With over a billion monthly active users, it’s no surprise the Instagram is the second most active social network. Instagram ads provide you with the opportunity to easily share your content with users (at scale). If you want to build your brand, drive sales and grow your followers, then Instagram ads are a great place to start.

The best instagram ad strategy for getting started is lots of experimentation. Testing different types of ads is one of the fastest ways to learn what works for your audience. You don’t have to spend a lot of time on each ad, all you need to do is understand the elements that make your ad stand out.  

This article will provide you with the perfect guide to creating an Instagram ad post in less than 10 minutes.

Pro tip: You should set up and link your Instagram business account to your Facebook business page before running ads.

Ready to get started?

Before getting started, think about what action you want users to take when they come across your ad. An Instagram ad should have a single purpose.

Are you trying to sell your product? Promote a holiday sale? Building brand awareness? You must first pick an objective as your advertising goal. The objective should be obvious to your audience and everyone who comes across the ad.

This will serve as the first building block of your ad.

The next step is to pick a target audience for your ad. If you are serious about creating an ad that grabs people’s audience, then you need to understand your audience. And if you have existing customer personas, you can use them to help figure out this out.

Here are some rules to consider:

Keep your focus

You might be tempted to target a wide audience (without filters), especially if you’re trying to reach a larger group of people. 

However, you’ll need to choose a demographic or customer group to focus on if you want useful data about their interests and preferences. This will help you define your instagram ad strategy.

If for instance, you’re trying to acquire new registrations or promote a holiday sale, the best way to achieve this is to narrow down your audience’s location. Or if you want to reach new customers, you can make use of a lookalike audience to find people with similar characteristics as your current customers.

Stick to your main points

Most Instagram audiences have very short attention spans. If you don’t want people to become tired of seeing the same ad, you can set your campaign so that it ends after one or two weeks. Then use what you learned to execute your next instagram ad.

It is no secret that Instagram is known mainly for its eye-catching creatives.

Instagram ads are usually either images or videos, which appear in Stories or Feed. For this guide, we’ll stick to the standard Photo Ad (stay tuned for a future post about creating Stories ads). The best strategies for picking your perfect image include:

Use an image that showcases your product

Make sure your ad aligns perfectly with your brand and landing page your audience will be directed to. The more they relate, the better your ads will perform.

This is why you need to ensure that the images you chose align with what your brand stands for! Make sure your prospective customers gets a consistent brand experience after they click on your ad.

Use captivating images

Instagram is a visual-first platform and ads are not exempt from this rule. A lackluster photo is unlikely to capture the attention of your audience, no matter how tempting your offer is as they’ll continue to scroll through to more enticing posts.

You may want to consider taking a crash course on how to capture and edit the perfect photo using your phone.

The maximum Instagram photo size is about 1936 x 1936 pixels. You should stay close to this size if you want a sharp photo that is not grainy or blurry.

Demonstrate your offer

You might want to add text to highlight your offer directly on your image, especially if you’re aiming for more conversions. Just be careful that you don’t end up affecting the image’s appeal. You need to ensure that your ad stands out to target audience.

Inspire emotion

Picture yourself in your audience’s shoes. What are the emotions you want to evoke in your audience with your ad? How do you evoke such emotions and help them relate to your ad?

For instance, you can use an inspiring visual to evoke a sense of emotion.

You could also inspire feelings that reflects what your brand represents. For example, an influencer marketing agency can create an ad that evokes color and playfulness to puts viewers in an uplifting mood.

Instagram may be built upon remarkable images, but if you want to showcase the personality of your brand or drive engagement, nothing does it like powerful captions.

It doesn’t even have to be done by a professional, sometimes all it takes is a few basic principles.

Focus on your goal

Do you remember the objective you set for your campaign in step 1?

Make sure your caption reflects this ad objective. Your language should be straightforward and compelling so there are no surprises when your audience clicks on your ad.

You don’t need anything fancy, just write a simple message that might intrigue your target audience.

You can use some of your landing page text for your captions. This level of consistency will help reinforce your offer and build a certain level of trust.

Maximize your character count

Instagram allows you to use over 2,000 characters in your caption. However, you’re probably not going to exhaust those characters when writing your caption.

Your audience will only be able to see the first two lines without clicking for more details, so you need to ensure that the beginning of your caption has the most important details.

You don’t need to use every character, especially if you can tell your message in less text. A picture, they say is worth a thousand words. As a result, your caption doesn’t have to be so lengthy.

Create a sense of urgency

Is it possible to compel people to act when you want? This can be achieved by creating a sense of urgency. Letting your audience know if your offer is for a limited time or quantity.

Let your brand shine through

Your ads are a huge part of your brand identity, which is why they need to reflect your character and values. Don’t focus so much on your offer that you forget the authenticity of your brand.

If you want to encourage awareness (instead of engagement or conversions), your caption will help you create an unforgettable first impression.

A few more steps, and you’re done with your ad.

Pick a destination

Where are you directing people that click on your ad? You need a well-designed landing page to remind customers of your offer and drive conversions.

Make the next step clear – whether it’s a subscription, purchase, or sign up page, just make sure that it’s easy for customers to understand!

Include your Call to Action

Instagram offers several CTA (Call to Action) buttons that appear between your image and caption. Pick the one that supports your campaign and aligns with your message. Shop Now and Learn More are some of the most commonly used CTAs.

Review your finished work

Now is the time to double-check your ad.

If you notice that the important parts of the offer are not visible, then you might need to rearrange the copy. Or consider switching up your CTA button if it’s not enticing.

You can also use this as an opportunity to check your grammar, tone, and spelling. You could be surprised at some obvious typos you may have missed. Better yet, ask a friend to help proofread your ad before it goes live.

These are the simple steps to you create your perfect Instagram ad in under 10 minutes! As an added bonus, this process can offer you new insights for your social media marketing!

So what are you waiting for. Have you created your first Instagram Ad yet?