As your existing and potential customers spend time scrolling through their Instagram feed, why don’t you reach out to them virtually? To be specific, through their Instagram feed or reels? In the sections below, you will learn tips and gain insight into the world of Instagram ads – a powerful marketing tool for e-commerce businesses.

Introduction

Instagram has over 1.21 billion monthly active users, making up over 28 per cent of the world’s internet users. That’s a lot of potential customers! The use of digital marketing and promoting products on such an active platform can do wonders for your business. 

An Instagram for Business survey revealed that 44% of people surveyed use Instagram to shop weekly.

Well, diving into Instagram marketing can raise plenty of questions in your mind, along with some roadblocks. To help ease things, this blog will discuss the best tips for driving sales through Instagram.

What Are Instagram Ads?

Instagram ads are a form of paid promotion tool that allows you to promote products to a wider audience. When users see an ad on Instagram, they can swipe up to learn more about the product or service. 

Ads can be targeted to specific audiences, making it an effective way to reach the target audience. These ads look like normal posts, but always have a “sponsored” tag on them. 

Similar to Facebook, Instagram ads appear throughout the app, in users’ feeds, reels, explore sections, stories, and more. Sponsored ads always include CTAs or links that direct customers to the product page.

Why Instagram Ads Are Crucial For eCommerce Businesses?

Instagram ads can bring a pool of target customers to your eCommerce business. By targeting a larger audience with your ad campaigns, you can reach new customers who may have little knowledge of your products and services.

It also creates a sense of urgency and FOMO (fear of missing out) around your products. When users see an ad for a product they’re interested in, they’re more likely to purchase it before it sells out.

The recent addition of shoppable posts has made it even easier for eCommerce businesses to sell on Instagram. Shoppable ads allow users to go from discovering a product to purchasing it in an instant.

A study shows that 130 million Instagram users use shoppable posts every month. 

Additionally, Instagram ads allow you to retarget customers who have shown an interest in your products but didn’t make a purchase. By showing them relevant ads, you can encourage them to come back and complete their purchase.

Now that you’re convinced about Instagram ads, let’s reveal the best tips for using Instagram ads to scale up your business.

5 Tips To Promote Products on Instagram

The five tips listed below will help your eCommerce business to grow on Instagram and bring unexpected results. Of course, good expected results!

Engage With Your Audience

How to engage with your audience? The possibilities to engage potential customers are endless on this highly visual platform; responding to their comments and leaving them a DM are some potentially effective engagement methods. You can also conduct polls on your stories and let your audience answer them. 
By regularly engaging with potential customers, you can understand their ever-evolving needs. So go ahead and give Instagram a try for your next digital marketing endeavour!

Always Include CTA

When there’s no action, there’s no use for Instagram ads. A CTA (call-to-action) is a great way to promote products and encourage customers to take the next step. 

Your CTA should be aligned with your overall campaign objectives. For example, if you’re promoting a new product, your CTA could be “click the link to learn more.” To increase conversion rates, keep your caption concise and easy to follow.

Your Ad Copy Must Match Your Visuals

When creating ads for Instagram, it’s important to make sure that your copy complements your visuals. For example: If you’re promoting a product, make sure your copy calls attention to the specific actions you want users to take, like clicking through to buy the product.
In general, it’s a good idea to keep your copy short and to the point. Users can quickly and easily understand what you’re trying to promote. Create complementary ad copy and images to capture their attention and promote your products.

Focus More on Visuals

On Instagram, the first thing that catches the attention of the customers is visual. Hence, create visuals that are highly creative, informative, and appealing.
Visually appealing content attracts new customers and builds loyalty to your brand. So, if you’re looking to take your digital marketing campaign to the next level, make sure to keep the visuals interesting and catchy.

Measure & Optimize Your ads

Regardless of your ad objective, comparing the ad metrics is essential. Doing this will ensure that you work on improving your ads, driving higher conversions. For keeping a tab on the performance of your product ads, go to the Instagram ads manager.

Size & Specs Of Perfect Instagram Ads

When creating Instagram ads, it is necessary to keep the following specs and sizes in mind:

Feed Image Ads

• Image file type: JPG or PNG 
• Headline: 40 characters
• Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
• Max. file size: 30 MB
• Ratio: 1:1 
• Primary text: 125 characters 
• Maximum number of hashtags: 3

Explore Image Ads

• Resolution: 1080×1080
• Primary text: 125 characters
• Aspect ratio: 9:16.
• File format: JPG or PNG.
• File size: 30 MB maximum

Feed Video Ads

• Resolution: 1080 x 1080
• Video format: MP4 or MOV
• Aspect ratio: 4:5
• Max. size: 650 MB 
• Video Duration: 2 minutes

Explore Video Ads

• Resolution: High resolution
• Captions: Optional
• Video Duration: 1 to 120 seconds

Story Image Ads

• Aspect ratio: 9:16
• Resolution: 1080 x 1080
• Format: JPG or PNG
• Size: 30 MB

Story Video Ads

• Aspect ratio: 9:16
• Resolution: 1080 x 1080
• Size: 4 MB
• Captions: Optional
• Format: MP4 or MOV
• Video Duration: 2 minutes

Difference Between Boosting Posts And Instagram Ads

While both the techniques – boosting posts and Instagram ads help businesses reach a wider audience, it is not to indicate that they are the same. Boosting a post means paying money to increase the reach of your post to a larger audience. Instagram ads, on the other hand, are much more sophisticated for targeting a specific demographic. In other words, ads target people explicitly, while boosted posts are for a general appeal. 

As opposed to boosting a post, Instagram ads provide more options for CTAs, objectives, format, target audience, and placements. 

Therefore, it’s always better to go for an Instagram ad rather than the Boost post option to reach the right and wider audience.

Wrapping-up

Instagram ads are quickly becoming an essential tool for eCommerce businesses. With over 800 million active users, Instagram provides a unique opportunity to connect with potential customers in an engaging way. As a result, eCommerce businesses that use Instagram ads witness significant increase in sales. In addition, Instagram is constantly evolving, with new features getting added all the time. 
We’ve provided five tips for promoting your products on Instagram and information about the size and specs of perfect Instagram ads. So, what are you waiting for? Get started today!