Instagram ranks among the largest social media platforms today. Owned by Facebook, Instagram enables businesses to execute marketing campaigns and run ads.
With over 1 billion active users, Instagram is the second most engaged platform after Facebook. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the people on the platform, about 71% to be precise, are young adults below the age of 35.
This blog by RecurPost, a social media scheduler, provides insights into Instagram ads and how they help brands expand their reach.
What are Instagram Ads?
Scheduling instagram posts is the method through which businesses have their sponsored content appear in the feeds or stories of other people on the platform.
Instagram sponsored posts or content is labeled with a “Sponsored” tag and can include a call-to-action button linked to a certain page or website or even an Instagram profile.
If you want to create ads on Instagram, you can choose from various formats, including images, videos, carousels, and story ads.
This can be done for multiple objectives:
- Influencers run ads to invite people to their profile and gain ig followers and increase engagement (likes/views).
- Businesses advertise an Instagram post with a link to their website or product page with the aim of gaining new customers.
- Artists, writers, designers, etc. run ads (usually via Instagram stories) to inform people that they are available for hire showing demos of their work.
- Content creators run ads to show people their work and receive potential recurring viewers and subscribers.
About 200+ million Instagrammers visit at least one business profile daily, and 60% find new products through Instagram’s sponsored content.
About 90% of all Instagram users follow a business account.
That is great news for a business like you if you are looking forward to gathering a new audience and increase your sales.
The audience you target determines whether Instagram serves as the appropriate platform to market your offerings.
Instagram Ads – Judging by the Demographics
Determining if Instagram advertising suits your business depends on your target audience, offerings, and content creation capabilities.
Instagram’s demographics show the platform attracts younger users rather than older demographics, affecting which brands benefit most from advertising here.
Statistically speaking, of all people on Instagram,
- 55% fall under the age range of 18-29
- 28% fall under the age range of 30-49
- 11% fall under the age range of 50-64
- Just 4% are above 65 years of age
These demographics indicate Instagram’s predominantly young adult audience, requiring content tailored to capture attention and drive engagement with this demographic.
Visual, colorful, and targeted content receives the most attention on Instagram, requiring adaptation of your social media marketing strategy.
Brands targeting older demographics can still benefit from Instagram as user demographics expand, creating more opportunities across all age groups.
Current young adult users will age while remaining on the platform, gradually increasing the adult demographic percentage on Instagram.
User interests evolve as they age, giving brands who establish presence early an advantage in these shifting demographics.
Read More: How to Download or Save Instagram Videos Quickly in Simple Ways?
How Ads Work on Instagram?
Instagram ads operate through Meta’s advertising system, enabling businesses to reach specific audiences while following Instagram ads guidelines. Here’s how they work:
- Ad Targeting: Advertisers define their audience based on location, age, interests, behaviors, and past interactions. Instagram also uses AI to optimize delivery.
- Ad Formats: Businesses run ad for Instagram in different formats, including Feed, Stories, Reels, Explore, and Shopping. Popular options include single-image ads, videos, carousels, and Instagram product ads.
- Bidding & Budgeting: Advertisers set a daily or lifetime budget. Instagram uses an auction system where ads compete based on bid amount, relevance, and engagement potential.
- Performance Tracking: Meta Ads Manager provides insights into impressions, clicks, conversions, and engagement rates, helping businesses adjust strategies. This can help businesses to refine their Instagram campaign.
- Call-to-Action (CTA): Ads include CTAs like “Shop Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Learn More” to encourage user action.
Instagram Ad Costs and Pricing
Understanding Instagram advertising costs helps maximize your marketing budget. Instagram advertising costs vary based on several factors:
- Average Cost Range: Instagram ads typically cost between $0.50-$1.00 per click and $5-$7 per 1,000 impressions, though this fluctuates based on competition and targeting.
- Bidding Models: Instagram offers cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-impression (CPM), and cost-per-action (CPA) pricing models.
- Factors Affecting Cost: Your ad costs depend on your target audience, industry competition, ad placement, time of year, and ad quality score.
- Minimum Budget: You can start advertising on Instagram with as little as $1 per day for ad sets charged for impressions, though $5-$10 daily budgets often deliver better results.
