【IG Advertisements】Step-by-Step Guide to IG Advertisements | 4 Key Techniques to Improve Ad Performance

With over 1 billion active users worldwide, including a significant 65% aged between 18 and 34, Instagram offers a prime opportunity to reach a younger audience. If your brand aims to connect with a larger number of young viewers, utilizing IG advertisements can significantly enhance your exposure among this demographic group.

G advertisements can leverage the vast amount of data from Facebook and Instagram to identify more precise potential customers based on criteria such as geographic location, age, interests, and more. This data-driven approach enables you to target your ads to a highly relevant audience, increasing the likelihood of conversions and improving your overall conversion rate. By utilizing the power of big data, IG advertisements help you optimize your advertising campaigns and achieve better results.

According to the survey, 83% of users will discover new products or services on Instagram. Using IG advertising can reach more audiences and increase brand exposure and sales rate.

***If your potential customers are young, it is highly recommended to try IG advertising.

IG Advertisements Pricing Model 1: Cost Per 1000 Impressions (CPM)

Charges are based on every 1000 impressions, suitable for brand exposure objectives.

IG Advertisements Pricing Model 2: Cost Per Click (CPC)

Charges are based on every click, suitable for conversion objectives.

IG Advertisements Pricing Model 3: Cost Per App Download

Charges are based on every app download through the advertisement, suitable for app download objectives.

IG Advertisements Pricing Model 4: Cost Per Video View

Charges are incurred when the advertisement is viewed more than 10 times, suitable for video advertisements.

Average Pricing Data for 2023:

The average cost per 1000 impressions for IG advertisements is 6.7 USD (approximately HKD$52), and the cost per click ranges from0.2 – 2.0 USD (approximately HKD $1.5- HKD$15)
If the industry competition is fierce, the costs may be higher.

***IG advertisements tend to be more expensive than Facebook advertisements. It is recommended to allocate a higher advertising budget. Otherwise, the AI may not have sufficient data to optimize for the best results.
(Daily budget recommendation is not less than HKD 50)

This is the most basic form of IG advertising, which is the page where users browse homepage posts.

Advantages of Photo Ads:

User mainly browse IG through this page, so it has a higher exposure rate.

According to the survey, 50% of the respondents said they would go to the brand website after checking the IG stories and purchase goods or services

Advantages of Stories Ads:

These ads appear when users view IG stories and provide a CTA button, such as a sliding link to the store website. And on average, one ad will appear in every 3-5 IG stories, so Stories ads have a high exposure rate.

Video ads allow brands to leverage dynamic visual content to tell richer stories, can be up to 60 seconds long.

Advantages of Video Ads:

Inserted within videos longer than one minute, capturing the attention of users who are actively engaged in watching videos.

Explore ads are displayed to users based on their browsing habits and interests on the platform.

Advantages of Explore Ads：

Users who browse the Explore page are often looking to discover new things and brands that align with their interests. Placing ads in the Explore section can effectively attract these audiences who are actively seeking new and engaging content.

Reels Ads are a relatively new type of advertisement on Instagram that allows brands to showcase their short video ads in between Reels content while users are browsing through Reels.

Advantages of Reels Ads：

Reels, being a new feature on Instagram, attracts users who are seeking entertainment and novelty. Reels Ads can effectively capture the attention of these users.

***According to statistics, Photo Ads, Reels Ads, and Stories Ads tend to have better advertising effectiveness.

Utilize location targeting, age, gender, and detailed targeting options such as demographics, interests, behaviors, and language to find a more suitable audience. Use exclusion targeting to refine your audience. For example, when targeting customers in Hong Kong, exclude users who are “recently in this location” and instead target those who “live in this location to exclude temporary visitors or travelers.

Use buttons to guide users to take action, such as making a purchase or learning more. Ensure that the CTA aligns with the objective of the advertisement and entices users to engage with your brand or make a purchase. 

Observe your popular posts and use similar imagery and text to increase the attractiveness of your ads to the audience.
Text should not exceed 20% of the overall image. For video-related ads, ensure that your brand or product is displayed within the first 3 seconds to grab users’ attention in a short span of time.

Monitor ad conversion rates and follower growth to make adjustments to your ad content and promotion strategies.

***For small and medium-sized businesses or beginners, it is recommended to use “Sales” or “Leads” as conversion objectives to achieve marketing goals.

Go to the Meta Ads Manager platform and connect your Instagram account.

Click on the “Create” button to start a new ad campaign.

Choose your advertising objective, such as brand awareness, reach, traffic, engagement, conversions, etc..

Set your target audience, selecting options based on geographic location, demographics, interests, etc..

In the “Placements” section, make sure to choose Instagram. You can select to run your ads on Instagram’s Feed, Stories, Explore, or other placements.

Set your budget and schedule for the ad campaign.

Choose the ad format (e.g., image, video, carousel) and upload your ad creative. Fill in the ad copy and text for the call-to-action button.

Once you have completed the ad setup, click the “Submit” button to submit your ad for review. Once approved, it will start running based on your scheduled settings.

***For better ad performance, it is recommended to use the Meta Ads Manager platform
If you are a beginner and have limited knowledge of advertising, you can use the IG mobile app for simplified ad setup.

IG advertising can help businesses increase brand exposure and sales. We encourage you to start implementing these strategies immediately and maintain the freshness of your ad content and its relevance to the target audience, enabling your brand to stand out in the market.