How to Run Ads on Instagram: A Complete Guide for Beginners

By Cepy 9/06/2023 Post a Comment

Hi Online Friends,

If you're looking for a way to reach more customers, grow your brand awareness, and increase your sales, you might want to consider running ads on Instagram. Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with over 1.4 billion monthly active users and 500 million daily stories users. It's also a powerful marketing tool, with 90% of users following at least one business account and 83% of users discovering new products or services on the platform.

But how do you run ads on Instagram? What are the different types of ads you can create? How do you set up your budget, target audience, and creative assets? And how do you measure and optimize your results?

In this article, I'll answer all these questions and more. I have experience in running ads on Instagram for various clients and niches, and I'll share with you some of the best practices and tips I've learned along the way. Whether you're a beginner or an intermediate advertiser, this guide will help you create effective and engaging ads that will boost your Instagram marketing strategy.

What are the Benefits of Running Ads on Instagram?

Reach a Large and Engaged Audience

One of the main benefits of running ads on Instagram is that you can tap into a huge and active user base. According to Instagram, more than 200 million users visit at least one business profile every day, and more than 130 million users tap on shopping posts every month. This means that there's a lot of potential for your ads to reach people who are interested in your products or services, or who are looking for inspiration and solutions.

Moreover, Instagram users are not only numerous, but also engaged. They spend an average of 30 minutes per day on the platform, and they interact with content more than on other social networks. For instance, Instagram posts get 10 times more engagement than Facebook posts, and Instagram stories get 15 times more engagement than Snapchat stories. This means that your ads have a higher chance of getting noticed, liked, commented on, and shared by your target audience.

Build Trust and Loyalty with Your Customers

Another benefit of running ads on Instagram is that you can build trust and loyalty with your customers. Instagram is a visual platform that allows you to showcase your brand personality, values, and story through captivating images and videos. You can also use features like stories, reels, live, IGTV, and guides to create more authentic and interactive content that connects with your audience on a deeper level.

By running ads on Instagram, you can amplify your organic content and reach more people who might not be aware of your brand yet. You can also use ads to retarget your existing customers and remind them of your offers, promotions, or new products. By providing value and staying top of mind, you can increase your brand awareness, recognition, and affinity among your customers.

Drive More Traffic and Conversions

A third benefit of running ads on Instagram is that you can drive more traffic and conversions to your website or app. Instagram offers various ad formats and objectives that allow you to achieve different goals, such as increasing awareness, consideration, or action. You can also use features like call-to-action buttons, swipe-up links, product tags, lead forms, app install buttons, and checkout buttons to make it easier for your audience to take the next step after seeing your ad.

By running ads on Instagram, you can attract more qualified leads and prospects who are interested in what you have to offer. You can also use ads to nurture them along the customer journey and persuade them to make a purchase or take another desired action. By tracking and measuring your ad performance, you can also optimize your campaigns and improve your return on ad spend (ROAS).

How to Run Ads on Instagram: A Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Set Up Your Instagram Business Account

The first step to run ads on Instagram is to set up your Instagram business account. This is a type of account that gives you access to features like insights, analytics, contact options, shopping tools, branded content tools, and more. It also allows you to create and run ads on Instagram using Facebook's Ads Manager.

To set up your Instagram business account, you need to have a personal account first. Then, you need to follow these steps:

Go to your profile and tap the menu icon in the top right corner.
Tap Settings > Account > Switch to Professional Account.
Select Business as your account type and choose a category that best describes your business.
Connect your Instagram account to your Facebook page. If you don't have one, you can create one from the app.
Review and edit your contact information and profile details.
Tap Done to complete the process.

Step 2: Define Your Marketing Goal and Budget

The second step to run ads on Instagram is to define your marketing goal and budget. This will help you plan your ad strategy and choose the right ad format, objective, audience, and creative for your campaign.

To define your marketing goal, you need to think about what you want to achieve with your ads. Do you want to increase your brand awareness, reach, or impressions? Do you want to generate more traffic, leads, or engagement? Do you want to drive more sales, conversions, or app installs?

Once you have a clear goal in mind, you need to set a budget for your campaign. This is the amount of money you're willing to spend on your ads. You can set a daily budget or a lifetime budget, depending on how long you want your campaign to run. You can also set a bid strategy, which is how much you're willing to pay for each result (such as impression, click, or conversion).

To set your budget and bid strategy, you need to consider factors like your target audience size, competition, industry, seasonality, and historical performance. You can also use Facebook's Audience Network tool to estimate your potential reach and cost based on your budget and audience.

Step 3: Choose Your Ad Format and Objective

The third step to run ads on Instagram is to choose your ad format and objective. This will determine how your ads will look and what action you want your audience to take after seeing them.

Instagram offers five main ad formats:

Photo ads: These are simple ads that consist of a single image and a caption. You can use them to showcase your products, services, or brand in a visually appealing way.
Video ads: These are ads that consist of a video and a caption. You can use them to tell a story, demonstrate a feature, or create an emotional connection with your audience.
Carousel ads: These are ads that consist of two or more images or videos that users can swipe through. You can use them to showcase multiple products, features, benefits, or testimonials.
Collection ads: These are ads that consist of an image or video and four product images below it. Users can tap on the ad to view a full-screen catalog of your products. You can use them to create an immersive shopping experience for your audience.
Stories ads: These are full-screen vertical ads that appear between users' stories. They can be either images or videos, and they disappear after 24 hours. You can use them to capture users' attention and create a sense of urgency.

Each ad format has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your goal, budget, and creative assets. You can also use different ad formats for different stages of the customer journey. For example, you can use photo or video ads to increase awareness, carousel or collection ads to generate interest, and stories ads to drive action.

