Instagram Ads: What Marketers Need to Know

Are you active on Instagram?

Have you considered experimenting with ads?

To find out how Instagram ads work, I interview Jenn Herman.
More About This Show
The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It's designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.

In this episode, I interview Jenn Herman, a social media consultant and Instagram expert. Her blog, JennsTrends.com, has placed in our top social media blogs three years in a row. She also wrote an ebook called, How to Run a Successful Instagram Ad.

Jenn explores the differences and similarities between Facebook and Instagram ads.

You'll discover how you can succeed with Instagram ads.

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Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:
Instagram Ads
How Jenn Got Into Instagram

Jenn admits she was a late adopter of Instagram and started on the platform just a few years ago. She held off because, like many people, she felt she didn't have time for another social media platform.

Eventually, Jenn decided she needed to understand Instagram marketing for her blog, so she set up an account, tried it out, and fell in love with the community engagement on Instagram. People are active on it and you can instantly create relationships.

That's when she decided to make Instagram a focus.

Jenn uses Instagram primarily to build the brand around her blog. Every time she has a new blog post, she shares it on Instagram. People who follow her see a new blog post, and then click through to read it. You can find her on Instagram under @Jenns_Trends.

Listen to the show to discover the other reason why Jenn loves Instagram.

Facebook Ads Versus Instagram Ads

Facebook ads and Instagram ads are very similar, Jenn explains. In fact, Instagram ads are run through Facebook's Business Manager. Therefore, you can't run an ad on Instagram unless you're connected to your Facebook Ads account.

It's easy to get started with Instagram ads if you've done Facebook ads because both ad types use the same dashboard. There are some differences, however. For example, Instagram doesn't feature the total number of targeting options that Facebook offers.

There are also differences in terms of ad image design. For instance, while graphic-type images with bright colors, contrast, and certain text features perform well on Facebook, people on Instagram prefer natural, organic-looking photos. For that reason, Jenn cautions against running identical ads on Facebook and Instagram.

She says that a properly designed and targeted Instagram ad blends in with organic posts, and shouldn't stand out as an ad.

Because the average Instagram user likes photos that place him or her into an environment, Jenn cautions against creating an ad that features your product on a shelf, in a box, or on a flat white background. Instead, place your product in the hands of a model or in a scenario that's relevant to the brand or your target audience.

Do you offer a service? Don't say, "Here, get this today." Instead, create something relatable to the person who would purchase it.

Although there's no limit to text on Instagram (like the 20% rule on Facebook, which is going away), it doesn't mean you want to include a lot of big, bright text. You want your ad to be very photo-centric. You want to promote a high-quality, well-lit, properly focused and formatted image that stands out and represents your brand.

Listen to the show to hear what will happen if you run the same ad on both Facebook and Instagram.

Instagram Ad Features

Instagram ads are distinguished from organic posts with text that says "Sponsored" in the top-right corner. In the top-left corner of the ad,