Why Is Instagram Advertising So Popular?

Instagram Ads is a great brand advertising tool, allowing them to distribute campaigns to a highly engaged community.

Today, Instagram is one of the most popular social networks worldwide. Since its creation in 2010 by two entrepreneurs, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, it has evolved  significantly and become unbeatable in its users’ hearts.

The application was dedicated to sharing photos and videos and appealed to the younger generation and a broader audience. Today, most age groups are present on this network and particularly active. A few provide an overview of the success of this application among the :

In 2023, 58.6% of Internet users aged 16 to 64 connect to the photo and video sharing service at least once a month;

There were 23.7 million users in January 2023;

They spend, on average, 8h36 each month on Instagram.

And whatever the country, the application is used according to Meta by Internet users:

to publish and share videos and photos (69.8%);

find entertaining content (61.8%);

follow or search for brands and products (61.7%).

And the enthusiasm generated by the Instagram application among its users has not escaped brands and businesses. Very quickly, they became aware of the opportunities offered by this application and developed their presence on this network, constituting a veritable cave of Ali Baba. Similarly, having developed its advertising platform, Instagram can increase its presence and visibility by creating campaigns.

What do you need to know about Instagram ads in 2023?

Like other social networks, Instagram has an advertising platform – Instagram Ads – intended for businesses that want to communicate with its users. Thus, they can broadcast advertisements, which are paid and appear in different places in the application, including the feed, Stories, and Explore pages.

These advertisements present a significant advantage for brands: they resemble non-advertising posts. As a result, they blend into the background and appear less intrusive to users. However, unlike a classic post, they carry a label that allows them to be recognized immediately: “Sponsored.”

Likewise, on Instagram, the audience is very reactive, which is a real asset for brands who want to advertise there. But this is not the only advantage of this network, which our team knows well since we are an Instagram Ads agency. This means that we master this advertising platform and support our clients in their campaigns. From creation to performance monitoring, we care for everything to help them achieve their goals.

Successfully advertise on the social network Instagram.

On Instagram, the visual occupies a predominant place. The text is secondary; it is more of a caption. This specificity is very interesting for brands, particularly those with an e-commerce site because it allows them to highlight their products and image. Likewise, this network has a very responsive community, following brand influencers, commenting on publications, sharing them, etc. The engagement rate is very high. It is, therefore, possible to reach a large audience.

This is why Instagram Ads are now essential in brand advertising and social media strategy. By advertising on this network, they can:

In addition, on Instagram, advertisements blend easily with other publications. They are, therefore, less intrusive for users and more tolerated than on other sites and applications. Brands choosing between several formats can vary their campaigns and thus better capture users’ attention.

Advertising formats available on Instagram

On this social network, advertisements appear in users’ feeds and their stories, with the content of the accounts and hashtags to which they are subscribed. They are  also displayed in Explore, allowing users to discover accounts they do not yet follow that might interest them.

Likewise, with Instagram Ads, brands benefit from several advertising formats, which promote Internet users’ engagement and are ideal for showing creativity. So, whatever their objectives, they can find the correct format(s) to achieve them.

The photo–image format

With this advertising format, companies can highlight their Story, values, or products with a single photo. It is therefore necessary to take good care of the visual to retain Internet users’ attention. It can be an image, an illustration, a photograph… always of excellent quality. Adding text is possible, but Instagram recommends limiting the use of overlaid text in order to promote accessibility and campaign performance.

As for the display of this single image, it is in square, vertical, or landscape format.

The video format

On social networks, the video is viral. With this format, a brand benefits from attractive advertising, which is very popular with Internet users and allows a product or service to be presented in detail. Video is also an excellent way to discover a brand to tell its Story. When the broadcast is done in the thread (or feed), its duration must not exceed one minute and it is displayed in square or landscape format. However, the shorter it is, the more impactful it is.

The carousel format

The Carousel format takes the form of a collection of images or videos that users can browse and is accompanied by a call to action or a link that redirects Internet users to the brand’s website. Carousel ads are displayed in feeds or stories. Thanks to this format, several products can be presented (up to 10 videos or images simultaneously), thus allowing a story to be told.

The story format

The Story format is a full-screen video or image advertisement between users’ Stories. Its display makes this advertising more immersive and promotes Internet user engagement, especially since users consult Stories daily (500 million of them do so at least once a day).

