Advertising on Instagram: How to Create Successful Instagram Ads

Instagram is one of the most effective platforms out there for amplifying brand reach, building authority, and driving leads and sales. With its visually engaging format and advanced advertising tools, Instagram enables businesses to connect with target audiences, promote their offerings, and achieve measurable results.

This expert guide gives you strategies for creating successful Instagram ads, whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out. Read on for actionable tips to optimise your campaigns and achieve your advertising goals.

Why Advertise on Instagram?

Instagram can be a great option for advertising goods and services, with opportunities to engage audiences with visually compelling content and establish trust on social media for your brand. Here’s why advertising on Instagram is worth the investment:

Massive User Base: With over 500 million daily active users engaging with Stories alone, Instagram provides a huge opportunity to connect with your audience.
Advanced Targeting Options: Instagram’s ad tools allow businesses to target users based on demographics, interests, and behaviours.
Strong ROI: Studies show that over 70% of Instagram users make purchase decisions after seeing an ad on the platform.

Key Components of a Successful Instagram Ad

Crafting a successful Instagram ad requires the right design, messaging and strategy. Here are some key elements to include:

Compelling Visuals: Eye-catching images or videos are the backbone of any successful Instagram ad. Use high-quality visuals that align with your brand identity and resonate with your audience.
Concise Copy: Keep your ad copy short and impactful – let the visuals do most of the work. Highlight the value proposition and include a strong call-to-action (CTA).
Clear CTAs: Encourage users to take action, whether it’s visiting your website, shopping a sale, or downloading an app. Use phrases like “Shop Now” or “Learn More.”
Mobile-First Design: Ensure your ads are optimized for mobile devices, as the vast majority of Instagram users access the platform on their smartphones.

Instagram Ad Formats

Instagram offers several ad formats, each with their own features and benefits, tailored to specific goals and audience preferences. Here’s a rundown of each one:

Stories Ads

Instagram Stories ads are immersive, full-screen vertical ads that seamlessly integrate into a user’s Stories feed. These ads can be video, photo, or carousel-based, offering flexibility for creative storytelling.

Ideal For: Short-term promotions, brand awareness, and engaging younger audiences.

Tips for Success:

Design your ads to capture attention in the first few seconds. Stories content is consumed quickly, so lead with your key message.
Incorporate motion, as ads with animation or video tend to outperform static images.
Use sound to enhance engagement, as most Stories are viewed with audio on.
Add a clear CTA like “Swipe Up” to guide viewers toward the desired action.

Carousel Ads

Carousel ads allow brands to share multiple images or videos (currently up to 10) in a single ad. Users can swipe through the slides, making it ideal for storytelling or showcasing multiple products. This is great for promoting at a category level (e.g. fragrance) or for seasonal campaigns such as Black Friday.

Ideal For: Showcasing product collections, step-by-step tutorials, or before-and-after transformations.

Key Benefits:

Higher Engagement: Carousels consistently outperform single-image ads in terms of likes and comments.
Flexibility: Combine images and videos to create dynamic, engaging content.
Content Repurposing: Turn blog posts, infographics, or testimonials into interactive carousels.

Tips for Success:

Start with a captivating first slide to hook users.
Ensure each slide contributes to the overall narrative or goal.
Use scheduling tools like Hootsuite to post carousels at optimal times.

Photo and Video Ads

Photo and video ads appear in users’ main feed, blending seamlessly with organic content. Running Feed ads can be useful for top-funnel, brand awareness campaigns, and may also be appealing to a broader demographic than Stories, which are predominantly engaged with by a younger audience. They have a longer maximum length than Stories (60 seconds vs. 15 seconds) so they can cater to more detailed ad copy, although engagement rates are typically higher with Stories – perhaps due their interactive and immersive appeal.

Photo Ads:

Use high-resolution images with minimal text for maximum impact.
Highlight a single product or service with a clear value proposition.

Video Ads:

Videos should be visually engaging within the first three seconds.
Keep videos concise (15-30 seconds) and focus on a clear, single message.

