Advertising on Instagram started not long after Facebook acquired the brand. This opened up a lot of new doors for businesses that were already using Instagram. One of our older and most popular blog posts was “5 Do’s and Dont’s of Using Instagram for Business”, so it is no surprise to us that Instagram now has taken advantage of paid advertisements.
But – why should your business be advertising on Instagram over other social media platforms?
1. The number of users
Instagram has approximately 500 million active users as of June of 2016. You read that correctly, 500 MILLION. That is a lot of people. And if you’re target market consists of people that are actually using Instagram, this could be a great opportunity to capture some of those users.
2. Proven levels of high engagement
The number of users on Instagram is actually not even the greatest thing about it. The amount of actual engagement on Instagram is what makes it such a popular marketing channel. According to a study by Forrester, Instagram is driving more engagement than any other major social network!
3. Targeted advertisements
One good thing for users, is Instagram wants to show you ads from businesses that are interesting and relevant to you. They accomlish this by using algorithms via your Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as other apps you have connected to those accounts. They see what you are liking, sharing, following, etc. Based on this data, they target what advertisements you see. Because Instagram targets the advertisements their users see, it makes it very appealing to businesses to advertise with them. If the users that are seeing the sponsored content are the very users that would be the targeted consumer, then there is a higher likelihood of ROI.
You can choose how to target your advertisements based on location, demographics, interests, behavior, and more. You can even use custom audiences to target your advertisements with people whom have already engaged with or done business with you.
4. Increased conversion rates with direct linking to your website
One of the major benefits to paid advertising with Instagram, is that you can link your posts directly to your website. If you are familiar with Instagram, you know that the app won’t allow you to places links within a post. But, it you are a paid user, you can include a button under your post that links directly to your site, rather than directing users to go look in your Instagram bio to find your website.
5. Options for Campaign Objectives
Instagram offers different objectives for your advertising campaign. They have a list of set goals you can choose from and these specific goals affect how your ads are optimized and how you pay for them.
Your campaign objective options include: clicks to website, website conversions (specific actions on your website), mobile app installations, mobile app engagement, video views, reach and frequency, page post engagement, and mass awareness (available through a sales partner).
Use these campaign objectives to measure your results! This can be very helpful for measuring your ROI.
If you would like a more step by step guide – here are some helpful resources:
– Business for Instagram
– Shopify Beginners Guide to Instagram Advertising
Article Resources
– https://www.statista.com/statistics/253577/number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/
