Best Practices for Instagram Ads

Companies face plenty of competition on a platform like Instagram, having to navigate both organic and paid promotions on the platform to succeed. That’s why they have to make sure each ad that’s created specifically for the platform is perfectly crafted for their audience. That’s what allows companies to get the best possible results and return on their investment (ROI), which gives businesses the most out of every dollar on ad spending.

Ad Format

When creating ads for Instagram, it’s essential that companies test different formats. Each element of an ad should go through split testing, with companies trying out different images, copy, videos, and even formats to figure out the types of ads that the target audience likes the most.  Since no company is alike, just like their target audience, different ad formats will work for different companies. That’s why the best way to figure out the right format for a given project is to test out every possibility.

Images

Most marketers know that different social media platforms have different rules for their images, and that’s a rule on Instagram, which means photos that work well on one platform won’t always work on another one. That’s why companies should choose photos and images that are well suited for Instagram when putting ads on the platform. According to some recent studies, most Instagram users actually prefer images that have a single dominating color, lower saturation, and plenty of visual texture in it. Although that isn’t a universal rule for all images shared on Instagram, and photos don’t have to have all of those requirements, it’s nice to keep these trends  in mind when creating images for ads.

Visual Content

Instagram is a very visual platform, and that’s what brands and corporations should be focusing on. However  photo captions shouldn’t be forgotten when creating Instagram ads. As for the visual content itself, the photo or video should show what the consumers need from the product,and should stand out from the rest of the crowd by using  colorful and beautifully edited visuals .

Creativity

One of the best ways for companies to stand out on such a visual platform as Instagram is through creativity. When a company is able to do something that’s unconventional and grabs the attention of the target audience, it provides the business a great opportunity to showcase its personality and even attract new potential leads.

Closed Captions

Since video ads on Instagram start with no sound, and plenty of users actually end up watching those videos without sound, it’s always smart to include closed captions in paid video ads on the platform. This way, companies can ensure that there are high viewer retention rates.

Segmentation

Finally, just as with any other promotional effort, it’s important to segment the target audience into different groups.  Companies should  promote different products to different audiences by using what it already knows about each group. It can do this to create more engaging content and messaging that will convert more customers.