- Seasonal Variations: Ad costs typically increase during holiday seasons and major shopping events when competition for ad space increases.
Instagram ads deliver strong ROI with higher engagement rates than many social networks. Start with a test budget to measure performance before scaling your Instagram campaign.
Instagram Ad Guidelines and Policies
Instagram has specific advertising guidelines for ads to meet platform standards and provide positive user experiences. These Instagram ads guidelines prevent ad rejections and account restrictions:
- Content Restrictions: Instagram prohibits ads containing adult content, excessive profanity, controversial political content, misleading claims, and content promoting illegal products or services.
- Image Requirements: Ad images should contain minimal text (less than 20% of the image), meet resolution standards (1080 x 1080 pixels recommended for feed posts), and avoid copyright infringement.
- Video Specifications: Videos should be 1-120 seconds long (depending on placement), with proper aspect ratios (1:1 for feed, 9:16 for stories), and file sizes under 4GB.
- Text Limitations: Ad headlines are limited to 40 characters, primary text to 125 characters, and descriptions to 30 characters for optimal display.
- Landing Page Requirements: Destination pages must function properly, match ad content, load quickly, and comply with Meta’s landing page policies.
- Prohibited Industries: Some industries face additional restrictions or are prohibited from advertising, including gambling, alcohol (in some regions), pharmaceuticals, and cryptocurrency.
Best Ways to Run Instagram Ads
Three methods exist for running Instagram ads:
1. Create Ads Directly on Instagram
Instagram allows you to promote your feed posts and stories directly from the interface itself. This method works well for beginners posting Instagram ads quickly.
Step-by-step process to post an ad on Instagram:
- Switch to a Professional Account: Go to your Settings > Account > Switch to Business/Personal Account. A professional account (business or creator) is required for advertising.
- Connect to Facebook: Link your Instagram account to a Facebook Page (required in most regions).
- Select the Post to Promote: Go to your profile and select the post you want to advertise.
- Tap “Promote”: Look for the blue “Promote” button below your post.
- Set Your Destination: Choose where to send people who tap on your ad (your profile, website, or direct messages).
- Define Your Audience: Select automatic targeting based on Instagram’s algorithm or create a custom audience based on interests, age, location, etc.
- Set Budget and Duration: Choose how much to spend daily and how long your Instagram sponsored post will run.
- Review and Publish: Check all details of your Instagram ad and tap “Create Promotion” to submit it for review.
Your ad will typically be reviewed within 24 hours before going live. This method works well for simple promotions, though Ads Manager offers more advanced options for complex campaigns.
2. Create Ads from your Facebook Page
Instagram’s ownership by Facebook makes working with both platforms simultaneously easier.
Linking your Instagram account to your Facebook Page allows ads created on Facebook to appear on both platforms simultaneously.
This way, you’ll be saving time and resources to advertise on both platforms.
3. Create Ads in Ads Manager
Facebook marketers are likely familiar with Ads Manager.
It’s a professional Facebook tool with numerous advanced features for ad creation.
Ads Manager creates more research-based, target-specific, and objective-oriented ads. It allows deeper ad customization.
You can select your marketing objective and campaign goals. To create ads via Ads Manager, it is required that you connect your Instagram profile to your Facebook Page.
Ads Manager’s comprehensive features warrant their own section.
Creating Instagram Sponsored Posts
Instagram sponsored posts appear in users’ feeds with a “Sponsored” label and often include call-to-action buttons. These posts blend naturally with organic content while reaching beyond your existing followers.
How to make a sponsored post on Instagram:
- Choose the Right Content: Select high-performing organic posts that already resonate with your audience. Posts with strong engagement often perform better as sponsored content.
- Select Appropriate Format: Single image posts work well for simple messages, while carousel posts allow you to tell a story or showcase multiple products. Video sponsored posts typically generate higher engagement rates.
- Write Compelling Captions: Keep captions concise and include a clear call-to-action. Questions and direct instructions (like “Swipe up” or “Tap to shop”) often increase engagement.
- Add Relevant Hashtags: Include 3-5 targeted hashtags to extend reach, even in sponsored content.
