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Instagram recently released advertising options to its visuals-heavy platform, and already we’re knee-deep in testing its marketing effectiveness for our clients. Adding to our social media suite of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads on Instagram have some interesting results when stacked against other PPC options.
Here’s what Advertising for Instagram means for you – and your customers.
Instagram Campaign Goals
Instagram is owned by Facebook, so you can access Instagram advertising through the same Facebook Power Editor interface. If you don’t know how to navigate this, you can contact us and we’ll be happy to help. There are currently only 3 eligible campaign goals for Instagram ads, which are the following:
- Clicks to Website
- Mobile App Installs
- Video Views
These 3 options limit the flexibility of options for Instagram Ads, but are more than enough to work with. For a typical CPG/Retail business, your campaign goal will likely be either Clicks to Website or Video Views. Since Instagram uses the same advertising platform as Facebook, you can even import your saved ad set audiences and Facebook conversion tracking pixel! (If you don’t know what this means, you should probably review our articles on remarketing and conversion)
A clicks-to-website campaign acts very similarly to PPC mediums that you’re used to-such as Google AdWords. The difference here, obviously, is that your ads will be shown in the form of images instead of short, 25-character text boxes. We used our Instagram ad campaigns for 2 major goals: spread awareness about retail sales, and drive clicks to the online site. On a per-dollar basis, we found that our ads resulted in a cost-per-click as low as $0.17. This means that for every dollar spent, nearly 6 people clicked the link on our ads!
Instagram Ad Effectiveness
So here’s the million-dollar question: is an Instagram advertising worth running? Although it depends on your business strategy and goals, our experience with Instagram ads have been very positive. Not only is the cost-per-click as low as (if not lower) a comparable AdWords campaign, but the ability to reach your customers in a meaningful way is too good to pass up. Instagram is a beautiful platform, and your ads have to be just as beautiful to match.
Advertising doesn't have to be intrusive. In fact, the best ads don't feel like one. Click To TweetThe cool thing about Instagram ads is that, if they’re executed effectively, they’re not intrusive at all! Apart from the small “sponsored” text in the upper-right hand corner and a link to your site, an Instagram ad is indistinguishable from an actual post. Users can Like, Comment and Share your ads just like any other post. By hosting an Instagram ad, think of it as sharing your Instagram content to your customers – even if they’re not followers.
In branding and advertising, there is an art in learning how to “sell without selling” and Instagram provides an easy way to do just that. By posting beautiful pictures onto the platform, customers choose whether or not they want to respond to your product by clicking the link. In a way, this shows the effectiveness of your product in building a branding relationship with your customers.
Closing Thoughts on Instagram
In our previous post, we talked about the need for innovative marketing to keep your business sharp and on point, aligned with customer needs. Using Instagram for social media marketing may be just the thing you need to build a rapport with your future fans in a meaningful way. So, if you’re interested in kick starting your social media marketing campaign, contact our marketing agency in downtown Vancouver and we’ll help your business #ThinkFresh. Give us a call! We always have chocolate.