Instagram is a powerful social media platform with over 2 billion active users, making it an ideal platform for businesses to reach their target audience. With its visually appealing features and advanced targeting options, Instagram advertising has become a crucial part of many businesses’ marketing strategies. In this article, we will explore the world of Instagram ads, including their types, benefits, and costs, as well as provide tips on how to create effective Instagram ads.

What are Instagram ads and what do they do?

Instagram ads are paid posts or stories that promote a brand, product, or service to a specific target audience. They can be in the form of images, videos, carousels, or collections, and can be used to drive website traffic, generate leads, increase brand awareness, and even sell products directly from the app. Instagram ads are labeled as “Sponsored” to distinguish them from organic content, and can be targeted based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.

Why you should advertise on Instagram

You might be unsure about advertising on Instagram because you haven’t seen all the numbers. After you read the stats we have for you below, you might just change your mind.

All of these stats that we’ve listed here can be found in articles on SmartInsights, Business of Apps, and Neal Schaffer’s site.

• Users engage with content more often on Instagram than they do on Facebook
• In a survey focused on marketing agencies and brands, almost 40% of them said that they would allocate between 10-20% of their marketing budget to influencer marketing
• 20 billion USD of ad revenue was generated by Instagram in 2019
• Fashion and e-commerce accounts get the most brand interactions as industries
• 80% of Instagram users engage in some way with at least one business account
• 83% of users discovered a new product through Instagram

Measuring the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns is crucial, and understanding your ad spend through metrics like Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) can help you optimize your budget.

Establishing a budget for your advertising campaign on Instagram is essential to control spending and ensure effective campaign management.

Seems pretty obvious now, doesn’t it? So, we’ve covered why you should advertise on Instagram from a marketing point of view. Now, let’s check out why Instagram ads themselves are worth it compared to other platforms.

Are Instagram ads worth it in 2025?

With the rise of social media advertising, many businesses are wondering if Instagram ads are worth the investment. The answer is yes. Instagram ads offer advanced targeting options, high engagement rates, and a cost-effective way to reach a large and engaged audience. According to recent statistics, Instagram has over 200 million active business accounts, and 60% of people discover new products through Instagram. With the right strategy and targeting, Instagram ads can be a valuable addition to any marketing campaign.

Clear objectives and metrics for your Instagram ad campaign

Another benefit is that you’ll be able to choose from numerous objectives. Objectives are one of the things you really need to understand before you start advertising on Instagram. Advertisers use ads with different goals in mind, and Instagram lets you work towards the one you want. You can choose from the following options:

• Clicks to website.
• Website conversions.
• Mobile app installs.
• Mobile app engagement.
• Video views.
• Reach and frequency.
• Page post engagement.
• Mass Awareness.

Why does this matter? It matters because you want to know that you’ve reached a specific goal with your Instagram ads. When you advertise on Instagram, you’re doing it for one of a few reasons. To give you a few examples, you might want more people to find out about your product/brand, to start considering your product/brand as an alternative, or to make a purchase. The only way you’ll know that your campaign was a success is by checking the metrics that match the goal at the end of the ad’s run.

Understanding these goals and metrics is crucial, especially when considering instagram ad costs. Budget constraints can impact these costs, and initial expenses may be higher until the system optimizes based on audience engagement, potentially leading to lower costs as the campaign progresses. Without all of these goals and metrics, it’s a lot harder to justify your spending next quarter to your boss.

Instagram video ads blend in with organic content

One of the issues with ads is that they can be a bit obnoxious and users end up having to use adblockers. This isn’t much of a problem with Instagram ads, though. Instagram ads work effectively by blending in with organic content, making them less intrusive and more engaging.

Instagram ads show up in the same places as regular content which means they can fit in smoothly. Instead of having a popup on your screen, an Instagram ad can come up while you’re scrolling through your feed or looking through Stories, for example. That means that they can take on the same formats as other posts you see on Instagram like photos, videos, Stories, and carousels.

And since they’re so easily accessible, it means that users can interact with your ad like they would with regular content. Users will be able to comment on, like, and share your ad which will ultimately help you out with reaching more users. Even then, you can use their engagement to give you an idea of how to improve your content. For example, maybe one of your ads in a campaign got more engagement than the other. It’s a simple idea, but there are many insights like that in your data!

Running Instagram ads is a powerful advertising strategy for businesses. The platform’s extensive reach and high engagement metrics make it an ideal place to connect with potential customers.

There are tons of reasons to advertise on Instagram. Setting them up also isn’t difficult, so there’s no excuse to not be using them.

Did we manage to convince you? If so, then we recommend that you check out our post on how to create Instagram ads from scratch.

Don’t forget to check in on your Instagram performance before and after running your ad campaigns. You should regularly be checking how your paid and sponsored posts are both doing if you want to make the most out of the platform.

Types of Instagram ads

Instagram offers a variety of ad formats to suit different business goals and target audiences. These include:

• Photo ads: single-image ads that can be used to promote products or services
• Video ads: video ads that can be used to promote products or services
• Stories ads: ads that appear in the Instagram stories section
• Carousel ads: ads that allow users to swipe through multiple images or videos
• Collection ads: ads that allow users to browse through multiple products

Creating effective Instagram ads

To create effective Instagram ads, businesses need to have a clear understanding of their target audience and business goals. Here are some tips to get started:

• Choose a post that represents your business and resonates with your target audience
• Use text wisely and keep it concise
• Get creative and use high-quality visuals
• Test and measure results to optimize your ad campaign

By following these tips and using the right ad format, businesses can create effective Instagram ads that drive results and help achieve their marketing goals.

Now go out there and get those leads. 😉