many businesses trying to promote their products/services on social media.

Are Instagram Ads effective?

This is a question that comes to the mind of many businesses as the image of Instagram is that of a photo-sharing app. However, from the time Facebook took over Instagram in 2013, Instagram has evolved into one of the most popular social media platforms with over 1 Billion users
It is now viewed as a potential advertising platform, especially for those targeting a younger crowd. Be it Major Brands or local businesses all over the world are driving proven results with Instagram Ads.

What are Instagram Ads

Instagram first started offering advertising facilities in 2013 after its takeover by Facebook. But it was only since 2015 that this platform had an increase in businesses advertising on it. As the name suggests, it is simply the facility to do paid advertising on Instagram.

Types of Instagram Ads

Stories Ads -Instagram Stories Ads are full-screen Ads that appear between users’ Stories. Over 500 million users view stories so it has huge potential.
This can be used for limited time offers and promotions. Add filters, stickers, text, etc., to make it more engaging.

Photo Ads – This allows brands to display products or services they are offering using images. If your business is already using images effectively then creating these Ads should be a no-brainer.

Video Ads – Videos are the in thing now and Instagram is no exception. Videos get amazing engagement and can be used by businesses for the achievement of a variety of goals.

Carousel Ads – Carousel allows businesses to add multiple images or videos. Users can swipe through these and also have a call to action button. You can direct the users to your website, can showcase multiple products, show a single story in parts, and much more.

Collection Ads – This ad allows users to directly purchase when they see your ad.

Ads in Explore – Reach people who have the discovery mind using Ads in Explore. Your Ads in Explore will appear on Instagram in the same format as your Ads in the Instagram feed.

Each of these ad formats are seamlessly integrated into the feeds and stories. Users come across these Ads when they are routinely browsing through the feed or going through the stories.

We have seen the different types of ad formats. Choosing the best ad format for your business depends on your advertising goal. For example, if you’re trying to increase the awareness of your brand, a photo ad or video ad would be used. For selling a product, Collection can be used so people can directly purchase from your ad.

A step-by-step guide on how to advertise on Instagram

There are two main ways to advertise on Instagram that we will be looking at in this article.

Using Facebook Ads Manager
Direct Promotions on Instagram

Let’s get started

How to Advertise on Instagram using Facebook Ads Manager?

Let’s go through a step by step process at the end of which you should be up and ready with your first Instagram ad.

You do not actually need an Instagram account to run Ads on Instagram. You can directly do it through Facebook Ads Manager by selecting Instagram as a Placement.

However, if you already have an Instagram account you can connect it to your Facebook Page before you start advertising. This is recommended so that the users engaging with your Ads may visit and engage with your Instagram Profile if interested

Follow the steps to connect your Instagram profile to your Facebook Page.

Step 1: Go to your Facebook Business page

Step 2: Go to Page settings

Step 3: Find and click on Instagram from the menu on the left.

Step 4: Select Connect Account, enter your Instagram Username and Password, Select login.

Step 5: If you do not already have Instagram business account, you’ll be prompted to Switch to Business from personal, just follow the steps on the screen to complete it.

Once you have successfully connected your Instagram Account to your Facebook page, you are ready to start Advertising on Instagram.

A step by step guide on how to advertise on Instagram using Facebook Ads Manager

Go to Facebook Ads manager using this link https://www.facebook.com/Adsmanager.

2. Click on +Create. You will be prompted to select from Guided Creation or Quick Creation options.
For now, we shall go with Guided Creation.

Example for Guided Creation:

Alternately, you may use the link www.facebook.com/Ads/create

Select the Goal or objective of your ad. Instagram Ads offer you the following objectives to choose from.

Brand awareness: Creates brand visibility among people who don’t know about your brand.
Reach: Puts your brand in front of the maximum number of people.
Traffic: For clicks on your Ads to divert traffic to your website or app store.
App installs: To promote app installations seeing your ad.
Engagement: Increase the likes, shares, comments, etc.
Video views: Get more video views.
Lead generation: Get more lead information from people who click your ad.
Conversions: To get sales and conversions from website or app.

Name your campaign:

By default, your campaign name will be your objective name. It is recommended to choose a detailed name so that you can identify the campaign. Once you’ve entered a name, click on Continue to proceed to next step.

Select your audience

At this stage, you need to decide who you want your ads to be shown to. Facebook gives you very detailed and powerful targeting options to select your audience.

You can either create a new audience by selecting the location, age, gender, and the language of your audience. You also get detailed targeting options like demographics, interests, and behaviour to further define your target customers. There are also other variables like connections based on which you can choose your audience which you should explore.

Creating a custom audience or lookalike audience is also an option.

Select ad placements

This is the section where you will decide where you want your ads to be shown.

Two options will be available to you:

Automatic placements– This option will show your ad wherever they are likely to perform the best. It is automatic. It can be both on Instagram and Facebook.
Manual placements– If you want to show Ads exclusively on Instagram, you should set this here. You have the option of deciding where you want your ads to be shown. For example, you can show only on Instagram feed, or only on Instagram stories.

Select the one which you find suitable for your business.

Decide on the budget and schedule

Here you decide how much you want to spend and the duration.

Two options are available:

Daily budget
Lifetime budget

Using a daily budget, you specify the maximum you want to spend per day. With a lifetime budget, you set a budget amount that will run for the lifespan of the ad. When deciding on a budget for Instagram Ads, you need to keep in mind that the CPC depends on audience demographics and the day you run your ad.

You can schedule your Ads to run continuously or have a start and end date.

Optimization and bid strategy options are also available which will decide how your budget will be spent. These can be customized based on your goals.

Start Creating Ads

Follow this process to create your Ads:

a) Choose the Facebook page and Instagram account you want your ad to be associated with.

b) Now choose the format of the ad.

If you want to show your Ads only on Instagram feed use the following formats:

Carousel
Single Image
Single Video
Slideshow

If you want to place Ads on Instagram Stories use these formats:

Single image
Single video

Each format supports different objectives and call to action buttons so keep that in mind while choosing the format.

c) Upload pictures or videos. There are technical specifications like file type, file size, maximum and minimum image width, image ratio, etc. that you need to keep in mind while selecting the image or video.

Instagram feed (https://www.facebook.com/business/help/430958953753149)

Instagram stories (www.facebook.com/business/help/2222978001316177)

Choose images and videos that are attractive and engaging and are relevant. Edit your images to the required specifications. Add filters to make them look more attractive.

Design your ad copy. Write attractive ad copies using keywords to make your Ads clickable. Take some time to do this as it is one of the most important factors for the success of your ad. Also, add destination links.
Decide on a payment option. There are different options available, use the one you want.
Preview your ad.
Click confirm.

Your ad is now ready and once approved will start running.

You may monitor its performance on Facebook Ads Manager or the Ads Manager Mobile App

How to Advertise Within Instagram App?

An easy way of running Instagram Ads is by promoting your posts that are shared on Instagram.

1. Go to your profile.

2. Tap and select the post you want to promote.

3. Below the image tap on Promote.

4. Now add all other details like

Destination (where you want to send people)

Audience (people you are targeting)

Budget (how much you want to spend daily)
Duration (period you want to promote).

Tap Next

If you have not linked your Facebook Page when setting up your Instagram business account, you need to do it now. Choose an existing Page or tap Skip.
Finish by tapping Create Promotion under Review.
The promotion will be reviewed, and if it meets all the standards will start running after approval. This might generally take 60 minutes.

Instagram is a growing platform, and businesses can add it to their portfolio of online advertising channels. Especially if you are targeting a crowd up to 35 years or less, you should definitely explore this platform.