8 benefits of advertising on Instagram

There was a time when business owners relied solely on referral marketing.

The “word of mouth” strategy was perfect for businesses operating in small communities, where each customer could spread the word and attract other customers from the same town or city.

Things changed in the twentieth century when radio and television gave people access to more information. However, it was the Internet that brought about one of the most significant and drastic changes in marketing, business and lifestyle. It changed the way we communicate and of course the way we market and advertise our products and businesses.

Now there are no boundaries in marketing and advertising. The internet makes it easier for everyone. Choose the right platform and way to communicate with your audience and success is just around the corner. Let’s talk about the latest trends in social media advertising and one of the best platforms to get your message across:

Go for success and go visual!

Facebook and YouTube, both leading multimedia channels and social communities, are largely visual.

In many ways, this is the main reason why they are so successful.

[clickToTweet tweet=”People react better to images and videos than texts and slogans.” quote=”People react better to images and videos than texts and slogans.”]

People want to see, hear and learn more, but their time is limited. The problem is that classic social media platforms are time-consuming.

You need to deliver your message quickly and concisely to attract fans or customers. And not all social media platforms promote this type of communication.

Is there a platform that is visual, popular, easily accessible and can deliver instant messages? Yes, it is, and we are talking about Instagram and one of the many benefits of Instagram.

Why advertise on Instagram?

With over 1 billion active users, Instagram is a leading social media platform. Not convinced by this number? Well, a while ago Instagram announced the milestone of 700 million users. A growth of almost 30+% in a short time tells us more about the popularity and future potential of this platform than anything else.

In simple words it has become a huge and diverse online community of unlimited marketing potential.

Of course, Facebook has more active users than Instagram. However, shear rates may not be the first thing to consider when advertising a small business. If you want to successfully promote your small business, you must first look at the relevant data. The statistics are more than just simple numbers calculated to attract more users.

According to Forrester, Instagram is the king of social media with a 4.21% engagement rate.

This is a huge number considering Facebook and Twitter together barely reach a 0.10 engagement rate. “Instagram delivered 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more engagement per follower than Twitter” Forrester Ads.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Instagram is the king of social media with 4,21% engagement rate.” quote=”Instagram is the king of social media with 4,21% engagement rate.”]

What are the 8 benefits of advertising on Instagram?

These are the real benefits of advertising on Instagram.

1. There are more than one 700 million users on Instagram and the community is still growing.
2. Instagram and Facebook are connected. So it is easier to target your audience based on Facebook data. All budgeting and planning tasks, setting up and creating ads are done through Facebook. So you don’t have to start from scratch and learn Instagram if you’ve already used its sister platform for marketing and advertising.
3. Instagram ads are not pushy and you’re less likely to annoy your target audience.
4. TThe engagement rate on Instagram is higher than the engagement rate on any other social media platform.
5. That’s easy Integrate Shopify and sell your products immediately.
6. Instagram measures the success of your campaign based on awarenessreach and remember instead of the number of followers, likes or comments.
7. Most people use their smartphones to read their news, socialize on Facebook or post their own stories and update social media timelines. Most smartphones come with advanced cameras that can take photos that can be immediately posted to Instagram. Anyone can be an amateur photographer. Instagram is the best channel for this type of media, which is why most mobile users have Instagram accounts.
8. In terms of ROI and costs, Instagram marketing produces the best results. It is effective and less time consuming than other online marketing channels.

There are several options when launching an Instagram campaign. But you need to know exactly what you want and what your goal is from the start.

Learn as much as you can about Instagram and Instagram advertising by reading everything you can find online about the subject.

You need to choose which type of campaign best suits your business.

In short, there are two advertising methods on Instagram: the free and of course the paid advertising function.

1. Free marketing

I’m sure most people reading this article have already tested and used Instagram. If you already have a personal account, you’ll need to set up a new account for your small business.

If you sell products, you can do that Integrate Instagram, Facebook and Shopify and sell directly to your followers. Post relevant images and videos and build your brand online, attracting more customers and followers.

Please note that these images should be purposeful, attractive and of high quality at the same time. If you are not an experienced photographer, hire one who can provide the best images to be successful. You should also pay attention to the best time to post on Instagram for maximum engagement.

Although it can also be considered paid marketing, don’t forget to get in touch with the best Instagram influencers for collaborations, as well as an additional option here.

2. Paid marketing

The most profitable method of advertising on Instagram is of course the paid one. If you’ve advertised your business on Facebook before, you already know how to advertise on Instagram.

These are the types of ads you can post on Instagram and of course how you can benefit from them.

Select an editor, such as “Ads Manager”, “Power Editor” or “Facebook API”, choose your objective, choose your target group and your budget.

4 Main Types of Instagram Ads

There are three main types of Instagram ads to choose from when starting an online campaign:

1. Instagram photo ads

You can tell a story or promote your products online with visually appealing images. Market your small business or brand to a broad audience or target only local customers from your geographic area or hometown.

2. Instagram video ads

Create video ads of up to 60 seconds and deliver them to your target audience. Time is very limited these days and I would recommend shorter videos. They receive maximum attention and the expected response from your potential and existing customers.

While photo ads are the best choice when dealing with Instagram, videos can be effective if they are short and have the potential to go viral.

3. Instagram carousel ads

These types of ads get Instagram users to swipe to see additional images and calls to action on your official website to learn more about your products or services. In many ways, a carousel advertising campaign is similar to a content marketing campaign in that it delivers valuable information to users.

The main goal is to get your potential customers to visit your website once you have captured their attention.

4. Instagram Stories Ads

Instagram Stories ads are the new kid in town. With over 250 million daily users, this is a great way to increase your brand awareness. Just like Smartketer has done here case study.

I will conclude with a slide presentation of Social bakers about why Instagram is important for every small business owner in 2017.

Let me know in the comments which of these marketing strategies you will use to help your small business get more results.