- Select Effective CTAs: Choose from Instagram’s pre-set CTA buttons like “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” or “Sign Up” based on your campaign goals.
- Target Precisely: Narrow your audience based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and even create lookalike audiences based on your existing customers.
How to Create Instagram Ads with Ads Manager in 3 Steps
Ads Manager lets you establish priorities and targets through a structured procedure.
Here’s how it works.
Step 1: Set your marketing objective
Brand awareness:
This shows ads to people most likely to pay attention and interact. This objective increases brand awareness, potential followers, and sales.
Reach:
This objective shows your ads to maximum people for highest reach.
Traffic:
This objective directs people to specific locations like app pages, websites, or YouTube channels. This can help you get more downloads, and subscribers, or simply have people look and buy something from your website. For strategies on turning this traffic into income, explore ways to become an Instagram influencer.
Engagement:
Setting engagement as your objective increases likes, views, shares, and comments—key for getting more Instagram views.
Content-creating businesses rely on engagement numbers for profits.
App Installs:
New on Google Play Store or Apple App Store? This objective suits you. This objective directs people to your app page for downloads.
Video Views:
Pretty self-explanatory. If you’re looking forward to increasing your video ad views, this is indeed a perfect fit for you.
Lead Generation:
Lead Generation is essentially a way through which you attract people and stimulate them into giving you their contact details.
The contact details of your potential customers are highly important to you as a business because it allows you to send them all sorts of marketing proposals. For instance, via Email Marketing.
Messages:
This objective invites people to converse with you through Facebook Messenger. This enables direct problem-solving and building customer relationships that foster loyalty.
Conversions:
This objective drives valuable actions on your app or website. Say, buying a product from your website by giving you their details for the same.
You can then track these conversions using the Facebook pixel or app events.
Catalogue Sales:
Ads created for this objective will have the products in your catalog displayed to people who might want to buy them.
Store Traffic:
This objective drives foot traffic to offline stores to increase local sales. This requires adding your business’s physical store address.
Step 2: Setting up the ad set
Ad sets allow customization across multiple elements. After selecting your Facebook Page, target your ads based on:
- age
- gender
- location
- interests and behaviors
- languages they speak
Next, decide where your ads will appear. Here you’ll select your Instagram account for ad display.
In the Placements section, click on ‘Manual Placements‘ and then make sure to select Instagram as one of the platforms where you want to advertise.
Next, set your budget and other financial parameters.
Next, connect your Instagram account.
Step 3: Giving your ad an Identity
In the Identity section, click on ‘add an Instagram account‘ and log in to your account on the following pop-up window.
The setup is nearly complete.
Next, select your ad display format. Choose your format and media files.
Finally, enter payment information to complete your ad setup.
This completes the Instagram ad creation process using Ads Manager.
Need more guidance on Instagram Ads or Captions? We have created many other self-help guides to help you with the same. Click here.
Read “The Complete Guide on how to use instagram for business” to learn more & Keep an eye out for your favorite Instagram filters that you can use to improve your profile and advance your company with lots of originality and creativity. To make the most out of Instagram and effectively manage your campaigns, consider utilizing tools like RecurPost’s Instagram scheduler to streamline your social media efforts.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do you get a sponsored ad on Instagram?
You can create a sponsored ad through Instagram’s Ads Manager by selecting your goal, audience, budget, and format. Alternatively, you can promote an existing post directly from your Instagram account.
2. How to find a sponsored ad on Instagram?
Sponsored ads appear in your feed and Stories with a “Sponsored” label. You can also check your Ad Preferences in Instagram’s settings to see which ads are targeted to you.
3. How to promote your Instagram account?
Use Instagram ads, engage with your audience through stories and reels, collaborate with influencers, post consistently, and use relevant hashtags to increase your reach.
4. What is the best way to advertise on Instagram?
The best approach depends on your goals, but video ads, carousel ads, influencer collaborations, and retargeting campaigns tend to be highly effective.
Shalini Nagar is an experienced content writer with a proven track record of creating diverse and engaging content across various formats. With years of expertise in crafting blogs, articles, she excels at delivering compelling narratives tailored to different audiences.