6 Tips to Improve Your Instagram Ads and Get Higher Conversions

Posted 2 years ago

Written by

Mackenzie Taylor

Posted 2 years ago

As a business and brand, having an Instagram account that posts daily is only going to get you so far when it comes to selling your product or service online. You need to look into advertising, specifically Instagram ads. We all have seen them (and have been sucked in by them!) when scrolling our feeds, and this is one of the most effective ways to get new people to buy something from you. Now, if you’re panicking thinking you’ll need to spend a massive amount of money on ads, don’t worry. You really don’t. You just need to be strategic and post content that will get you higher conversions. Today we’re going to be diving in and giving you our top tips on creating Instagram ads that actually convert.

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What are the different types of Instagram ads?
How to create Instagram ads that convert and sell

What are the different types of Instagram ads?

Instagram Photo Ads

Instagram photo ads are ads that appear on your feed as you’re scrolling. They will pop up with “sponsored” underneath the username and usually have call-to-action-style button users can press at the bottom of the post.

Instagram Stories Ads

Instagram Stories ads are ads placed in between the stories you watch every day on Instagram. People can skip them if they want, but it’s a great way to attract the attention of new eyeballs!

Instagram Carousel Ads

A carousel ad is very similar to a photo ad where it is placed in your Instagram feed. However, you can choose up to ten images or videos with links on each photo/video. This option is great if you have multiple items you want to sell and showcase.

Instagram Collection Ads

Collection ads are similar to carousel ads where you can feature a few products or services at once. A collection is great for an e-commerce website as IG offers ready-made templates that will turn your Instagram ad into a fun shoppable catalog, storefront, or landing page.

Instagram Ads in Explore

While scrolling through Instagram Explore, you will find the occasional ad. The content in each person’s explore page is based on their personal preferences so having an ad show up in Explore can really help with sales and reach.

Instagram Video Ads

When it comes to ads, videos should be your top priority. Instagram has come out and said that videos are going to be pushed harder than any other content, so having video ads in place of static image posts will hugely benefit your ad strategy.

How to create Instagram ads that convert and sell

Now that you know the variety of Instagram ads you can create, how do you get people to actually click on the ad?

Define your objectives

Who are you trying to reach with your ad? Are you trying to generate more leads? New followers? More engagement on your posts? More sales?

When it comes to creating an Instagram ad, that’s the first thing you need to think of before continuing. Define what you want the ad to do and then reflect the content to do just that. And the best part for you, Instagram requires you to choose an ad objective at the beginning of the process. This will help you narrow your focus and make sure that the ad is targeting who you want and they are doing what you want them to do.

Make it look like organic content

No one wants an ad to look like an ad. Sorry but it’s true. People still hate when they’re advertised to so making sure your ad looks and feels like organic content on the feed is incredibly important.

Ads that don’t look like regular content can disrupt the flow of user experience and those users could have ad blindness where they scroll past your ad without engaging or end up hiding the ad or any content you serve. Yikes!

When done correctly, ads will blend right in with the other content on a user’s feed and won’t feel like a massive sign that says “THIS IS AN AD!!!”

So how do you achieve something that feels like organic content? Be real. Be authentic. Start researching what content your demographic is following and create something that is in line with what they like and will engage with! Knowing your audience is one of the most important steps in making sure your content works for them.

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Use influencers/content creators

The power of influencers just keeps getting bigger and bigger. People are always more likely to buy a product or service from someone they follow and trust over a traditional advertisement.

With more and more companies putting marketing dollars behind influencers (look at Instagram’s Creator Studio and how much money it’s spending on influencers in 2022!), it’s time to start looking into content creators when it comes to your ads.

Remember to look for influencers that align with your brand and aesthetic. You don’t want someone hugely famous if 1. They’re not a fan of your brand already and 2. Don’t fit with your brand either. The biggest tip we can give when it comes to working with content creators is to find people who are genuine, like your brand already, and have an engaged audience. Just because someone has a mass amount of followers doesn’t mean that their followers actually engage a lot with their content. Once you find your content creator, create a long-term relationship with them! It’ll help both of your accounts in the long run and is the perfect way to present your ads.

Have a clear CTA

Like your regular posts (which if you’re not already doing this, then you should be!), your ad needs a strong call to action. The best part of Instagram ads is that you can create multiple with different CTAs.

The main CTAs for your Instagram ads are “Contact Us,” “Sign Up,” “Watch More,” “Book Now,” “Learn More,” “Download,” and “Apply Now.”

Be sure to utilize your CTA in the most effective way possible. A study shows that choosing the right CTA button on your ad will boost your conversions by 32%!

Make videos that work without sound

According to a study, 83% of Instagram users watch Instagram videos without sound on which means that most people will watch your videos with the sound off.

When creating a video ad on Instagram, be sure that you add closed captions to your video so people can enjoy it at any time (like watching at their desk when they should be working… 👀) or on a busy bus. This also makes it accessible to those with hearing impairments and makes your brand more inclusive to everyone.

A/B Testing

When you begin to do Instagram ads, create a few so you can test. A/B testing is the perfect way to find out what ads your audience responds to.

How do you A/B test? Create different versions of the same ad that targets the exact same audience. Once the ads run, you can see which ad is getting you better conversions and you’ll be able to put more money behind the ad that is doing best.

Now that you have got the tools to create better Instagram ads for your account, it’s time to figure out who your audience is and what content they want to see from you by checking out your Instagram Analytics! Get a breakdown of your analytics on Flick, where we give you a full detailed report that you can’t get anywhere else (including Instagram!).

Instagram Analytics

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