Blogger's Note: The following blog on Instagram Advertising was curated with information from HubSpot Blog, Social Media Examiner, and Neil Patel. It is intended to educate aspiring Social Media Marketers on the basics of Instagram Advertising.
If you’re reading this blog post, you’re probably new to advertising on Instagram and were searching for a simple tutorial on how the process works. Well, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve broken it down into 3 simple steps.
Advertising options, including the difference between ads and boosted posts
Optimizing an effective and appropriate landing page.
Tracking traffic and conversions to optimize for success.
Now let’s get started. Your journey to Instagram Marketing success begins here.
Instagram Advertising Options
First, let’s define the differences between boosting posts and ad creation. Boosted posts allow content you’ve already posted to be promoted to reach a wider audience beyond your established followers. Promoted or boosted posts can include your previously published posts, stories, or highlights. Essentially you are giving a second life to your best-performing organic content. It is essential you only consider boosting your best-performing organic content. If an organic post has already performed well without being promoted, this is a good indicator it will do well with a brand-new audience. You wouldn’t want to invest in a post without much potential to perform.
Ads, on the other hand, are created from scratch from the Meta Ads Manager. Your options for creating ads include photos, carousels, videos, Instagram shopping, collection, reels, stories, and explore. Quite an expansive list, I know. For an in-depth reading on these different ad types, be sure to read Instagram Advertising: Guide to High Performing Instagram Ads. Also, note ads can be scheduled while boosted posts are not. Whether you choose to boost a post or create an ad, both options require essential elements such as a good copy and call-to-action (CTA) to entice users toward your offer. Both options also require a goal in mind before promoting, which will determine your CTA. For example, the “Learn More” CTA would be appropriate for an ad and landing page to educate potential customers about your offerings. The “Shop Now” CTA would be more appropriate for an ad and landing page selling a specific product. Both options also require you to target an audience, establish a budget, and determine a duration for your promotion or campaign. You can automate an audience similar to the interests of your followers or target new audiences based on factors such as location, demographics, behaviors, and interests. On boosted posts, you will establish a daily budget, while with ad campaigns, you bid based on your goals, such as CPM for impressions or CPC for traffic. Ultimately, you select the duration of your ad promotion. Quick Overview of Boosted Posts vs Ads
Boosted Posts | Ads |
Promoted Organic Post | Created from Scratch on Meta Ads Manager |
Limited Audience Targeting | Advanced Targeting Feature with A/B testing |
Establish Daily Budget | More Complex Bidding & Budgeting |
No scheduling & duration of boosts are from 1 day to 1 month | Scheduling & more complex campaign option features |
Create An Appropriate and Effective Landing Page
Hopefully, you've settled on boosting a post or creating an ad with an engaging CTA. Once the potential customer clicks on your ad, they will be directed to your landing page. Your landing page should be consistent with the message of your ad or boosted post. For example, if you have a “Shop Now” CTA, the landing page should direct me to a webpage where I can purchase your product. As another example, if your CTA was “Sign Up”, I should be directed to a landing page where I can input my email to sign up for your newsletter. Consistency in imagery and message between your Instagram ad and landing page is key. Blogger Ann Smarty suggests your landing page pass the 5-second test, it’s a usability method to understand what users see and experience on your landing page. Examples of 5-second test questions include “ What did you want to click first?” and “What is the purpose of the Page?”. A tool such as Lyssna offers basic 5-second testing free of charge; just sign up for an account. Once enrolled, simply upload a screenshot of your landing page and type the 5-second question you want the test to run. Lastly, you must optimize your landing page for mobile. Instagram is a mobile-first experience, so it only makes sense to ensure. Here are some tips from Blogger Martina Bretous on optimizing landing pages for mobile.
Have a single-column layout- Keeps pages easier to scan.
Avoid too many images and videos- Helps speed up loading speeds.
Keep your copy short- Paragraphs can be overwhelming on mobile.
A tool such as Finteza can help you analyze your landing page’s performance, allowing you to view how long it takes content from your page to load on a mobile page when accessed in the United States. Finteza offers a free one-month trial, but is $25 monthly after. PLEASE NOTE, external links are opened on Instagram’s mobile browser, so you should open your landing page from the Instagram app to make sure your landing page appears correctly on the app.
To recap on landing pages.
Your landing page and ad should match in messaging and imagery. Consistency is key!
Ensure your landing page’s message is clear and can pass the 5 second test.
The landing page must be optimized for the mobile experience.
Tracking Traffic and Conversions: Measuring Success
Now that we’ve created our best ads and landing pages, it’s time to measure and optimize for success. The success of your ads is dependent on your goals. For example, if your ad’s CTA was “Learn More,” your goal was most likely to generate traffic. As another example, if your ad’s CTA was “Shop Now”, “Book Now” or “Sign Up”, you’d be tracking conversions.
Your Meta Business Suite offers insights that allow you to view how content is performing and how audiences are engaging with your content. It’s a continuous process of optimizing and tuning content for performance. A/B testing will allow you to compare two designs for an ad to determine which performs best. For an in-depth analysis on Meta Insights be sure to read my colleague Alyssa’s blog 3 Tips to Improve Your Business Instagram Account next. Google Analytics is another tool that can help you track your social media traffic, engagements, and conversions.
Conclusion
Though it may seem like a lot, Instagram advertising can be simplified into 3 essential steps and parts.
Create an ad or boost a post with enticing content, direct copy, and appropriate CTA for your goal.
Produce a landing page appropriate for your ad. Remember to be consistent in the imagery and messaging of your ad. Optimize for the mobile experience.
Analyze and track performance. Optimize and tune your content with A/B testing to ensure you are working towards better and better performance.
I’ll leave it up to you now to start your Instagram Advertising journey. Be sure to comment down below on what you learned and how you applied it to your business and campaigns.
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