Instagram Video Advertising: How to Create and Run Effective Video Ads in 2023

By Cepy 8/19/2023 Post a Comment

Hi everyone! If you're looking for a way to boost your brand awareness, reach new customers, and increase your sales, you might want to consider Instagram video advertising. Instagram is one of the most popular and engaging social media platforms in the world, with over 1.4 billion monthly active users and 500 million daily Stories users. And video is the most consumed and shared type of content on Instagram, with 4 times more engagement than photos.

But how do you create and run effective video ads on Instagram? What are the best practices and tips to make your video ads stand out and drive action? In this article, we'll answer these questions and more. We'll cover everything you need to know about Instagram video advertising in 2023, from the different types of video ads, to the steps to create and launch them, to the best examples and inspiration from successful brands. Let's get started!

What are Instagram video ads?

Instagram video ads are regular video-based advertisements that can range in duration from 3 to 60 seconds. They are usually used with a call to action (CTA) and text that can be up to 2,200 characters long. You may use Instagram video ads to showcase your product, service, or brand.

Instagram video ads can appear in different placements on the platform, such as in-feed, Stories, Reels, In-Stream, or Explore. Each placement has its own advantages and limitations, which we'll discuss later. You can also choose between different formats for your video ads, such as square, landscape, portrait, vertical, or full-screen.

Why use Instagram video ads?

Instagram video ads have many benefits for businesses of all sizes and industries. Here are some of the reasons why you should use Instagram video ads in 2023:

They are more engaging and memorable than static images or text. Video ads can capture your audience's attention and convey your message more effectively.
They are more versatile and creative than other types of ads. Video ads can tell a story, demonstrate a product, highlight a feature, or showcase a testimonial.
They are more likely to drive action and conversion than other types of ads. Video ads can include a clear CTA that encourages your audience to take the next step, such as visiting your website, downloading your app, or making a purchase.
They are more measurable and trackable than other types of ads. Video ads can provide you with valuable insights and data on how your audience is interacting with your ad, such as views, impressions, reach, clicks, conversions, and more.

How much do Instagram video ads cost?

The cost of Instagram video ads depends on several factors, such as your campaign objective, target audience, ad placement, ad quality, bidding strategy, and budget. According to AdEspresso[^4^], the average cost per click (CPC) for Instagram video ads in 2021 was $0.95 for all placements combined. However, this may vary depending on the industry, location, time of day, seasonality, and competition.

The good news is that you can control how much you spend on Instagram video ads by setting a daily or lifetime budget for your campaign. You can also choose between different bidding options for your campaign, such as lowest cost or target cost. Lowest cost means that Instagram will try to get you the most results for your budget, while target cost means that Instagram will try to keep your cost per result around a specific amount that you set.

How to create Instagram video ads?

Creating Instagram video ads is quick and easy. You can choose between three different ways to create and run your video ads: in the Instagram app, in Ads Manager (Meta's all-in-one tool for creating ads across Facebook and Instagram), or with an Instagram Partner (a vetted expert who can help you with everything from buying ads to sourcing creative).

In this section, we'll focus on how to create Instagram video ads using Ads Manager. Here are the steps you need to follow:

Step 1: Choose your campaign objective

The first step is to choose your campaign objective. This is what you want people to do when they see your ad. There are 11 objectives available for Instagram video ads:

Brand awareness: Increase awareness of your brand among people who are likely to be interested in it.
Reach: Show your ad to as many people as possible in your target audience.
Traffic: Drive more people to your website, app, or Messenger conversation.
Engagement: Get more people to like, comment, share, or save your post or Page.
App installs: Get more people to download and open your app.
Video views: Get more people to watch your video content.
Lead generation: Collect information from people who are interested in your product or service.
Messages: Encourage more people to start a conversation with you on Messenger, Instagram Direct, or WhatsApp.
Conversions: Get more people to take a specific action on your website or app, such as adding to cart, completing a purchase, or signing up for a newsletter.
Catalog sales: Show products from your catalog to people who are most likely to buy them.
Store traffic: Drive more people to visit your physical store locations.

To choose your campaign objective, go to Ads Manager and click on the green Create button. Then, select the objective that best matches your goal. For example, if you want to increase sales on your website, you can choose Conversions as your objective.

Step 2: Define your target audience

The next step is to define your target audience. This is the group of people who are most likely to be interested in your product or service and respond to your ad. You can use various criteria to define your audience, such as:

Location: The country, state, city, or zip code where your audience lives or works.
Age: The age range of your audience.
Gender: The gender of your audience.
Languages: The languages that your audience speaks.
Interests: The hobbies, activities, topics, or pages that your audience likes or follows.
Behaviors: The actions that your audience takes on Facebook, Instagram, or other platforms.
Demographics: The education level, income level, marital status, job title, or life events of your audience.

