How to Schedule Social Media Posts Effectively
By Sandra BuschSep 14
Marketing
Published June 19th 2018
7 Top Tips to Escalate your Instagram Ads Campaign
Instagram has been a growing market for years. No other social network is growing at a faster pace than Instagram, and thus, businesses are flocking to their platform as a base for high-value, high-return advertising campaigns.
In fact, per Instagram themselves, from July to November 2017, the number of businesses using Instagram went from 15 million to 25 million.
Additionally, from March 2017 to November, the number of monthly active advertisers on Instagram more than doubled.
It’s hard to say what the true driving factor is for this astronomical growth of business usage. It could be any combination of factors, including:
- The nature of Instagram’s platform
- Extensive growth of mobile application usage
- Continuous improvements in social media
Here are seven savvy methods to escalate the breadth and returns of your Instagram ad campaigns, and harness the true power of Instagram marketing for your business.
Leverage all types of ad formats
Instagram offers a rich feature set for formatting and media options for business advertisements. From carousel ads to marquee ads to photo ads and more, the sky is the limit for Instagram marketing.
Carousel formatting is a favorite for many businesses, as it allows for multiple images to be utilized, providing a flow of information through images over the course of several swiped pictures. Users are enticed to swipe through the carousel, which greatly increases the time in which an ad is viewed as compared to a static image.
Utilize influencer outreach to provide a subtle boost
Influencers hold an incredible power over social media, acting as thought leaders for entire industries and holding an incredible amount of weight with specific niche audiences. These industry champions have a high-level grasp on their followings, and can influence buying decisions of these followers.
Therefore, they have the innate ability to assist advertising brands in forming their message to better benefit their potential customers (i.e. specific influencer’s follower base).
Target the right audience with your advertising
Instagram advertising is not rocket science. However, a brand can have the strongest campaign the marketing world has ever seen, and still fall short on ROI because they are not targeting the correct audience with their message.
Luckily, Instagram marketing is simpler than most options, as they utilize Facebook’s demographics platform to target ads based on a wide variety of factors. Make sure that you use this properly, though!
It is easy to make one small mis-click and spend a boatload of your advertising budget targeting an audience that will scroll right past the message you worked so hard to develop.
Sculpt your Instagram Ads to appear as organic content
Instagram should be nothing more than a funnel for engagement.
The main purpose should be to capture the interest of potential consumers, with the end goal being conversion into customers. It should not be completely obvious that your advertisement is an advertisement.
You are not hard selling users. Go for the soft sell, keep the content looking like a typical Instagram post, and groom your ads to how your audience perceives native posts. Much like the first day of high school, it is important to try to fit in, not stand out.
Optimize CTA copy to improve brand awareness
Call to action might be the most important piece in your Instagram marketing puzzle. You can get your ad out in front of a million pairs of eyes, but if your viewers have no clear path to your harder sell, how can they be expected to click through?
Include some form of CTA in your image, not just in your copy, which might be cut off and require an extra click to expand.
Most Instagram users are scrolling quickly, taking in the images without truly absorbing the descriptors. If your image looks too naïve, there is the possibility it will be passed over. Inclusion of call to action in the image draws user attention to your ad, making it clear what actions the user should take.
Conversely, optimize available space in descriptions
Leveraging available description space in your Instagram marketing is pivotal. Many businesses are failing to take advantage of the space that is granted in the description section of an Instagram post or ad. There are 2,000 characters that can be allocated to convey your brand’s message in stronger detail.
If a viewer has selected to “read more”, they are already in the process of converting. Why not provide them the information necessary to make an informed decision and foray out of Instagram onto your platform of choice? Additionally, through the utilization of better keyword density and maximum hashtags, discovery of your post by prospective customers is far more effective.
Take advantage of split testing
Say you are provided two billboards, located on either side of the same road. You then get an equal number of drivers passing by to read your sign. Now say you have the capacity to receive data on how many people look at your sign, and furthermore how many people read your message.
After a week, the sign that has the stronger response is mirrored onto the lower value billboard as well. Would you take this opportunity? Of course you would. So why not do the same in your Instagram advertisements with A/B split testing?
It’s time to supercharge your Instagram marketing!
Are you prepared to reach out to your audience through creative and effective Instagram marketing campaigns? Through the implementation of our seven top tips above, you can experience the following benefits that will make a difference directly in your follower count, and your bottom line revenue:
- Utilization of the proper ad format for Instagram users
- Increased value amongst target markets through influencer outreach
- Further targeting through demographic information performed properly
- The appearance of organic content in your Instagram advertising
- Full optimization of in-media call to action and lengthy descriptions
- Strong usage of hashtags to broaden visibility at no additional advertising cost
- Ad result comparisons, to ensure the most effective ads are displayed
So, what you’re waiting for? Let’s create an Instagram ad campaign that can enhance your Instagram marketing strategy to another level.
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