With over 2 billion active users, Instagram remains one of the best ways to gain visibility for your brand in 2024. Running Instagram ads can be highly effective for finding and retaining new customers with plenty of targeting options and ad placements to utilise.
Here are some of our top tips for boosting your brand with Instagram in 2024 👇
Optimise For All Placements
Instagram ads don’t just appear in a user’s feed - you’ll also find them interspersed between Stories, on the Explore page, and within the Reels format.
Different placements have their own specifications, so make sure your ad content is adaptable to each of these. Your main focus should be to have a 1:1 square for in-feed placements and a 9:16 vertical size for fullscreen placements, including stories and Reels.
If you’re ever unsure of how to format your content for a specific placement, Meta has a helpful guide listing the specifications and best practices for each ad type and placement.
Creative Focus
Regardless of placement, striking visuals are a must for Instagram ads. After all, Instagram has always been THE app for seekers of aesthetically pleasing content, from photoshoots of models and exotic locations to creations from independent artists and photographers. If you want people to stop their scroll to view your ad, it needs to be as interesting as the rest of the content on their feed.
Keeping text concise and readable, using eye-catching imagery and having a clear call-to-action are all ways to catch someone’s attention and take notice of your brand. Staying up to date with trending ad formats is also an effective way to create winning creatives.
Use Reels Ads
Reels are Instagram’s answer to TikTok: short-form vertical videos that typically use trending music and sounds. The introduction of Reels has led to users spending more time on the platform, with posts on Reels having the highest engagement rate of any ad format on the app. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure you’re optimising your content for Reels.
Think mobile-first by filming vertically and placing important information in the ‘safe zone’ - leaving approximately 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% at the sides.
Keep your content clear and concise, preferably including your product, brand and/or key message within the first 3 seconds.
Make it entertaining and relatable by using real people, tapping into trends, and using eye-catching editing.
Check out our guide on using Reels Ads in 2024 to find out more.
Build Trust With User-Generated Content
If you want to build an authentic image for your brand, user-generated content is a must. Gathering UGC can be as easy as asking followers to tag the brand account in photos and videos of them using the products. This provides a sense of trustworthiness for new audiences interacting with the brand for the first time and creates a sense of community amongst existing customers who may be likely to place further orders.
Partner With Creators
Instagram is well-known for its abundance of influencers, from megastars with millions of followers to smaller creators who gain popularity within their own niche communities. Audiences often look to these users for advice and recommendations, particularly when it comes to products. Partnering with influencers can help put a human face to your brand, providing a more authentic and relatable showcase of your products.
Select countries including the UK, US, Canada and Australia have access to the Instagram creator marketplace, which allows brands to filter creators to work with for partnership ads. You can find creators based on their audience demographics (e.g. age, gender and location) along with the interests and niches that the creator focuses on.
Conclusion
Instagram ads remain a powerful tool for growing visibility, gathering social proof, and establishing trust with your audience. The best part? When you advertise on Instagram, you can run the same ads across all of Meta’s platforms, including Facebook. This gives you access to a wide-reaching and diverse audience all from the same ad account with no extra effort.
-
Want to learn more about how you can use paid social marketing to grow your business? Get in touch with our Newcastle digital marketing agency today for a no-obligation call.