06 Oct How To Create an Ad On Instagram
Since its launch in 2010, Instagram has become one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. Not only does it make it easy for anybody to share photos with their friends, but small businesses can use it to advertise their services even if they’re just getting off the ground.
A good advertising campaign will always demand a lot of time and effort, but creating an Instagram ad is surprisingly easy. All you need to do is follow these simple steps.
Connect Your Instagram Account to Facebook
Before you can start advertising on Instagram in earnest, you should first connect your Instagram account to your business’s Facebook account. To do this, simply go to your Facebook page and click on “Settings.” You should see “Instagram Ads” on the list that shows up on the left-hand side. You will have the option to connect your Instagram account here.
Log In to Ads Manager
Most of your work will be done through Facebook’s Ads Manager, which is incredibly easy to access if you use Facebook for your business. It is a crucial second step, but as you will see you will need to do some additional work before you start advertising on Instagram.
Download Power Editor
While it may look like you can start creating Instagram ads through Ads Manager, you will need to download Power Editor to really get started. Power Editor can be found through the Ads Manager platform on the menu at the top of the page. Make sure you are using Google Chrome when you download the program, since it is the only browser that currently supports it.
Create Your Campaign and Choose an Ad Style
If you haven’t created an Instagram ad campaign yet, click on “Create Campaign” under the Manage Ads tab at the top of the page. From there, you should be able to choose the type of ad you want to place on your Instagram account. These ad types are clicks to your website, mobile app installs and video views. If you go with video views, remember that videos cannot be more than 30 seconds in length.
Target the Right Audience
Facebook’s ad targeting options work well with Instagram and allow you to target users based on location, interests and online activity. You no doubt have an idea who would want to use your business’s goods or services, so target your ads accordingly. As much as you may want to reach the biggest audience available, no product will appeal to everyone. Focus on users who will be your biggest consumers instead if you want the best results.
Grab Your Clients’ Attention with Strong Visuals
Instagram is a visual medium, more so than Facebook and Twitter, so any advertisement you create should have eye-catching visuals. This isn’t that different from creating advertisements for newspapers, flyers, billboards or anywhere else that relies on visuals to sell something, but Instagram adds an unexpected challenge. It may be easy to upload a photo on Instagram, but that means it has gained an audience that has gotten very good at recognizing stock images. Try to take photos of your product or photos of yourself using said product. Better yet, hire a professional photographer for best results.
Include a Call to Action and Popular Hashtags
There is currently no limit to the amount of text you can have on an Instagram ad, and while a strong image should take priority you should also include a good call to action to let potential clients know what your business does and what they need to do. While you’re at it, try to include some popular hashtags. You don’t want to overdo them, but adding some trending hashtags is a great way to get your ads noticed.
This is a simple guide to creating some basic Instagram ads, but truly effective advertising will ultimately be up to you. It may be easy to get an ad onto your Instagram page, but coming up with something that grabs people’s attention and attracts business takes some time and experimentation. Don’t be afraid to try different ads to see what works. You have a great platform for experimentation, so use it to your full advantage.