Since Instagram was launched in 2010, it has revolutionized the world. It has been a favorite of businesses that like to do clever branding, and reach out to a ready audience with more visual content. It helps introduce new products/services and can aid in the growth of brand awareness by promoting businesses in an authentic and friendly way without making it like items are being push-sold to customers.
Here are 5 things that you should know before advertising on Instagram, while also providing you with some useful tips and tools on how to get free followers when first going live with your account.
1. Facebook-Like Targeting is available on Instagram
User information, similar to Facebook, is a treasure trove for data gathering. The main purpose of this is to have a better understanding of users. This holds true for Instagram as well. When a person joins his account on Facebook to that on Instagram, the ads will most probably show up on the feed and would be associated closely to his Facebook interests. For instance, in case he gave ‘Like’ to a specific brand over Facebook, the sponsored photo of that specific brand may also show up on his Instagram feed.
There are robust tools added on Instagram to boost ad targeting. Given the fact that ad management is done through the Facebook interface, the majority of Facebook’s targeting options can also be found on Instagram.
2. Close-up marketing is possible on Instagram
The new zoom feature of Instagram can let users pinch the screen and magnify videos as well as photos. This feature was added upon the requests of many users who have been wanting it for a long time now. This helps businesses do slight close-up marketing with their ads on Instagram. It can let you improve the ad’s engagement, particularly in case you want the audience to discover a concealed feature in your ads.
Brands can easily experiment with the new feature, and some businesses are also trying out new filters and slow-motion effects to advertise on Instagram feeds with storytelling. This new feature lets brands be more creative and get a new way to make their own ads outstanding among so many ads by competing organizations that are too promotional and unimaginative in form.
3. Videos have to be short
You need to post videos that are not very long. If you like to use videos as a part of your ad campaigns on Instagram, it is important to be concerned about the length.
Story ads are quite popular on this platform. Ads may be there in stories, given that lots of users check stories first after they open Instagram. Brands and users may create short videos or photos that display in the feed for as long as 24 hours. Once they are viewed by users, these disappear from view. In case you wish to give your website or name some traction, short videos can be a quick way to do so.
Ads on Instagram have strict limitations in time, less than 15 seconds for your story ad campaigns and less than 60 seconds for standard mobile feed ads. For video advertising on Instagram, your team needs to create videos that satisfy this requirement.
4. Mobile Feed Ads are a hit!
Mobile feed ads display in the Instagram feeds of any user name, similar to the standard newsfeed ads on Facebook. When you scroll through Instagram, it is easy to find various ‘sponsored’ posts. It is not that one has to follow an advertiser, but might fit within the desired target audience or demographic. Due to this reason, Instagram shows ads from companies that might offer services and/or products that users might be interested in, on the basis of their location, interests, and likes.
Instagram ads show up in your stories as well as on your feed similar to any other standard content. It might have a video, photo or a blend of the two that uses the feature ‘Carousel’ to make a post like a swipe – which can ensure great engagement with new Instagram followers.
5. Niche marketing is best avoided on Instagram
The size of the audience on Instagram is much smaller as compared to that of Facebook. Thus, very granular targeting is not recommended here, as you cannot generate enough brand reach. You have to remember that the experience of Instagram usage is almost completely mobile-based. In case that does not match your outcome or customers, advertising over Instagram could be a major challenge. Advertising on Instagram might not be suitable for a business that is trying to get the attention of a highly specific or niche audience.
It is a good idea for you to focus on Instagram as well as Facebook and other social networking websites in order to create holistic campaigns and have a combined marketing impact. You can be assured of high engagement with campaigns that are aligned with your advertising budget.