Reels Ads

Reels ads appear in the Reels feed and offer a way to reach audiences through short, entertaining video clips.

Ideal For: Reaching younger audiences and driving engagement through inspiring ad content.

Tips for Success:

Use trending audio and effects to increase reach.
Showcase authentic, relatable content to connect with users.
Highlight your product or service naturally within the storyline.

Setting Up an Instagram Ad Account and Creating Ads

To start advertising on Instagram, you’ll need to set up a professional account and utilize Meta’s tools to run and manage ads. Here’s how:

1. Switch to a Professional Account

A professional account unlocks features like analytics, ad creation, and post boosting. You can switch back to a personal account at any time.

If you don’t already have a professional account, follow these steps:

Go to your Instagram profile and select “Settings.”
Choose “Account,” then select “Switch to Professional Account.”
Decide between a Creator or Business account based on your needs.
Add your business category and contact information (optional).

Find out how to set up your Instagram professional account or switch from a personal to professional one here: Instagram Help Center.

2. Choose Your Ad Creation Method

Instagram offers three ways to create and manage ads:

Boost Directly from Instagram:
- Once your account is professional, you can boost feed posts, Reels, and Stories directly from the Instagram app. This is ideal for quick and simple promotions.
Create Ads from a Facebook Page:
- If you manage a Facebook Page, link it to your Instagram professional account. Ads created from the Facebook Page can appear on both platforms, expanding your reach.
Use Meta Ads Manager:
- For advanced targeting and campaign management, use Meta Ads Manager. This tool provides comprehensive features to create, track, and optimize your ads.

3. Ad Setup Tips

Set a Budget and Schedule: Define a daily or lifetime budget to control your ad spend. Select the campaign duration for maximum impact.
Target Your Audience: Use Meta’s advanced targeting options to define your audience by location, interests, demographics, and behaviours.
Design for Mobile: Ensure your visuals and messaging are optimized for mobile-first consumption.

Leveraging Audience Insights for Ad Success

Knowing your audience and tailoring your ad content to meet their needs, interests and pain points is the cornerstone of any successful ad campaign. Use Instagram’s analytics tools to gather insights about your followers, such as:

Demographics: Age, gender, and location.
Behaviour: Peak activity times and content preferences.
Interests: What type of posts and ads they engage with most.

You can use A/B testing to experiment with different ad variations and identify what resonates best with your target audience.

When to Post on Instagram

Timing plays a crucial role in the success of your ads. While the best time to post on Instagram may vary depending on your audience, general trends suggest the following:

Best Days: Wednesdays and Thursdays typically see higher engagement rates.
Optimal Times: Late mornings and early afternoons (11 AM to 2 PM) are often peak periods.

To find the ideal posting time for your brand, use tools like Instagram Insights or third-party apps like Hootsuite and Sprout Social to analyse your audience’s activity and schedule your ads for maximum engagement.

Leveraging Data to Optimise Ad Performance

Tracking and analysing your ad performance is essential for continuous improvement. Focus on these key metrics:

Click-Through Rate (CTR): Measures the effectiveness of your CTAs.
Impressions: Tracks how many times your ad is seen.
Return on Investment (ROI): Assesses the financial success of your campaigns.

Regularly review these metrics and adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, if your click-through-rate (CTR) is low, work on refining your copy or visuals.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid these pitfalls to maximise the success of your Instagram ads:

Poor Targeting: Ensure your audience settings align with your campaign goals.
Weak Visuals: Invest in professional design or photography to make your ads stand out and showcase your products effectively.
Ignoring Analytics: Regularly monitor performance metrics to identify areas for improvement. Use your performance data to adjust your ad spend accordingly, scaling budgets up on high performing ads and reducing spend on less effective ones.

It’s a good idea to run a “pilot” or testing phase before launching large-scale campaigns, so that you have the chance to identify and fix issues early on.

Instagram offers huge opportunities for brands to connect with their audience through visually compelling ads. By choosing the right ad formats for your campaigns and leveraging data-driven insights, you can create successful Instagram ads that are worth the investment, driving brand awareness and sales.