A Marketer’s Guide to Instagram Advertising Tactics

A Marketer's Guide to Instagram Advertising Tactics

You know that Instagram is a giant in social media, isn’t it? It continues to grow, and more than 1 billion people use it monthly. That’s why owning an account on Instagram and posting once in a while will not take you anywhere. For this reason, we are discussing tactics for advertising on Instagram!

Instagram ads enable businesses of all types to create sponsored posts, which blend seamlessly into users' feeds or stories. With the vast number of its users plus very targeted, refined targeting options, you can tailor your messages to reach the right customer at the right place and time. What a marriage made in heaven!

Why Is Advertising on Instagram Important?

“But I am already advertising on Facebook,” you may be thinking. Even though Facebook is still king when it comes to reaching broad audiences, Instagram presents an excellent opportunity for brands to connect with their audience through immersive visual content.

Instagram is where it’s at for brands looking to:

1. Create awareness about their brand
2. Drive discovery sales
3. Nurture communities and build loyalty

Need more convincing? Here are some appetising stats:

• The potential advertising audience of Instagram ads is 849 million people.
• Ads on Instagram have 3.8x higher engagement rates than those provided by any other platform.
• More than 90% of people using Instagram follow at least one business profile.

In conclusion: if you want today’s mobile-first world, maximum reach, engagement, and sales; then do not ignore Instagram any more!

Preparing Your Instagram Advertising Game

All right, before we go all-in with fun tactics, let’s speed through some quick tips to get you ahead of the curve for your Instagram ads:

1. Conversion Tracking

You first want to install the Facebook pixel on your website (since Facebook owns IG). This nifty little tool keeps track of user activity and conversions, so you can gather valuable data to optimise your campaigns.

2. Business Account

Next off, make sure that you’ve converted your account into a business one and linked it to your Facebook ad account. After this, many tools are available, like running ads, viewing analytics, etc.

3. Campaign Objectives

Inside Facebook Ads Manager, you’ll choose an objective for each campaign, like Brand Awareness, Traffic, Conversions, and more. The objective determines where and how often your ads are shown.

With those out of the way, let’s jump into the tactics that’ll bring in the money!

Knockout Visual Ads That Stop Thumbs In Their Tracks

You know the old saying – a picture is worth a thousand words (and probably a thousand likes on Instagram too). Visuals are the bread and butter of Instagram, so nailing them is mission-critical.

Stand Out with Striking Visuals

Like a radiant diamond in a rock tumbler, your Instagram ads must shine brighter than the surrounding feed content. Here are some sure-fire ways to craft head-turning visuals:

• Go bold with colours. Bright, eye-catching colours make your ads pop amidst the sea of muted tones.
• Play with composition: Utilise unique framing, angles, depth of field and leading lines to draw eyes.
• Embrace minimalism. Sometimes, less is more. Clean, minimal visuals can be just as impactful.
• Feature people. Human faces are cognitive Tasers that grab and hold attention.
• Use high-quality images. Blurry, low-res images are an instant turn-off on this highly visual platform.

Spice It Up with Movement

Static images are so 2010. If you want to turn heads, bring your ads to life with movement! Cinemagraphs, boomerangs, and short video ads jump off the screen and make users stop that ruthless Instagram scroll.

And don't just settle for exciting visuals on their own. Tell a story that stirs emotions and leaves a lasting impression.

Keep It Native

Remember, the more “ad-like” your creative looks, the higher the chances of it being ignored or disliked. Your images and videos need to blend seamlessly into the native Instagram aesthetic.

Study the content and visual styles popular accounts in your niche are using. Then, put your own branded spin on it. This “ad camouflage” keeps users engaged rather than running for the hills.

Laser-Focused Targeting for Pinpoint Relevance

With traditional advertising, hitting a particular target audience was like hurling darts and wearing a blindfold. Useless and expensive. But Instagram's targeting? It's a razor-sharp, sensei-level sight beyond sight.

Slice and Dice Demographics

First are all the basic demographics you'd expect, like location, age, gender, languages, interests, etc. But don't just stop there. Instagram lets you combine and layer these factors for ultra-refined targeting.

For example, you could target affluent new moms in Miami interested in organic baby products—or SCI-fi-loving millennial males who are amateur drone photographers. The possibilities are endless!

Mine Remarketing Goldmines

Here's where the magic happens. With Instagram's powerful remarketing capabilities, you can strategically re-engage people who have already interacted with your brand.

Some juicy remarketing audiences to try:

• Website Visitors
• Past customers or subscribers
• Video viewers
• Instagram engagement audiences

The key here is to map your remarketing audiences to different marketing funnel stages and craft relevant messages for each.

Harness Precision with Lookalike Audiences

When you thought it couldn't improve, Instagram lookalike audiences take your targeting wizardry up a notch.

The algorithm analyses data about your best existing customers or site visitors to find new prospective customers with striking similarities. It's like having a virtual Doppelgänger hunting team!

Writing Irresistible Ad Copy That Sells

Visual? Check. Targeting? Check. Now, it's time to add the words that transform your Instagram ads from pretty pictures to revenue-generating machines.

Get Their Attention (In a Good Way)

With fleeting attention spans, your ad copy has seconds to hook people in. So cut the fluff and get straight to the point with benefits and pain points they care about.

Some proven tactics:

• Ask a burning question. “Is your closet overflowing, too?”
• State a shocking fact or stat. “83% of people can't find anything in their garage.”
• Highlight a desire. “Wish you could take better low-light food pics?”
• Make a bold promise. “You'll never run out of closet space again.”

