Instagram is one of the most popular social media sites available right now, with about 854.5 million users on the platform. Having many regular users on board, Instagram serves not just as an excellent place to share media with friends and family, but as a robust platform for advertising or marketing products and services. The average user spends about 53 minutes on the website, giving enough time for brands to get exposed. Using Instagram as an advertising platform has a learning curve though, and according to sites like Sprout Social, it’s critical for any company to have an excellent plan to attract customers.
To this end, it’s important to know what the most effective types of Instagram ads are, and what about them attracts customers regularly. It’s great that social media agency Seattle specialists are here to help out brands that want to maximize their advertisements on this massive platform, and achieve the perfect mix of strategic marketing and eye-catching publicity materials to improve their marketing game.
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Why Is Instagram Advertising A Big Deal?
Before diving into the what, it’s important to understand why Instagram ads are as big as they are. One huge advantage that Instagram has over other social media platforms is that it’s a highly visual site. Photos and videos make up the bulk of Instagram’s content, which means businesses can easily showcase the products or services they are offering. That means the platform itself provides a great opportunity to grab and maintain a potential buyer’s attention, especially if brands put up stylish, eye-catching, or interesting content to advertise. It’s also a convenient place for buyers to shop for products, through the use of the built-in Instagram Shopping platform, where users can go straight to a business’s webpage to buy anything they like, without having to completely leave the Instagram app.
With these key features forming the backbone of Instagram’s advertising landscape, it makes sense for any business to set up their shop here. It’s helpful for both buyers and sellers, because the process of checking out products is streamlined and easy, and the only thing that’s left is to rope in potential new customers.
The Best Instagram Ads For Businesses
There are many ways for businesses to advertise their products and services on Instagram, and much of it involves being familiar with the features of the social media site itself. Knowing what any user can do on the site is the first step to putting out successful ads. What kinds of content or ads can a business post on the site?
1. Photo ads
The basic, easiest, and perhaps most popular way to advertise a product on Instagram is through photo ads. A great photo ad is made up of three parts: a selection of attractive pictures that showcase the best aspects or parts of a product, to hook a user’s attention; a well-written caption that gives out more information and effectively informs a user what the product is about, and; appropriate and helpful hashtags to help users out when they want to search for that particular item. Photo ads are simple and easy to put up, so even newer businesses that are not familiar with advertising on Instagram can jump right into it and promote their products through pictures.
2. Video ads
If businesses prefer to tell stories or show more dynamic views or features of their products, then video ads can be more effective than photo ads. If a business’s target audience or customer leans more towards the video-watching side, then they could put up about a minute or a half’s worth of video on Instagram, showing off their product. Videos can also tell a story much more effectively than photos, so if the product or service needs more than just a photo-and-caption combo to truly communicate what it is about, then the video ad is the best choice. Whether a brand opts for a touching story to sell their product, or wants to take a more humorous approach, video ads on Instagram can effectively tell – and sell – these stories to any potential customer.
3. Story ads
If the marketing strategy involves the use of both photo and video, presented in a linear manner, then story ads are a great way to talk about products. Story ads are no slouch, either, according to Statista, around 500 million users view Instagram stories daily. That means story ads – and well-made story ads like those created by a great social media agency – can easily be viewed by millions of users. A single Instagram story can last for a few seconds before being replaced by the next story in line, which means there’s a limited window of engagement for users. However, as the name implies, story ads can be a wonderful way to tell stories about products or services. Digital Agency Network highlights some great examples of effective story ads, including a Netflix highlight reel and a Walmart poll. Story ads might be a bit more intimidating than the usual photo or video post on Instagram, but they can also be powerful tools to get new customers interested.
4. Sponsored ads
Finally, companies can opt to run sponsored ads. They can pay to have their ads show up on the Instagram feed of their audience of choice, guaranteeing visibility. They can then link ads to their own sites for users to explore, if they’re interested in the products for sale. Sponsored ads are especially useful when it comes to running events like promos and contests, since they can easily reach the intended audience and make it easy for anyone to sign up and join. Whether they’re for promotions or just for regular products and services, though, sponsored ads can be extremely helpful for companies who want to make sure their ads are being shown to the right people.
The Importance Of A Social Media Agency In Crafting Creative Ads
Instagram offers a wide range of options for any business to run their ads and showcase their products, and it’s just a matter of choosing which method fits the brand best. Of course, creativity is key, and knowing the types of effective ads is just one step. Crafting powerful ads that hook and retain the interest of users can easily translate to sales, whether it’s through photos, videos, or stories. That’s why it’s important to have social media agency Seattle experts around, to help create meaningful ads on immensely popular platforms like Instagram. Any company that wants to up its advertising game will definitely benefit from in-depth knowledge of the platform and an expert’s touch when it comes to making worthwhile ads.