After choosing your ad format, you need to choose your ad objective. This is the specific result you want to achieve with your campaign. Instagram offers 11 ad objectives:

Brand awareness: This objective is designed to increase the number of people who are aware of your brand.
Reach: This objective is designed to show your ad to as many people as possible in your target audience.
Traffic: This objective is designed to drive more people to your website or app.
Engagement: This objective is designed to increase the number of likes, comments, shares, or views on your posts or stories.
App installs: This objective is designed to encourage more people to download or open your app.
Video views: This objective is designed to increase the number of views on your video content.
Lead generation: This objective is designed to collect contact information from potential customers who are interested in your products or services.
Messages: This objective is designed to start conversations with potential customers who want to learn more about your products or services.
Conversions: This objective is designed to drive more people to take a specific action on your website or app, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
Catalog sales: This objective is designed to show products from your catalog to people who are likely to buy them.
Storetraffic: This objective is designed to drive more people to your physical store locations.

Each ad objective has its own requirements and options, depending on your ad format, budget, and audience. You can also use different ad objectives for different stages of the customer journey. For example, you can use brand awareness or reach objectives to attract new customers, traffic or engagement objectives to generate interest, and conversions or catalog sales objectives to drive sales.

How to Create a Detailed Table Breakdown Related to the Topic

One way to provide more information and value to your readers is to create a detailed table breakdown related to the topic. A table breakdown is a visual representation of data or information that compares or contrasts different aspects of the topic. For example, you can create a table breakdown that compares the pros and cons of different ad formats, the features and benefits of different ad objectives, or the best practices and tips for different stages of the customer journey.

To create a detailed table breakdown related to the topic, you need to follow these steps:

Identify the main categories or variables that you want to compare or contrast. For example, if you want to compare the pros and cons of different ad formats, your main categories could be photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, collection ads, and stories ads.
Identify the subcategories or criteria that you want to use to evaluate each main category. For example, if you want to compare the pros and cons of different ad formats, your subcategories could be cost, reach, engagement, conversion, and creativity.
Gather the data or information that supports each subcategory for each main category. For example, if you want to compare the pros and cons of different ad formats, you need to find out how much each ad format costs, how many people it can reach, how much engagement it can generate, how many conversions it can drive, and how creative it can be.
Organize the data or information in a table format using HTML tags. For example, if you want to compare the pros and cons of different ad formats, you can use the following HTML code:

Ad Format	Cost	Reach	Engagement	Conversion	Creativity
Photo ads	Low	High	Medium	Low	Low
Video ads	Medium	High	High	Medium	High
Carousel ads	Medium	Medium	High	High	Medium
Collection ads	High	Low	Low	High	Low
Stories ads>	Low>	High>	High>	Medium>	High>

You can also use colors, icons, or symbols to make your table more attractive and easy to understand.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Run Ads on Instagram>

How much does it cost to run ads on Instagram?>

The cost of running ads on Instagram depends on various factors, such as your ad format, objective, audience, budget, bid strategy, and competition. There is no fixed price for running ads on Instagram, as the platform uses an auction system that determines the cost based on supply and demand. However, according to some estimates, the average cost per click (CPC) for Instagram ads ranges from $0.20 to $2.00, and the average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) ranges from $2.00 to $8.00.

How do I create an ad on Instagram?>

To create an ad on Instagram, you need to use Facebook's Ads Manager. This is a tool that allows you to create and manage your ads across Facebook and Instagram. To create an ad on Instagram using Ads Manager, you need to follow these steps:

Login to your Facebook account and go to Ads Manager.>
Click on the green Create button in the top left corner.>
Select your ad objective, campaign name, and special ad category (if applicable).>
Set your budget, schedule, bid strategy, and optimization goal.>
Choose your target audience based on location, demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.>
Select your ad placement and choose Instagram as your platform. You can also choose specific Instagram placements, such as feed, stories, explore, or reels.>
Choose your ad format and upload your creative assets, such as images, videos, or text.>
Add your ad copy, headline, call-to-action button, and URL.>
Review your ad and click on Confirm to launch your campaign.>

How do I measure and optimize my ad performance on Instagram?>

To measure and optimize your ad performance on Instagram, you need to use Facebook's Ads Manager. This is a tool that allows you to track and analyze your ads across Facebook and Instagram. To measure and optimize your ad performance on Instagram using Ads Manager, you need to follow these steps:

Login to your Facebook account and go to Ads Manager.>
Select the campaign, ad set, or ad that you want to measure or optimize.>
View your results based on the metrics that matter to you, such as impressions, reach, clicks, conversions, ROAS, and more.>
Use the filters, breakdowns, charts, and tables to segment and compare your data by different dimensions, such as time, device, placement, or audience network.>
Use the insights and recommendations to identify what's working and what's not working for your ads.>
Make changes to your ads based on your findings, such as adjusting your budget, bid strategy, audience, creative, or objective.>
Test different variations of your ads using A/B testing or dynamic creative to find the best combination of elements for your campaign.>

Conclusion>

I hope this article has given you a comprehensive overview of how to run ads on Instagram. Running ads on Instagram can be a great way to reach a large and engaged audience, build trust and loyalty with your customers, and drive more traffic and conversions to your website or app. However, it also requires a lot of planning, testing, and optimization to achieve the best results.

If you're interested in learning more about how to run ads on Instagram or other digital marketing topics, feel free to check out my other articles. I'm always happy to share my knowledge and experience with you.

Thank you for reading and happy advertising!

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