Instagram Ads: The Complete Guide for Business

Instagram Ads: The Complete Guide for Business

By Sydney Parker

12 MAY 2017SOCIAL

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Image via Wokandapix under CC0 1.0

According to a Pew Research study, 55 percent of all 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States are using Instagram. That’s a whole generation of people viewing the world through sepia-filtered glasses.

Companies who can harness the power of that platform to share what’s great about their business stand to grow their presence and profit among millennials considerably.

One of the best ways a business can make use of the photo-sharing platform is to invest in Instagram ads. Advertisers of all sizes are seeing fantastic results. From driving mass awareness, to increasing website sales and mobile app downloads, Instagram offers limitless possibilities for the creative marketer.

Why advertise on Instagram?

Instagram ads have proven to be an effective means for generating new business. A report from market research firm eMarketer predicts that nearly three quarters of American companies with 100 employees or more will turn to the photo-sharing app for marketing purposes in 2017—up from a little more than half this year, reports Mashable.

Instagram offers several compelling case studies demonstrating the effectiveness of their ad features.

They measure each campaign’s success based on metrics such as reach, ad recall, and awareness, instead of likes, comments, and follower counts over the span of the campaign.

For example, monthly book subscription service Read Dog Books used Instagram Stories to connect with its audience while running a single ad campaign on Instagram and Facebook to encourage people to subscribe. The result? A seven times return on ad spend.



A study conducted by Forrester in 2016 reviewed how the top 50 global brands market on social media. Forrester evaluated 11.8 million user interactions on 2,489 posts made by 249 branded profiles. Data was collected on how many top brands use each social network, how many fans they have, how often they post, and how often users interact with their posts. Forrester found that the average number of Instagram followers for a top brand is now over 1 million—almost five times higher than in 2015.

Instagram users aren’t just following their friends and celebrities anymore. They are following their favorite brands too. Could that be you?

Types of Instagram ads

There are three main types of Instagram ads to choose from. Whether your goal is to build brand awareness, get more website visits, or increase downloads of your mobile app, Instagram can help you access a huge, engaged audience. Read on for a rundown of photo, video, and carousel ads, and then watch the video below to determine which is the best option for your business.

Instagram photo ads

With photo ads, businesses can tell their story and feature products through visually engaging imagery. Market your brand to a broad audience or just the customers in your hometown with guaranteed impressions.

For example, Brazilian paint brand, Suvinil launched an Instagram ads campaign focused on a specific target audience—people over 35. With the help of Instagram’s segmentation tools, Suvinil targeted people who might be interested in buying their paint. People who announced moving, or had recently changed their relationship status, as well as people who had interests in pregnancy and decor.

In just 2 months, the campaign achieved a 15-point increase in ad recall on Instagram.



Instagram video ads

You can make Instagram video ads up to 60 seconds long, but according to data from Wista, the first 30 seconds of a social video is what matters most. If you can hook your audience in that timeframe, they are more likely to stick around and engage.

Many brands have had great success with Instagram video ads. Creative app company Lightricks used beautiful Instagram videos to help them hit the top of the download charts with their new app Enlight.



The direct-response video ads were a huge hit, boosting Lightricks’ conversion rate by 50 percent compared to non-Instagram campaigns. They achieved enormous reach and a lower cost per install, while racking up 40 million post engagements along the way. In the end, Enlight secured more than 300,000 downloads and hit the number one spot in the global iOS paid app charts.

Instagram carousel ads

With carousel ads, Instagram users can swipe to see additional images and a call to action button takes them to a website to learn more. Carousel ads are like the digital version of the multi-page print campaigns of yesteryear. Unlike print ads, carousel ads offer the added benefit of taking people to a website to learn more.

For example, a new restaurant could showcase how multiple ingredients come together to make a delicious meal. Once their appetite is whet, you can have a button that directs them to the reservations page of your website.

Running race organizer Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series wanted to encourage people to sign up for one of its events, so it created targeted carousel ads on Instagram to promote its one-day sale.

The team first targeted people who had registered for a past event, and then generated a new audience based on those runners’ friends and people who shared their interests. The company ran a teaser video ad in the two days leading up to the single-day Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon sale. The video boosted awareness of the race series and alerted people to the upcoming sale.

The race company then targeted carousel link ads to those people who interacted with the video. The ad featured runners holding signs announcing the lowest prices of the year, while a series of calls to action invited people to sign up.



The Rock ‘n’ Roll team succeeded with its Instagram ad winter sale promo, achieving a 24 time return on ad spend and a 52 percent increase in registrations, year-over-year.

Instagram Stories ads

In Instagram Stories, users will encounter full screen ads as they scroll through their Stories feed. This feature changes the way Instagram users interact with ads—allowing users to feel like they’re in the ad.

Created on Facebook’s Power Editor or Ads Manager, you can manage who sees your ad and how often they see it. Plus, you can use Stories insights to measure how your ads are performing.

Instagram tested out their ad feature with several companies, including Airbnb, which used Instagram Stories ads to build awareness for their experiences on Airbnbproduct launch.

Airbnb used Instagram’s ad tools to reach their target audience of men and women aged 25 to 44 in the U.S. The hospitality service took advantage of Instagram’s sound-on storytelling format with a series of video ads. The Experiences on Airbnb campaign shows how customers can access unique experiences by using Airbnb to connect travelers with locals who share similar interests.

The campaign was a success—with a huge boost in ad recall and brand awareness. When people were asked for a top-of-mind travel company, Airbnb was a common answer.

The major advantage of Instagram Stories ads is its social reach. Combined with audience targeting, there are 150 million daily users engaging in Instagram Stories and the number continues to grow.

As a bonus, Instagrammers use Stories to discover new things—like what’s happening with their peers and in the community. Because users are actively seeking newcontent, Stories ads are a great opportunity for advertisers to reach them.

Call-to-action buttons


In late 2015 Instagram added several new features to its advertising platform, including call-to-action buttons such as Shop Now and Install Now. The Call to Action (CTA) button is designed to bring a business’ most important objective to the front lines of its Instagram presence. Call to action buttons link to any destination on or off Instagram that aligns with a business’s goals.


 Instagram Ads: The Complete Guide for Business