Instagram Ads: An Easy Guide To Boost Your Brand

Want to boost your brand on Instagram? Instagram Ads are a good idea to get started. However, you need to do it in the right way and so you don’t waste your money. I asked Melina Algo, a specialist in Digital Marketing, to share an easy and digestible guide on how to start with Instagram and why you should start. Are you interested? Keep reading below…

Do you have a well defined social media account? what you offer is super attractive, but you can not reach the users or boost your business with the speed that you imagined? Social Media, especially Instagram, are excellent channels of exposure where images are vital. However, just like you, there are hundreds of brands competing for visibility and wanting to reach out to the same users. So, how can you stand out?

If you have a good budget you could hire influencers to help you generate mouth to mouth boost. But, if you are starting out and your investment is very limited, the best thing you can do is to test Instagram Ads.

These are the advantages of using ads, I will only mention a few:

• Find more people interested in your product with very little effort (According to the iLifebelt 2016 report, in DR there are 1.9 million active users)
• The investment is minimal (you can start up with $ 5.00 dollars)

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So, maybe you’re wondering how to use this tool, I’ll give you two options and I’ll show you the steps you should follow to choose the most comfortable way for you:

A) PLACE ADVERTISING BY THE ADVERTISER ADMINISTRATOR OF FACEBOOK:

First, you must have a Fan page and have a registered credit card. If you do not have Fan Page on Facebook, I recommend creating one (you can reach other types of people that are not yet on Instagram). If you prefer not to have it, then skip this option, below I will teach you how to do it directly from Instagram.

1. There are several options to reach Facebook ad manager. The easiest is to display the tab containing this ▼ symbol in the upper right corner.
2. Go to the option “Create my ads”
3. Choose one of the goals from the list and name your campaign. The ones that allow Instagram ads:

• Brand Awareness (brand recognition)
• Reach,
• Traffic
• Video Views
• Conversions

After choosing the target and click “Continue”, it will take you to the Ads Set screen. Here you are going to create your audience. You must be very meticulous with this step because this selection will depend on the effectiveness of your ads. Do not leave it empty and do not make it very generic. You can choose the interests of your target using keywords that go with your brand or business, activities, demographic data, age, language, etc. The good thing is that you can save this selection, so with your next ads you will not have to do it all over, just select “Saved Audience”. Name your “Ad Set”

Once the audience is selected, choose the budget and time you want your Instagram ads to run. PLEASE NOTE: Verify that when selecting the budget, choose “Total Amount” and not “Daily Budget” because it will cost you even more. My recommendation is to start with a week or no less than 48 hours so that you can have measurable and functional results. With US$ 5.00 to start, it is more than enough.

 

After hitting “Continue”, we will create the posts for your ad. The good thing about this is that you can create as many ads as you want within the same campaign and with the same budget. You can also use posts already published on your Fan Page.

You have several options for posts to post: Videos, Slideshow, Carrousel or Photos

The videos are very good if they have tutorials or interesting data that you want to highlight. The slideshows and carousel allow you to upload multiple images of the same theme, so you can give your users more access to what your brand is about. The most used Instagram ads are those of a single photo, this has to be attractive, vibrant and able to capture the attention instantly.

There are options according to the chosen target that allows you to put links to an external URL, if you do not have a website you can place the link of your Instagram profile.

 When you finish with the design of your posts then click on “Place order” and go.

* To monitor your ad, go to the “Manage my Instagram ads” and so you can follow up.

They seem many steps but it is very easy to do. Do not be afraid to give it a try, in the end, you can stop your ad whenever you want. In “Manage my Ads” you will see your campaign, in the column “Delivery”, will say “Active”, just click to disable and that’s it.

Advantage:

-You will also be reaching other platforms in FB, therefore, more users.

-More amount of objectives and options.

-The results are more complete.

-When you stop a campaign it is not deleted, the results can be verified whenever you want.

Disadvantages:

-More complex and complicated process.

-You must have account on Facebook

– It does not give you the option to only publish ads in Instagram (For now!)

2. DIRECT ADS FROM INSTAGRAM:

I must admit, the steps create an ad directly from Instagram are much easier. I personally like it more from the FB platform, but it is a matter of getting used to it. If you are one of those who doesn’t like things to complicate or do not have time, this is the best option.

Here are the steps:

1. You must have your account as a Bussines. If you do not have it, change it now. The first thing that as a brand, you should get used to measure your analytics and monitor everything you upload. With your Instagram Bussines account, you will be able to measure your evolution with numbers and know which posts to take advantage of.
2. Assuming you already have your account as a Bussines, go to your Feed and choose the post you want to promote. Click on the “Promote” button.

3. Just like in FB, here you have to choose the objective of your campaign. It can be “Visits to your website” or “Calls / visits to your business”. The first option lets you promote your website and the second option allows you to take users directly to your Instagram profile.
4. When choosing your Goal, continue to choose your audience. You can select the automatic option or create your own from scratch. If the objective you chose was “Visits to your Web” will allow you to define by interests, location, and sex. When you choose “Visits to your business” it only allows you to choose location and sex.

 

5. Choose the total budget and the days. In both cases, you can define what you want to invest and the days you want the ad to run.
6. Check the order. If you do not have a card added, you will be asked for one (you can use PayPal too). If all is well, click “Promote” and let the magic start!

 

Advantage:

-A simple and easy process.

-You can use the same posts you already have published (always choose those who have more likes or comments)

-You do not need to have a Facebook Fan Page

Disadvantage:

-You do not have a lot of goals.

-If you want to stop the promotion before the scheduled time, you must eliminate it. Your process is not registered on Instagram.

-The delivery process is slow and cost-per-click (CPC) is more expensive than FB.

 

At first, you may feel a bit insecure with these processes, but when you start seeing results and handle the tools, you will love it. That’s right! … The effectiveness of your Instagram ads depends on how creative you are, so give love to those photos and those texts. Please, do not share an incomplete or cold info, take the time to do it. Because you will be wasting money and damaging your brand. If you do not know how to be creative, Nathalia’s workshops are great to learn.

Hope you like it! If you have any doubts or question, ask below!

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My name is Melina and I am a lover of Digital Marketing. I specialize in content development, consulting and digital strategies for entrepreneurs. Also, I developed digital campaigns and advertising. I love the digital world so much that this year I decided, along with my brother, to start a small agency called Green Moon Studio, where we promote brands and help you achieve market positioning.

I love giving advice and ideas, so if you need to talk about your project, you can look for me in Instagram @melinaalgo and I’ll gladly give you a hand!