But don't be too pushy. Keep things fun and light-hearted in that signature Instagram style.

Focus On a Single Key Message

Don't try to be everything to everyone. Your ad and caption should focus on driving home one clear, concise message or call to action. A confused mind rarely buys!

Ensure the message is glaringly apparent from the first few words or seconds. If someone has to dig to figure out what you're pitching, you've already lost them.

Tell a Story That Resonates

People don't connect with products or features – they connect with narratives, emotions, and personal identities. Bring your ad copy to life by painting a vivid scene or short story your audience can envision themselves in.

For example, instead of saying, “Our blenders chop better,” try:

“Imagine hosting a dinner party where your homemade salsa gets more oohs and ahhs than the chicken entrée! With the XYZ blender, you'll wow guests by transforming fresh garden produce into vibrant restaurant-quality dips and salsas in seconds.”

See the difference? The Story version engages emotions and desires and lets the reader self-insert into the narrative.

Amplify Winning Instagram Content Across Platforms

As impressive as Instagram is for building brand awareness and community, it shouldn't be the only piece of your marketing puzzle. An effective funnel promotes continuity by carrying prospects through multiple complementary touchpoints.

Here are some go-to plays for stretching the reach of your top-performing Instagram content across other channels:

Repurpose for Facebook

Since you're already creating thumb-stopping creative for Instagram, why not repurpose that content for Facebook ads too? The platforms are highly integrated, so you can quickly and easily extend your campaign's momentum.

But be sure to tweak the format, sizing and copy to align with Facebook's best practices. What dominates on Instagram may be translated differently from what is on Newsfeed.

Retarget Website Visitors with Instagram Ads

Remember those laser-focused remarketing audiences we discussed earlier? This is where they become liquid gold.

By retargeting your website visitors with Instagram ads featuring your top-performing creative and offers, you can:

• Keep your brand top-of-mind
• Move prospects further down the funnel
• Drive repeat sales and brand loyalty

This multi-touchpoint, cross-channel approach has increased conversion rates by reinforcing consistent brand messaging.

Mine User-Generated Content

Your branded content is excellent, but do you know what has even more influence and authenticity? User-generated content (UGC) from your existing fans!

Seek out and curate the best UGC photos/videos that creatively showcase your products. Then repurpose and promote this authentic word-of-mouth content on Instagram, on your website, in emails — wherever your audiences are.

UGC is a form of social proof that builds trust while offering a fresh perspective people crave. And the best part? It's free marketing for your brand!

Leverage Influencer Marketing

Speaking of piggybacking on influential voices, don't sleep on Instagram's influencer marketing goldmine. Find the right content creators or micro-influencers in your niche with highly-engaged followings.

Collaborate with them on sponsored posts that blend your brand seamlessly into influencer content their fans know and trust. This lends credibility while exposing your products to new audiences.

You can even re-share their sponsored content as ads for extra reach. Just be sure to disclose it as a paid partnership to maintain transparency.

Continuously Optimise Your Instagram Advertising Engine

Data! Data! Data! I can't emphasise enough how critical it is to analyse the numbers behind your Instagram ads and use those insights to tweak and optimise every aspect of your campaigns continuously.

Set Up UTM Tracking Parameters

First things first, make sure you're setting up UTM tracking parameters for your Instagram campaigns, such as:

• Campaign source (e.g. instagram_ads)
• Campaign name/ID
• Content title or description
• Etc.

This lets you properly monitor the sources driving traffic and conversions to your site.

Measure The Right KPIs

Just because lots of people saw your ad doesn't mean it was a success. You'll want to monitor metrics that matter, like:

• Brand Awareness — Impressions, reach, video views
• Engagement — Likes, comments, shares, clicks, conversions
• Sales Impact — Website conversions, purchases, revenue

Know which numbers align with your core objectives, then optimise continuously to hit your targets.

Experiment (But With Purpose)

Don't just unthinkingly stick to the same old ad creative, targeting, and copy if it's not working. Embrace an experimentation mentality.

Run A/B tests comparing ad elements like copy, visuals, videos, call-to-actions, etc. But be disciplined! Only test one variable at a time and analyse the results to identify true winners.

Keep iterating on the top performers while re-investing the budget from losing variations into future tests. Before you know it, you'll have cracked the code for ads that consistently crush it.

Leverage Automated Ad Tools

Optimising manually can get tedious and time-consuming. Leverage Instagram and Facebook's automated ad tools to simplify the process:

• Automated ad delivery optimises budget delivery based on performance
• Automated creative helps surface your best-performing ad creative
• The computerised ads app gives recommended ads based on your campaigns

These smarts can streamline your workflow, identify significant opportunities and decrease time spent on micro-optimization.

In closing…

Well, there you have it — a comprehensive blueprint for crushing it with Instagram advertising tactics! While posting pretty pictures is a fine start, crafting a strategic, data-driven Instagram ads funnel is what will truly help you:

• Build a magnetic brand that attracts your ideal audience
• Promote irresistible offers that move people to take action
• Drive consistent sales and growth by monetising Instagram's immense potential

Just remember to keep optimising and iterating based on your results. Marketing is an agile game, so staying flexible enough to shift your strategy as you analyse performance metrics is crucial.

Now go forth and prosper on Instagram! And if you're hungry for more advanced tactics to take your Instagram ads mastery to Jedi levels, keep reading…

FAQs on Instagram Advertising Tactics