You can also use custom audiences or lookalike audiences for your video ads. Custom audiences are groups of people who have already interacted with your business in some way, such as visiting your website, using your app, or subscribing to your email list. Lookalike audiences are groups of people who are similar to your existing customers or prospects based on their interests, behaviors, and demographics.

To define your target audience, go to the Audience section in Ads Manager and fill in the details that apply to your audience. You can also use the Audience Network tool to create and save custom or lookalike audiences for future use. For example, if you want to target women aged 25-34 who live in New York and are interested in fashion and beauty, you can enter these criteria in the Audience section.

Step 3: Choose your ad placement

The third step is to choose your ad placement. This is where you want your video ads to appear on Instagram and other platforms. There are two options for choosing your ad placement: automatic placements and manual placements. Automatic placements mean that Meta will choose the best placements for your video ads based on your campaign objective and budget. Manual placements mean that you can select the specific placements that you want for your video ads.

There are five main placements available for Instagram video ads:

In-feed: Your video ads will appear in the main feed of Instagram users along with other organic posts from accounts they follow or explore. In-feed video ads can be square (1:1), landscape (1.91:1), or portrait (4:5).
Stories: Your video ads will appear in between the Stories of Instagram users that they watch. Stories video ads are vertical (9:16) and full-screen. They can also include interactive elements such as stickers, polls, or swipe-up links.
Reels: Your video ads will appear in between the Reels of Instagram users that they watch. Reels video ads are vertical (9:16) and full-screen. They can also include music, effects, and text overlays.
In-Stream: Your video ads will appear before, during, or after the videos that Instagram users watch on IGTV or Live. In-Stream video ads are horizontal (16:9) and can be up to 15 seconds long.
Explore: Your video ads will appear when Instagram users browse the Explore tab to discover new content from accounts they don't follow. Explore video ads can be square(1:1), landscape (1.91:1), or portrait (4:5).

To choose your ad placement, go to the Placements section in Ads Manager and select either Automatic Placements or Edit Placements. If you choose Edit Placements, you can select the specific placements that you want for your video ads. For example, if you want to run your video ads only on Instagram Stories, you can select only that placement.

Step 4: Set your budget and schedule

The fourth step is to set your budget and schedule. This is how much you want to spend on your video ads and how long you want them to run. You can choose between two types of budgets: daily budget and lifetime budget. Daily budget means that you set a fixed amount that you want to spend on your video ads per day. Lifetime budget means that you set a fixed amount that you want to spend on your video ads over the entire duration of your campaign.

You can also choose between two types of schedules: standard delivery and accelerated delivery. Standard delivery means that Meta will spread your budget evenly over the duration of your campaign. Accelerated delivery means that Meta will spend your budget as quickly as possible to reach your audience faster.

To set your budget and schedule, go to the Budget & Schedule section in Ads Manager and enter the amount and type of budget that you want for your video ads. You can also set the start and end dates for your campaign, or choose to run it continuously until you turn it off. You can also select the delivery type that you want for your video ads. For example, if you want to spend $1000 on your video ads over 10 days, you can enter $100 as your daily budget and select standard delivery.

Step 5: Create your video ad creative

The fifth and final step is to create your video ad creative. This is the actual video content that you want to show to your target audience. You can use either an existing video from your Instagram account or upload a new video from your computer or mobile device. You can also use the Video Creation Kit tool in Ads Manager to create a video ad from scratch using templates, stickers, text, and music.

When creating your video ad creative, you should follow some best practices and tips to make it more effective and engaging. Here are some of them:

Use high-quality and relevant video content that showcases your product, service, or brand in a clear and attractive way.
Use a catchy and compelling hook at the beginning of your video to capture your audience's attention and interest.
Use a clear and concise message that conveys your value proposition and CTA in a simple and direct way.
Use a vertical or square format for Stories, Reels, or Explore placements, and a horizontal or landscape format for In-feed or In-Stream placements.
Use captions or subtitles to make your video accessible and understandable even when the sound is off.
Use branding elements such as logos, colors, or fonts to make your video recognizable and consistent with your brand identity.
Test different versions of your video ad creative to see which one performs better and optimize accordingly.

To create your video ad creative, go to the Identity section in Ads Manager and select the Instagram account that you want to use for your video ads. Then, go to the Format section and select Single Video as the format for your video ads. Then, go to the Media section and select or upload the video that you want to use for your video ads. You can also use the Video Creation Kit tool to create a new video from scratch. Then, go to the Text & Links section and enter the text and CTA that you want to use for your video ads. You can also add a URL or app link if you want to drive traffic to your website or app. For example, if you want to create a video ad for a new fashion collection, you can upload a video showcasing the outfits, add some text describing the collection, and add a Shop Now CTA with a link to your online store.

