Tough times come for organic traffic since Social Media companies are testing new advertising formulas. Therefore, You’ve probably perceived that your team has to make more and more efforts to keep the rhythm, so the profile doesn’t lose the reach. Attracting new followers seems almost impossible, and posts that caught a lot of likes and comments, don´t appear to work anymore.
Also, you’ve probably noticed that your Instagram feed is showing more ads compared to a few months ago and some way you can´t hate them. Sometimes, you liked them and didn’t realize that was an ad in the first place. Some of us started to follow a new chef, designer, photographer or bought a product thanks to those ghostly ads. They’re well thought, designed and played, and we can’t deny it.
Now, you should start thinking to join the game because organic traffic is not working by itself anymore. Ad time has finally come, and you have to catch up soon. Besides organizing a new budget for this, you need to focus on the art of creating campaigns, in order to don´t waste money, effort and time. Many people complain about not getting the expected results, but they didn’t even know how it works for starters.
Thence, we prepare a short but useful guide on how to create an effective Instagram ad, so you can start getting in touch with the platform, the methodology, the ad’s anatomy and so on. Thus, you can reach this new strategy in a friendly way. Remember, it’s a tool and tools are there for us to manage them, not backward.
First things first
Link your Instagram account to Facebook Page. There are two ways of doing this, but the easiest is through Instagram. Usually, they will show you a message asking you to change settings to a company account. Accept it, and proceed to add your Facebook mail so they can locate your fan page, once they do this, link it, and add a call to action button. When your users get into the profile, they’ll find a “Contact” button leading them to your email.
By setting this option and optimizing the profile, you’re getting access to a new metrics system where you’re able to see accurate data from your posts, like the favorite day, cities, male and female population, the best hour of posting, and so on. Nevertheless, before you set up the first ad, you need to study those metrics for some weeks.
Where do I do that?
Many people say they do ads, but what they do is to boost a post. Creating ads takes to use the Ad Manager or Power Editor from Facebook, which also means that you need to plan an entire campaign in order to achieve real goals. If you’re planning just to post one single ad, then we’re afraid you won’t get the expected results.
But don’t panic! These platforms are easy to use, and it indicates step by step what needs to be done. In any case, you need to acknowledge each element first, so you can have a clear view on how much do you want to spend and where.
Clear goals
Goals are important because they will define your budget. You need to figure out the quality you want for your campaign, For example, some people spend 1$ per each user that likes their page due to they pay for a particular kind of audience they know will be potential buyers. Other people just pay a smaller amount because they only want to increase their visibility.
Both ways are ok, it all the depends on the brand’s needs and how much you’re willing to pay. What you need to keep in mind is ad impressions and how you want them. Otherwise, you might see Facebook is “overcharging” when it’s you who didn’t specify. It’s a common mistake, that’s why we recommend you to study the differences of payment methods like PPC and PPI.
Review your target
Picking a target for an Instagram ad takes a lot more than knowing if your audience is mostly female and over 20. You need to have an in-depth knowledge of your users if you want to gain reliable people for your brand. So, when you scroll to the target section, see you can specify things. You can reach directors, managers, seniors, and so on. People who may like popular pages of your niche, and most importantly, you can exclude people, like those from your database, so you don’t waste any ad impression.
It’s time for expanding your knowledge about your audience by segmentation techniques. Start asking yourself: what are my user’s hobbies? What do they like to read? What music do they listen to? What kind of content do they consume? Then create better buyer personas so you can create a better ad.
Size matter
The thing about creating an Instagram ad is that it’s made through a Facebook platform. If you’re new, you might get confused about images sizes, thinking it has to respond to Facebook rules, but remember that despite it’s done on Facebook platforms, the last channel is still Instagram. Therefore, keep in mind Instagram’s indications for an optimized post, but also follow the Facebook rule of no more than 20% text.
I don’t want a Facebook ad!
So far you’ve been working on a Facebook editor, but don’t panic if you keep scrolling and don’t see Instagram logo anywhere. The fact is you won’t see it. Once you’re done and want to select the distribution channels like mobile view, desktop, and so. Disable all the options and just keep the Instagram one if that what you need.
Setting the ad is the easy part, but the previous research and clear concepts are the tough ones. So, with the last guide, you won’t be that naive the next time you approach Facebook’s editors. Don’t be afraid! Ads don’t bite and try to enjoy the process so the users can enjoy it too.
