Just when you thought Instagram couldn’t get any more awesome, the social networking platform rolled out Instagram Ads platform-wide. Boasting a user base of over 400 million, the announcement flung open the door for marketers to use ads to reach customers in exciting new ways.

1. +
Top Strategies for
Optimizing Instagram Ads

2. +
Just when you thought Instagram couldn’t get any more
awesome, the social networking platform rolled out
Instagram Ads platform-wide.
Boasting a user base of over 400 million, the
announcement flung open the door for marketers to
use ads to reach customers in exciting new ways.

3. + Why Instagram Ads matter
The potential for high brand engagement using
Instagram Ads looks promising. Unlike other social
platforms, Instagram users are two and a half times more
likely to click on ads served to them in their feeds.
“People come to Instagram for visual inspiration, and
advertising on Instagram has the power to touch, inspire
and move people. Instagram ads have proven to drive
strong branding results—97% of measured campaigns on
Instagram have generated significant lifts in ad recall,”
say Instagram officials.
Qualitative revenue numbers aren’t in yet because the
service is still so new. “However, the combination of their
demographics, their targeting capabilities and their
initial successes make this ad type an attractive new
choice for businesses,” notes B2C’s Scott Fenstermaker.

4. + Tips for Optimizing Your Instagram Ads
While it may be tempting simply to port your proven
content-related images and marketing idea over from
Facebook and Twitter, Instagram Ads need a whole new
strategy. The user base is far more image-focused than
Twitter and the community's use of hashtags is different
than you’ll find on other social platforms.

5. +Global marketing agency Moburst took Instagram Ads
for a spin recently and says it learned a few lessons
along the way. “Instagram users are extremely active,”
explains Moburst’s Lior Eldan. “Apparently, the double
tap is used more loosely than the good old Facebook
Like. Similar ads that generated between 15-30 likes on
Facebook, reached between 300-500 likes on Instagram.
Additionally, we noticed a large number of comments
on the Instagram creatives, many of which even
mentioned other users within the comments.
This was an interesting find, since it paves the way for a
two-way channel between marketers and audiences.”

6. +
• Be authentic. Use images that capture the heart of
your brand and the minds of your customers.
• Remember proper attribution. If you didn’t create
it, make sure you publish with permission from the
person or agency that did.
• Help people buy your product. Nothing kills a sale
faster than forgetting to include a link to your
website or sales page.
• Don’t forget a strong call to action! Ask people to
click through, call you, connect online, or share in
their feeds.
Many of the rules marketing teams have learned from
posting image-based on other social platforms apply
for Instagram Ads:

7. +Instagram’s clickable ad unit will no doubt provide a clear
way for brands to deliver traffic and revenue. Quality
interactions, however, start with quality ideas,” says Lucy
Xu, Community Manager at marketing solutions firm
Curalate.
Revisit what strategies have worked for your brand on
other social platforms then expand on those to really rock
it with the new Instagram Ads.