The Instagram platform is an incredible place to build a brand and connect with your audience. Whether you're looking to grow an organic following or drive sales through advertising, Instagram has something for everyone. While the platform can be intimidating initially, it's pretty simple once you get the hang of it.
This post will discuss how to turn Instagram ads into sales for your eCommerce business.
In the end, we’ll answer the following question about Instagram ads:
- Why are Instagram ads a great way to promote your products?
- How to create an effective ad campaign on Instagram?
- How To Find Your Target Audience for Your Instagram Ads?
- What are Instagram ads' best practices for e-commerce to sell more?
Why Should You Run Instagram Ads For Your Online Store?
Instagram is the second-largest social media platform in the world, with over 1.2 billion monthly active users in 2021. This gives you a vast pool of potential customers to target with your ads.
You can reach people who like your brand or products and those who don’t know about them yet but might be interested in learning more.
But there are other reasons why Instagram is such an attractive platform for eCommerce businesses:
- It has a high level of engagement among users: people spend more time on Instagram than on any other social media platform.
- It’s a mobile-first platform: Most users access Instagram from their smartphones rather than desktop computers or tablets.
- It has a large international audience: Instagram is available in most countries and has more than 1 billion users.
- It’s easy to use: The platform offers a variety of features that make it easy for businesses to get started with Instagram ads, including targeting options.
- You can build brand awareness with visual content: Compared to other platforms like Facebook or Twitter, Instagram lets you post photos and videos instead of just text-based posts.
- It has strong brand recognition: Many consumers are familiar with the Instagram app and know what to expect.
- You can use Instagram stories: Instagram stories are a great way to engage with your followers and build brand awareness.
- You can track the results of your campaign: Instagram offers detailed analytics that makes it easy to see how well your ad has performed.
- It has an active community: There are more than 1 million businesses on Instagram, with more than 500 million daily active users.
Instagram is also one of the top platforms for influencer marketing. It’s also a great place to find new influencers who are active in your niche and can help reach your target audience.
How to Create an Instagram Ad For an Ecommerce Store
create an effective Instagram Ad for your eCommerce store with the following step:
Step 1 - Choose Your Objectives
The first step to creating an Instagram ad is choosing your objectives. This may seem simple, but it's essential to take some time and think through what you want to achieve with your ad before getting started. There are two main options:
- Drive traffic to your website
The most common objective for an Instagram ad is to drive traffic from the platform back to your website. This is a great way to promote sales or special offers, and it’s also a great way to build your email list with people who want more information about what you have to offer.
- Generate sales for your store
If you sell products directly from an eCommerce site, then using Instagram ads as part of your e-commerce marketing strategy can help generate sales on Instagram.
When deciding what to advertise, think about which of these two objectives is most important to your business. If your primary goal is to drive traffic, you must ensure that the ad design communicates the message or call-to-action (CTA).
Step 2 - Choose the Right Ad Format for the Job
Once you’ve decided on which marketing objective to focus on, use the carousel ad if your goal is brand awareness
Instagram offers several different ad formats, each with strengths and weaknesses. The type of ad you choose will depend on your goals and budget.
Here are some of the most popular options:
- Photo Ads: These are simple images or videos in users' feeds alongside regular posts from friends, brands, and businesses. Their primary purpose is to drive traffic to a website or app where users can learn more about what’s being advertised.
- Video Ads: These videos play directly in users' feeds. They can be used to drive traffic to a website or app. Still, they also have the added benefit of being able to tell a story and capture attention with sound and motion.
- Carousel Ads: These are multiple images or videos arranged in an interactive slideshow format that users can swipe through to see more information about what’s being advertised. They’re designed to show users more than one piece of content at a time, which can help increase engagement and conversions.
- Stories Ads: These are full-screen, vertical videos that users can swipe up or down to scroll through. They’re designed for mobile and work best for shorter-form content that you want people to watch without clicking away from their news feeds.
Step 3 -Approach for Your Instagram Ad Creative
Once you’ve decided on the ad format you want to use, it’s time to start creating. The best way to do this is by brainstorming different concepts and presenting them to your team.
You should focus on designing an ad that communicates your message clearly and effectively and is visually appealing. This means choosing images and copy that will appeal to your target audience.
