A Beginner’s Guide to Advertising on Instagram: Essential Tips and Tricks

Learning how to advertise on Instagram is simpler than you might think. Instagram Ads are a straightforward and effective method to boost your online presence and attract potential customers. These ads allow you to target specific demographics that are likely to be interested in your business. If you’re new to social media advertising, don’t worry; here’s a guide to help you get started.

First, if you haven’t done so already, create a business profile. This is easy and free. Open your Instagram app, go to your profile, click “Edit Profile,” and scroll down to “Try Instagram Business Tools.” Fill in the necessary information like business hours, email, physical address, and phone number. This will convert your regular profile into a business profile.

Business profiles offer more features than regular accounts. They provide metrics on post performance, follower insights, and targeted promotional options. If you want to grow your brand and reach more people, you need to understand these tools and make the most of Instagram advertising.

Instagram advertising offers precise targeting options to reach your ideal audience. You can target users based on their location, age, gender, language, interests, and behaviors. Before diving into Ads Manager, consider using Instagram growth services. These services can help attract followers by engaging with users in your niche, which is crucial for small business owners.

Another way to attract followers is by using an effective hashtag strategy. Think about what hashtags people might use when searching for your product or service. Avoid hashtags with millions of previous uses, as your posts might get lost. Instead, focus on relevant and specific hashtags, especially those used by your competitors and followers.

Using hashtags effectively can increase engagement rates by getting your content in front of the right people. This is important for getting your small business noticed before you start a paid ad strategy.

Now, let’s discuss how to create Instagram ads. These ads can strategically target specific groups of people more effectively than manual methods. You can create ads directly on Instagram or through Facebook Ads Manager. The Ads Manager is a great place to start.

Open Ads Manager and select Instagram as the placement for your Ads. You can also choose to run the same ad on Facebook. In Ads Manager, select ‘Create’ and choose an objective that supports Instagram as an ad placement. Click “Continue” and fill in the details for your ad set, then select “Instagram” in the “Placements” section.

If you opted for “Automatic placements,” the ad will run on various Facebook placements. Ensure you have linked the correct Instagram account to your Facebook Business account to avoid running an ad on the wrong account. After selecting Instagram as the placement, add details like identity, format, and related links. Preview your ad before submitting it for review. Once approved, you can view your ad on Instagram.

Facebook Ads Manager allows you to target specific locations, demographics, and interests. You can create lookalike or custom audiences to reach more people, depending on your budget. For instance, if you run a fitness business in San Diego, you’d target San Diego county, the relevant age group, and interests like fitness and gyms. You can also create a lookalike audience to reach people similar to those in your original target group. Finding the right audience may take some experimentation.

We’ve covered the basics of creating an ad, but how do you decide which type of advertisement is best for your campaign and business? Here are some different forms of advertisements and why you might choose each type.