Instagram’s popularity has skyrocketed since the app’s debut in May 2010. Over 400 million people now visit the site every month because of the unique visual experience it provides.
Instagram users and their smartphones capture the world in unprecedented detail, with 800 million new photos being uploaded every day to an archive of 40 billion images.
This explains why Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, as this marked the beginning of Instagram’s transition into an ad-supported business model. Instagram now supports promoted posts, structured similarly to Facebook advertisements. Advertisers on Instagram include well-known companies like Taco Bell, Chobani, and Mercedes-Benz.
These firms couldn’t be more different, but there are several aspects in common between their Instagram advertising that make them both successful.
Your advertising must support your overarching marketing plan
It’s not a good idea to make Instagram ads (or any other kind of social or digital ad) in a vacuum. In its place, you should supervise to ensure conformity with your company’s brand and marketing guidelines. Your ads should feature a call to action that fits in with your brand’s identity and supports the brand’s premise.
Think about how Instagram ads can supplement your existing social media initiatives. For instance, Mercedes-Benz last autumn used a combined Instagram and Facebook campaign to introduce its new sport utility vehicle (SUV), and the result was a 580% increase in site visitors.
Make the visuals the focus of the campaign
To elicit a response from Instagram users, all you need is a captivating photograph. The graphics have a pivotal role in the appeal. A more noticeable picture will attract more eyes. If you’re doing an Instagram ad campaign, try employing custom-shot content.
Energy and motion are conveyed by close cropped, compact product pictures, and novel angles, and interest is piqued, only to be sated by a click.
Make good use of hashtags and keywords
Hashtags aren’t only for Twitter; they’re the short keyword phrases that follow the # symbol that help users categorise material based on their interests.
Instagram marketers and users, in fact, may use hashtags to make their posts more discoverable in relevant hashtag-based searches. If you want your photos to show up in a specific place, you need carefully consider the hashtags you use on Instagram.
Hashtags may be applied to both new and current content on Instagram, so you can go back and modify your previous photographs if you haven’t already. When adding hashtags to your content, think about choosing keywords that relate to your brand, product categories, and users’ interests.
Consider utilising social media analytics
The best performing posts, as well as the days and times when your posts receive the most views, clicks, and shares, can usually be found in the analytics section of your social media account. Take note of when your Instagram followers show the most interest in your organic posts and use that information to inform your advertising strategy.
Your Instagram followers’ interest in specific discounts can be gauged through their activity on your social media pages. Popular content on one social media platform may also do well on Instagram.
Put your advertising to the test
Promotions on Instagram are similar to those on other social media sites: Testing is a great way to learn. Once a standard advertisement has been created, experimental advertisements can be tested against it. Find out if a higher response rate can be achieved by altering the offer, the timing (day or hour), the audience, or the creative (pictures).
Instagram ads can be tested against one another utilising the tried-and-true A/B split test method, wherein an existing ad with a known response rate serves as the baseline against which ad variations testing various elements are compared. Then, you can utilise the campaign’s test results to inform future updates to the advertising effort, and so on, until you reach a plateau in response.
Instagram ads that fail to tell a story
Instagram users are constantly scrolling to view new visual stories. Part of Instagram’s allure as a content marketing platform is the ability to tell tales, whether through a series of hourly product photographs or quick video snips sharing unique insights. Everyone enjoys a good story, and those that touch them emotionally are the most memorable. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to building brand awareness, and Instagram is the ideal place to share your brand’s narrative with the world.
Now that Instagram has more users than Twitter, it’s clear that the app has enormous advertising potential. You may maximise the success of your Instagram advertising efforts by implementing these strategies and tapping into the imagination of your own staff.