Likewise, with this format, brands can access all the features of Instagram Stories, including filters, GIFs, and interactive stickers.

Reel

The Reel has had great success with its users, and Instagram has added it to its advertising formats. This campaign is similar to the Story since it is broadcast in full screen. It is displayed between the Reels of users, who can comment on them, “like” them, and share them. For effective integration with organic Reels, it is advisable to accompany this ad with music or sound, and its duration should not exceed 30 seconds.

Boutique or shopping

Another format is available to brands selling products online: Shopping ads. The principle is simple: users click on an Instagram Shopping ad. They are then redirected to the product description page without leaving the application and can purchase online. And it works rather well since every week, 44% of Instagram users make purchases there.

Therefore, Instagram ad formats meet different objectives but have one thing in common: they are used well and mix perfectly with organic content. They are, therefore, not considered intrusive advertisements by users, who are more receptive to them. But to take advantage of it, you must first create a campaign. This is done in several stages and unlike other advertising platforms, Instagram offers advertisers three methods of distributing their ads.

Steps for creating an Instagram campaign

To advertise on Instagram, it is essential to have a professional account. This is done quite simply by converting a profile into a Business account. When this step is done, a brand can configure its campaign, and to start, it must select the mode of distribution of its advertisements:

from the Instagram application;

from a Facebook page to which an Instagram page is associated, which allows ads to appear on both networks;

from Meta Ads Manager on desktop and mobile.

After choosing an ad delivery method, it’s time to move on to creating the campaign, which is done in several stages.

1) Log in to Ads Manager

To put an Instagram campaign online, go to Ads Manager, click the “create an advertisement” button, and log in to your account. This first step is therefore done quickly, in just a few clicks.

2) Define the campaign objective

Instagram offers two options on the ad creation page: create a new campaign or associate an ad with a current campaign.

Then, you must enter the objective of the campaign: boost a publication, promote a page, attract more visitors to a site, etc.

3) Describe the advertisement

When the objective is defined, it is necessary to write the campaign description. This is, in a few lines, to explain the aspect of advertising.

4) Determine and plan the budget

Then comes the budget stage. In the “Calendar and duration” tab, you must indicate:

the start date and time of the campaign;

its mode of distribution: continuously or for a specific duration with an end date;

the daily budget.

A summary of the payment is then displayed with the total budget amount.

5) Choose ad placements

After planning the budget, Instagram offers to select the ad placement(s). They are 3 in number:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Facebook Messenger

A brand can choose one, two, or all 3. To optimize the results of a campaign, Instagram recommends using several.

6) Publish the campaign

Finally comes the moment of publication of the advertisement, which will appear on Instagram immediately or at the time and date indicated. To track its performance, just check out Instagram Analytics. Depending on the results, adjustments may be necessary. To improve the effectiveness of a campaign, Instagram gives several tips on its help platform for advertisers. These tips are useful when you start on Instagram Ads, for example, because in 2023, the competition is quite challenging since many
brands are on the social network. All advice is therefore good to take to stand out from the others. Getting support from a specialized Instagram Ads agency, such as Power traffic, is also a smart solution for brands.

Tips for improving ad visibility

Instagram is a very popular network among Internet users and offers many opportunities to brands; there is strong competition, particularly in the fashion, beauty, sport, cooking, and tourism sectors. To optimize the results of a campaign, it is therefore advisable to :

• Create advertisements compatible with a mobile display by favouring the vertical format for videos, limiting the text, adding animations or animated graphics, and making short videos of 15 seconds maximum.
• Play nice music or sound with a video, keeping users who turn off the sound in mind. Therefore, if the audio includes voiceover, subtitles must be added.
• Vary the advertising formats to find the one that best corresponds to the target audience.
• Demonstrate originality and creativity in advertising videos and images, consistently maintaining the brand’s identity.
• These few tips can help a brand create effective advertising. But they are not enough to guarantee the success of a campaign. Other factors come into play. This is why our Instagram Ads agency offers its clients personalized support. Our role is not limited to the creation and management of a campaign. We also monitor it in real-time and devise a strategy to optimize its performance. We adapt to each client’s objectives, brand identity, and activity to present them with a tailor-made campaign. To
  each client, we assign an Instagram Ads expert, who monitors their campaign from A to Z. They benefit from a dedicated contact with whom they can communicate regularly. This method allows us to work closely with our customers and better understand their expectations.