First launching in 2015, Instagram Ads became a widely used advertising tool by businesses wanting to expand their reach and increase conversions from new and existing customers.
Instagram has become a huge stepping stone for consumers in the marketing funnel, like all social media it’s used as a research tool to look at brands, enabling owners and marketers to build authenticity and scale when strategizing correctly.
The video and image sharing platform, Instagram, was launched in 2010, shortly after its demonstrated growth Facebook decided to purchase the mobile app, developing it into the platform we know and love today.
Known as a consistent stream of content, both individuals and brands are creating visuals to capture the eyes of viewers when browsing. Now since Instagram is a hugely visual platform, that makes the creative of your ad to be the most vital part when deciding to advertise, otherwise you’re just wasting budget, and missing out on those key results.
As time has passed, Instagram Ads have developed and adapted to different placements, starting off as just simple feed images and videos, has now expanded to Stories, Marketplace, Explore etc.
The cost of your Instagram Ads costs are determined by the platform's auction system. This is where Instagram determines which ad will create the most value for users, which is determined by the following three factors:
1.) The advertisers bid amount.
2.) How likely a user is to complete the advertisers specified action that is optimised for (e.g. click through to the website, or make a purchase).
3.) How likely a user will be interested in the ad, known as the ad quality and relevance.
So what can you take away from that?
Bid competitively, target your ads to the relevant audience and make sure the ad is creative & compelling.
We understand you might want an exact number on how much it will cost you to advertise on the platform, but unfortunately there is not a one size fits all amount. Compared to Facebook Ads, usually the cost-per-click (CPC) is a little higher but can easily be controlled with cost and bid caps through the Ads Manager. We found some interesting statistics that might be of interest:
Use our very own ad spend calculator to figure out how much you should be spending on advertising.
Where can I monitor the results and my performance?
You can look at basic performance within the Instagram app, looking at your insights and other metrics that are important to your business goals. But you can also look at your results and performance in more depth through Facebook Ads Manager, which leads me to my next point.
Where can I monitor the results and my performance?
If you have used Facebook Ads Manager before (for Facebook Advertising), then monitoring and analysing your performance should be easy, use custom or pre-set columns to look at data or create custom reporting tables that are easy to export and share.
Want some help getting started with your Instagram Ads?
The CampaignHero app is specially designed to help take your advertising efforts to the next level, even if you haven’t already got started. Learn more about how we can assist with your ads by booking a free strategy video call with our team.
Manage & Optimise Campaigns in our app or upgrade & manage your subscriptions in our admin portal