Advertising on Instagram

Advertising on Instagram is similar to advertising on Facebook. There are two options — Boost and Ads Manager.

Boost

Exhibit 22.7   Boost post.

Marketers can boost their content by tapping the ‘Boost’ button on the bottom right of their post (Exhibit 22.7). As shown in Exhibit 22.8, this is 4-step process — set goal, define audience, set budget and duration based on how many people they want to reach on Instagram and Facebook, and review. It allows marketers to expand the audience beyond the content’s organic reach.

Once any content is boosted, marketers can track performance in Instagram Insights, so that they can learn what works and improve their boost campaigns.

Exhibit 22.8   Steps in Boosting a post — set goal, define audience, set budget and duration, and review.

Instagram Ads

Advertising options offer more advanced features than what boosting can offer. Marketers can use Instagram’s advertising platform to more precisely target their desired audience based on factors like demographics, interests, behaviours, and more. In addition, the algorithms that channel advertisements can optimize spend based on the selected campaign objectives, such as increasing website clicks or app installs, improving brand awareness, or driving sales. This means that marketers can achieve better results and higher ROI with Instagram advertising compared to simply boosting posts.

Exhibit 22.9   Instagram ads.

Instagram ads, Exhibit 22.9, appear in users’ Instagram Feeds and Stories. They can also appear in the Explore placement where people can discover accounts they do not already follow. When a user taps on a photo or video in Explore, they may see ads during their browsing experience, similar to Instagram Feed.

Instagram ads can also appear in user’s Instagram Shop browsing experience.

All Instagram ads have a ‘Sponsored’ icon and may contain a call-to-action button below the image. The ad’s caption also appears below the image.

The ad’s appearance depends on the selected format (image, video, carousel or collection), and whether the ad is seen in Instagram Stories or on Feed.

On Reels, advertisers can only use a full screen images or videos in their ads. Full screen assets are also recommended in Stories.

On Instagram Shop ads must be in the single-image, carousel or collection format.

Instagram supports a wide range of call-to-action button, some of which are listed here:

• Learn more – Link to website for details.
• Shop Now – Link the button to ecommerce website to drive sales.
• Book Now – Ideal for courses, restaurants, hotels, clinics etc. to book appointments.
• Sign Up – To build a database of subscribers.
• Contact Us – Share contact details by linking this button to website’s contact page.
• Use App – Drive users to download mobile app.
• Play Game – To get users to play the game online or experience a demo.
• Watch Video – To drive eyeballs to a video.
• Listen Now – Link to audio.