Instagram Video Advertising Statistics

To give you an idea of how effective Instagram video advertising can be for your business, here are some statistics from Meta and other sources:

Statistic	Value
Instagram users spend an average of 53 minutes per day on the platform	Omnicore Agency
Instagram has over 2 million active advertisers per month	Meta
Instagram ads can reach over 1.3 billion people worldwide	Meta
Instagram video ads have an average engagement rate of 0.96%	Rival IQ
Instagram video ads have an average CPC of $0.95	AdEspresso
Instagram video ads have an average conversion rate of 1.08%	WordStream
60% of Instagram users discover new products on the platform	Meta
75% of Instagram users take action after seeing an ad on the platform	Meta
50% of Instagram users are more interested in a brand after seeing an ad on the platform	Meta
Instagram video ads can increase brand recall by 33%	Meta

FAQs about Instagram Video Advertising

What are the best practices for Instagram video advertising?

Some of the best practices for Instagram video advertising are:

Define your campaign objective and target audience clearly and accurately.
Choose the right ad placement and format for your video ads.
Set a realistic and flexible budget and schedule for your video ads.
Create high-quality and relevant video content that showcases your product, service, or brand.
Use a catchy and compelling hook, message, and CTA in your video ads.
Add captions or subtitles to your video ads to make them accessible and understandable.
Use branding elements to make your video ads recognizable and consistent.
Test and optimize your video ads to improve their performance and results.

How long should Instagram video ads be?

The length of Instagram video ads depends on the ad placement and format that you choose. Here are the maximum lengths for each placement and format:

In-feed: 60 seconds
Stories: 15 seconds
Reels: 30 seconds
In-Stream: 15 seconds
Explore: 60 seconds

However, just because you can use up to 60 seconds for some placements, it doesn't mean that you should. In general, shorter videos tend to perform better than longer ones, as they can capture and retain your audience's attention more effectively. According to Meta, the optimal length for Instagram video ads is between 6 and 15 seconds.

How do I measure the success of my Instagram video ads?

You can measure the success of your Instagram video ads by using various metrics and tools that are available in Ads Manager. Some of the metrics that you can use are:

Reach: The number of people who saw your video ads at least once.
Impressions: The number of times your video ads were seen on screen.
Frequency: The average number of times each person saw your video ads.
CPC: The average amount that you paid for each click on your video ads.
CPR: The average amount that you paid for each result (such as a view, a lead, or a conversion) from your video ads.
CVR: The percentage of people who clicked on your video ads and completed a desired action (such as visiting your website, downloading your app, or making a purchase).
ROAS: The return on ad spend, which is the amount of revenue that you generated from your video ads divided by the amount that you spent on them.

You can also use tools such as Facebook Pixel, App Events, or Offline Conversions to track and measure the actions that people take after seeing your video ads on other platforms or devices. For example, you can use Facebook Pixel to track how many people visited your website, added items to their cart, or completed a purchase after seeing your video ad on Instagram.

How do I optimize my Instagram video ads?

You can optimize your Instagram video ads by testing different versions of your ad creative, audience, placement, budget, schedule, and bidding strategy. You can use tools such as split testing or dynamic creative optimization (DCO) to compare the performance and results of different variations of your video ads. You can alsouse tools such as automated rules or campaign budget optimization (CBO) to automatically adjust your video ads based on certain conditions or goals. For example, you can use split testing to compare two different video creatives and see which one has a higher conversion rate. You can also use automated rules to pause your video ads if they have a low ROAS.

What are some examples of successful Instagram video ads?

There are many examples of successful Instagram video ads from different brands and industries. Here are some of them:

Nike: Nike used Instagram video ads to promote its new Air Max 270 sneakers. The video ads featured dynamic and colorful animations that highlighted the features and benefits of the shoes. The video ads also included a Shop Now CTA that directed users to the Nike website.
Netflix: Netflix used Instagram video ads to promote its original series Stranger Things. The video ads featured clips from the show that created suspense and curiosity among the viewers. The video ads also included a Watch Now CTA that directed users to the Netflix app.
L'Oreal: L'Oreal used Instagram video ads to promote its new hair color product Colorista. The video ads featured influencers and celebrities who tried the product and shared their experiences. The video ads also included a Learn More CTA that directed users to the L'Oreal website.

Conclusion

Instagram video advertising is a powerful and effective way to grow your business in 2023. By following the steps and tips in this article, you can create and run engaging and impactful video ads that can reach and convert your target audience on Instagram.

We hope you found this article helpful and informative. If you want to learn more about Instagram marketing and advertising, check out our other articles on this topic. And if you need any help with creating or running your Instagram video ads, feel free to contact us anytime. We're here to help!

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