Instagram is fast becoming more than just a photo and multimedia sharing site. Many businesses are now taking their product marketing strategy to new heights through the use of Instagram’s advertising platform. Many businesses that have transitioned their marketing campaigns to social media have had tremendous success- enticing a huge market of social media users and bringing in big numbers in terms of conversion.
Jumping on the Instagram Ad bandwagon earlier gives brands and businesses a much-needed edge over their competitors who may not have made the shift yet. Getting onboard with Instagram’s new advertising features gives businesses a big edge over the competition. With such a massive audience to connect to and with powerful Instagram ad features to explore, there is so much that can be done on the app that businesses need to jump into right now.
With this in mind, here are four Instagram ad features that businesses need to know about.
4 Instagram Ad Features Every Marketer Need to Know About
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1. Instagram’s call to action buttons
To help businesses drive more traffic or sales, Instagram has now added a call to action buttons like ‘Buy Now’, ‘Shop Now’ and ‘Install Now’ to promoted posts and content. These call to action buttons which are highlighted and showcased on every boosted post makes it easier for people to ‘take action’ from an advertisement they are looking at and buy these products quickly, sign up for a newsletter or on a website and download different business and brand mobile apps.
These helpful little buttons placed perfectly on the post gives brands and businesses the online presence they need to reach out to their customers from a single post and drive traffic, sales or engagement. Instagram’s call to action buttons is dynamic in a way that when posts appear with these buttons on, they will be highlighted in blue to attract users to click them and thereby driving more action from users. Call to action buttons helps drive sales conversion directly from the Instagram app and leads interested users to the brand or business website which also promotes web traffic. Start-up companies and businesses looking to get more traction for their brand can make the most of Instagram’s call to action buttons to direct potential customers to where they want them to go while they may be browsing online. Similarly, for their potential customers, there are strategies to use specific hashtags to encourage and obtain more viral shares from these businesses followers.
2. Boost posts directly from mobile
Brands with an Instagram business account can now boost posts instantly through the mobile app without having to go to Facebook’s ad manager and set up ad placements. Brands can now easily create posts and upload photos on their Instagram business account and boost the post from there to push this to the top in Instagram’s feed and drive clicks as well as engagement. Boosting posts also gives businesses the option to customize the audience for a particular post or simply allow Instagram to decide to whom the post would be recommended to in terms of content relatability. Right now, all Instagram posts feature a blue ‘Promote’ button which gives businesses the option to choose their budget, call to action button, destination URL, boost duration and even if they want to install now an app or to send users to their site or be routed to a contact us page.
3. Story ads
Instagram’s story ads are set to bring full-screen advertising features which allow businesses to highlight promoted content on the feeds of other users. Story ads will be shown in full screen once clicked and will be immersive to users. Being able to use targeting in story ads also ensures the ads you make are relatable to the type of audience you want to focus on. Instagram believes that being able to showcase story ads in full-screen makes it more intimate for users which help promote marketability for different products as well. For start-up companies or businesses looking to launch a new product or service, Instagram’s story ads give them the platform to captivate their audience and promote their product or service right within the app. And with the proven success of video advertising, this should translate to valuable returns.
It is worth noting that once viewed, the story ads disappear forever. Make sure your ad stands out in the first 3 seconds by using bold typography and colors in the case of a photo and catchy music or riveting moments for video ads. Your call to action and brand information should be highly visible throughout the ad.
Already, many businesses like AirBnB have noticed a significant increase in terms of reach and engagement through their story ads as compared to other social media advertising campaigns.
4. Story insights
Additionally, the upside to story ads for businesses is that provides insight in terms of reach, impressions, user replies and exits which help companies understand what works and what doesn’t in terms of ad placement. To be able to do this, brands and companies just need to have an Instagram business account. Having insight as to what ads work with your audience makes it easier for businesses to create more relevant content that will draw more clicks and get your audience to respond to your posts. Story insights give businesses valuable information as to what their audience best responds to and what drives them away. For many companies that have the long-term goal of being able to spread their brand message to different audiences or a targeted group, Instagram’s story ads should be a valuable advertising feature that they can make the most of.
Instagram’s ad features are set to give businesses more control over how they position their ads online. Giving them more ad tools to play with will give them more room to explore what type of content they need to get out there to get the responses they are looking for from their audience. By giving them control over ad placement with the information they need to better understand user responses, Instagram is sending out a clear message to the online community that it is ready to take on the need for businesses to showcase their products and services to another equally successful multimedia sharing platform. And with Instagram’s responsive and active online community, top brands and businesses are already taking the lead in making the most of these features to get their products noticed as well as captivate their target audience before competitors even see what’s coming.
