Here’s a question for you:
How many people with smartphones have you seen today?
According to Newzoo’s Global Mobile Market Report, there are 3.2 billion smartphone users worldwide.
How many of them are using Instagram?
In June 2018, Instagram reached 1 billion monthly active users worldwide.
Theoretically, every third smartphone user in the world spends time creating, sharing, or viewing content on Instagram. This means one thing: Your business should have an Instagram profile if you want it to grow.
In this tutorial, we not only tell you how to create an ad on Instagram but give you a few recommendations for producing popular and profitable advertising content. Let’s get started!
3 Different Ways to Create Instagram Ads
First off, make sure you have an Instagram Business Account in order to run ads. If you already have a personal Instagram account, you can convert it to a business account in the profile settings in the Instagram mobile app.
Here are the methods for launching Instagram advertising:
Instagram App
The easiest way to create Instagram ads is via a mobile device, where you can come up with ad content, edit it, and post your ads on the go.
Facebook Page
If you’re wondering how to create Instagram ads from your Facebook Page, all you need to do is connect your Instagram account and your Facebook Page. To do that:
- Open your Instagram account settings.
- Choose Edit Profile.
- Choose Page below Public Business Information.
- Pick your Facebook Page from the list or choose Create a New Facebook Page.
Linking your Facebook and Instagram accounts allows you not only to create Instagram ads from Facebook but to expand your management opportunities. You’ll be able to answer Instagram comments and Direct messages from your Facebook Page inbox, manage Instagram contact information of customers in the Contacts tab on Facebook, share Facebook posts to Instagram and vice versa, etc.
Before you learn how to create Instagram ads through a Facebook Page, note that you must be an admin of the Page you want to add.
Facebook Ads Manager
The best way to create Instagram ads is using Facebook Ads Manager.
Ads Manager allows you to manage Instagram marketing to the fullest extent and create fully fledged ad campaigns.
In Ads Manager, you can set goals, target different audiences, set budgets and bidding, schedule ads, set up ad tracking, and do much more to realize your advertising strategy. Not to mention you can create Instagram ads without posting them right away to save them for future ad campaigns.
Now that you know how to create Instagram ads on Facebook, via the Instagram app, and in Ads Manager, let’s figure out how to make your Instagram ads convert and sell.
How to Create Instagram Ads That Convert and Sell
Why are people so addicted to Instagram? It’s important to understand this if you want to be successful with your ads. To answer this question, you should take into account two things.
First, Instagram is a mood changer. According to one survey, 44% of people visit Instagram to kill time because they’re bored.
Second, Instagram is a platform where content gives people aesthetic pleasure. Fashion, food, entertainment, baby, humor, and beauty are the top six sponsored post categories on Instagram according to a five-year survey.
For the same reason, the most popular Instagram accounts belong to entertainers.
Here are a few recommendations on how to create Instagram ads that not only change the viewer’s mood and give aesthetic pleasure but convert leads and sell products and services.
Focus on Mobile Video Content
First, let’s start with how to create Instagram video ads, as video is one of the hottest trends on Instagram. According to one survey, over 40% of Instagram users believe they will watch more mobile video in the future.
After watching other users’ Stories and browsing feed posts, watching videos on the Instagram feed is the third most popular activity among Instagram users in the United States.
Among respondents to a March 2020 survey by Statista:
- 42% watch other people’s Instagram Stories
- 35% watch videos in the Instagram Feed
- 14% survey post videos
When you create video advertising for Instagram audiences, remember that people consume too much content these days. Your ads should be designed so users desire to tap them from the first moment they see them.
To spark users’ interest in your business in seconds and then convert, your footage should be:
- Short and fast. On Instagram, the average length of a video ad is less than 15 seconds.
- Clear and intuitive. Be straightforward and tell your message as precisely as possible. Do everything to make your video understandable with sound off or on.
- Surprising and colorful. Come up with videos that give aesthetic pleasure.
For more details, read this guide on making Instagram video ads that convert.
Experiment with Creative Apps
Along with multiple tools in Facebook Business Manager and the Instagram mobile app, you can use other mobile apps made by Instagram such as Boomerang and Layout to customize your content and can use IGTV to post longer video content.
Use Hashtags to Broaden Your Reach
Instagram posts should have hashtags. The more hashtags you add and the more specific they are, the easier it will be for people to find your posts.
Tags should be relevant and popular. Pay attention to how many times hashtags have been used and combine hashtags that have different levels of popularity to expand your target audience.
Use the name of your business as a hashtag every time you post something. If you’re a physical business, add a physical location hashtag.
Lastly, don’t forget to monitor the performance of your hashtags.
Tell Stories That Engage
Stories should take a special place in your Instagram advertising strategy because no other Instagram ad format gives creators and businesses such tremendous freedom to express themselves.
On Instagram, people and businesses create over 347,000 Stories every minute.
If you want to know how to create video ads for Instagram, you should also know how to create Stories and use them on an ongoing basis. Read this guide to grasp the best practices for this wonderful form of storytelling.
Get New Ideas from Other Creators
Always pay attention to what your industry leaders, competitors, and Instagram creators as a whole do with their content. You can monitor posts and ads in the Instagram app, read case studies and success stories, follow news and updates on the official Instagram blog, etc.
Learn More About the Learning Phase
All Instagram ads launched via Facebook Ads Manager go through a so-called learning phase. The learning phase is a period when the ad delivery system based on machine learning collects information about an ad or ad set to bring maximum value to the business that launched it.
Every ad that exits the learning phase lets the ad delivery system better understand the needs of a business. Check out our recommendations on how your Instagram ads can exit the learning phase as soon as possible and get the most out of it.
Spend Your Budget Wisely
It’s really important to understand how much money you need to spend in order to achieve a positive return on investment. In the beginning, you should let Instagram (or Facebook Ads Manager) spend your budget automatically because the Facebooks ad delivery system is designed to bring you maximum value.
After launching your ads automatically, you can try to lower the amount you spend on Instagram ads by customizing some budget settings such as spending limit and bid cap.
Create Instagram Video Ads with Artificial Intelligence
Another way you can save your budget on marketing with Instagram and other Facebook services is by producing video ads for the cost of image ads with Softcube.
Our artificial intelligence platform will help you not only raise your conversions but also edit your footage to get high-quality video for your Instagram ads in several clicks.