Step 4: Create a Compelling Ad Design
The next step is to create an ad design that will get people’s attention. You should focus on designing an ad that communicates your message clearly and effectively and is visually appealing. This means choosing images and copy that will appeal to your target audience.
Step 5: Create a Campaign Schedule
Once your creative is finished, it’s time to create a campaign schedule. You can do this manually or through tools like Hootsuite that allow you to automate your campaigns based on specific criteria (e.g., budget).
How To Find Your Target Audience for Your Instagram Ads?
The target audience is the most crucial aspect of your ad campaign. The better you can define your target audience, the more likely you will attract the right people and get them to engage with your ads.
Here are some tips for choosing a target audience:
1- Know the demographics
Demographics are the characteristics of a group or audience, such as age, gender, income, and location. Using these data points will help you further define your target audience. For example, if men ages 18-25 make up 50% of your customers at brick-and-mortar locations but only 15% online, you may need to focus on attracting this group with Instagram Ads.
2- Explore the Audience Insights tool
This is a great place to start when looking for your target audience. It will show you information about who is engaging with your content, so you can see if there are any patterns or trends among them. You can also use this tool to find new audiences matching your goals and reach out with a targeted ad campaign.
3- Look at the hashtags people use in their posts
This is a great place to start if you're looking for inspiration. You can see what content people post and what they like to share. For example, run an online clothing store. You may find that "#ootd" or "#fashion" are trendy hashtags among your target audience.
4- See what other brands are doing
This is an excellent way to get inspiration for your strategy. You can look at the competitors doing things well and learn from them. If they have a particular type of content that gets engagement, try making something similar yourself!
5- Find out who your audience trusts
This is a great tool to use if you’re trying to create brand awareness in an industry with many competitors. Find out which influencers or experts people trust most and how much influence.
Instagram Ads Best Practices for Ecommerce to sell more
Here are six things you should do to maximize your campaign's potential when using Instagram ads for e-commerce.
1- Automate Your Instagram Ad Campaigns Process
Setting up an Instagram ad campaign is much easier than it used to be. However, you’ll still want to ensure that your ads are working as well as they can.
You can implement automation in your Instagram ads using AI tools like Convertedin to automate collecting data on shoppers and launching Instagram ad campaigns. The platform helps you automate your ads' strategy and management to upscale your return on ad spending. ConvertedIn can help you launch ads on other platforms, like Facebook, Google, and TikTok. Then use multichannel marketing to cross-sell more efficiently.
You should also leverage tools to track the performance of each ad and adjust your budget based on what works better than others. Use tools like SocialCake or Iconosquare to track your engagement levels and see which posts perform best with specific audiences.
2- Organic posting for awareness
Do not limit your marketing strategy to Instagram ads alone but focus on organic content. Organic content is a great way to build awareness and grow your audience organically.
Once you've grown your followers organically, you can start focusing on paid marketing with Instagram ads for e-commerce.
3- Use Persuasive Call-to-Action
Use a call-to-action button on your product photos or videos to drive traffic to your e-commerce store. This will help you convert more visitors into customers and increase sales.
You can also use your Instagram bio as the call-to-action button and link to a landing page where consumers can purchase your products directly from Instagram.
4- Show Off Your Products Close Up
You can use Instagram to show off your products close up. High-quality images are essential for e-commerce, so ensure your photos look good before posting them on Instagram.
You should also consider using video as a way to showcase your products. Instagram stories are perfect for showing off your products' features or creating a tutorial using one of those features.
5- Use relevant Hashtags in Your Captions.
Hashtags help build brand awareness and increase traffic to your website, but you should also use them for Instagram ads.
Use relevant hashtags in captions to help people find and engage with your content. Just ensure that the hashtags you choose are not too broad or too specific, as neither will get you much engagement.
6- Use User Generated Content to Build Trust
Post reviews and testimonials from your customers to build trust. This can help you get more organic likes and comments on your posts, leading to more engagement with your ads.
Ask for user-generated content (UGC) on your account, so potential customers see that other people love what you sell.
** Learn more about the best Instagram strategies to get more sales
Takeaway: Keep Your Ads Optimized
Instagram is a powerful social media platform that can be used to drive sales. It's essential to research and create a solid strategy before diving in. Utilize automation tools to make the process easier, but be sure to monitor them closely, so you don't lose control of your ad spend.
