Instagram is synonymous with photo sharing, perhaps you use it to promote your drop shipped skincare brand or products, but have you ever thought of using it to run Instagram Photo Ads? We’ll get back that shortly.
Meanwhile, times have changed. Reports say there are now over 2 billion monthly active Facebook users, over 1 billion Instagram users, and over 3.45billion people now use the internet. As more and more people go online, more businesses are doing the same, including skincare brands and businesses.
There are now over 25 million business profiles on Instagram and over 6 million active advertisers running different ads including Photo Ads. You too can be one of them.
Since IG is such a visual platform, smart dropshippers of skincare products like you could go beyond just creating eye-catching photos to trying photo ads for wider publicity, reach and impressions.
In this post, we will learn step by step how to run Instagram Photo Ads. This can be very useful for instance, if you’re a drop shipper or want to learn more about dropshipping, so you can promote your brand or products to a highly targeted and wider audience, but first
What Is Instagram Photo Ads?
Instagram photo advertising allows you to reach a wider, targeted audience with top-notch visual content that you’ve created to showcase your products or services.
This is the most standard ad format, and likely the one you see often when scrolling through your feed. These ads are single images that appear as a native experience when your followers scroll through their feed. This is often utilized to grow brand exposure, website traffic, generate new leads, and move current leads down the sales funnel.
Reports indicate that in March 2017, over 120 million Instagrammers visited a website, get directions, called, emailed, or direct messaged to learn about a business based on an Insta ad.
Further reports indicate that 60% of people say they discover new products on the platform, and 75% of Instagrammers take action after being inspired by a post.
Knowing your audience and things like
- how they interact,
- their location,
- age-range and
- times when they are online,
can help you tailor your photo ads right, plus help you craft a better Insta marketing strategy.
Interesting Instagram Statistics to Note
Still not convinced about Instagram as the right platform for your dropshipping business?
Check out some interesting Instagram statistics below:
1. Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users.
2. 64% of 18-29-year-olds use Instagram.
Source: Sprout Social
3. Instagram is expected to account for nearly a quarter of all of Facebook’s ad revenue by the end of the year.
4. 80% of accounts follow a business on Instagram.
5. Instagram has 2 million monthly advertisers.
6. The most-liked photo has 53 million likes.
7. The best times to post daily on Instagram are weekdays between 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
8. Over 100 million photos are uploaded every day.
9. The platform gets 4.2 billion likes per day.
10. Instagram nurtures more engagement than Facebook.
11. Instagram encourages regular engagement with brands.
12. More than half of small businesses use Instagram.
13. Around 70% of Instagrammers search for a brand on Instagram
14. 7 Out of 10 hashtags on Instagram are branded.
Source: SproutSocial.com: SmallBizTrends,
Now on to:
7 Steps to Create Your First Instagram Ad
As can be expected, Instagram uses the same powerful advertising tools like Facebook. With this arrangement, you can easily create, run and keep track of campaigns.
If you’re new to advertising on Instagram here’s a step by step guide on how to get started.
Stage 1: Create Your Business Page and Profile
You require a Facebook Page both to run ads and create a free business profile on Instagram.
Source: L’Avyanna
You can also switch an existing personal profile on Instagram to a business profile after creating a Facebook page by clicking on the switch to a business profile on your setting’s menu.
Stage 2: Set Up Your Ad
Step 1. Create Your Promotion.
Click promotions on your profile page, click on create a promotion in your ads manager and select the photo(s) you want to promote.
And,
Or if you’ve already shared a post on Instagram, select it and click Promote.
Stage 3: Select Your Ad Objective
Select the goal you want your campaign to achieve which include:
– Brand awareness
– Reach
– Website Traffic
– App installs
– Engagement (for post engagement only)
– Messages
– Conversions
– Catalog Sales
– Lead Generation
And,
Stage 4: Select Target Audience and Ad Format Within Ads Manager
After selecting your objective, you need to target the appropriate audience to get your ads in front of the right people.
Location: Whether you want to target a country, region, state, city, zip code, exclude or include certain places, location targeting will allow you to do all of this and more.
Age: Allows you to target ranges from age 13 to 65+
Gender: Choose between all, men, or women.
Interests: You can also find Interests under “Detailed Targeting” showing multiple sub-categories to pick from. For instance, if you’re aiming for people interested in skincare, you can find options like skincare, skincare products, and simple skincare.
Step 5: Determine Your Budget and Duration
Decide how long your ads will run for and what budget you’re comfortable with spending.
And,
Step 6. Add A Payment Method.
Select a payment method within your ads manager, which your ad will be sponsored with based on your budget in step 4 above.
Then,
Step 7: Create Promotion
Now that your ads are ready to go, click on create a promotion. You’ll receive a notification when your ads have been approved and are ready to run.
And,
5 Key Things To Consider When Running Instagram Photo Ads.
1. Set Focused Ad Goals and Objectives.
Setting focused goals for a photo ad should come first before creating the ad. Set goals which lead to achieving the goals of the business and use this at the end of the day to measure your ROI.
2. Target the Right Audience.
Knowing the audience that count is paramount to your Instagram photo ads success. Check your existing customers and think of the type of customers you want to attract and use it as a yardstick when selecting your audience on ads manager.
3. Image Quality
Just as important as having a long-term strategy, your photo content quality can mean the difference between a memorable campaign or a totally forgettable one.
Create eye-catching photos to attract the attention of users, prompting them to click on your promotion.
4. Photo Ad Content
To create ads that connect with your potential customers, you must ensure that they accurately reflect your brand positioning, products, and services, aren’t too sales-y and self-promotional; instead, provide inspiration and value.
It’s essential not to overlook the importance of captions in helping your message hit home.
Create caption messaging that back up your ad’s imagery. Add possible hashtags, any relevant emojis and include a compelling call to action (CTA) e.g. apply now, book now, calls now, contact us, get directions, learn more, download, etc.
5. Focus on the Bigger Picture
Consistency is key in achieving success with any business strategy including advertising on Instagram. Focusing on photo ads that start conversations and build relationships over time can lead to increased sales, new customers, long-term brand growth opportunities and lasting success.
Conclusion
Taking your dropshipping brand or any other business to the next level with Instagram photo ads is 100% possible by putting a winning advertising strategy in place, zeroing in on the right target audience, creating compelling ad content, setting yourself up for long-term success and regularly testing and refining your campaigns.