Instagram plays a crucial role, and its advertising tool, Instagram Ads Manager, integrates perfectly with Meta Ads Manager since Instagram is part of the Facebook family. With this tool, you can create, run and manage ads for both Facebook and Instagram. For your ads to display on Instagram, you just need to select Instagram as your placement when setting up your ad.
Before you dive in, it’s essential to have a Facebook page to log into Meta Ads Manager. You can use this page or your connected professional Instagram account to run ads on Instagram. This means that even if you already have an Instagram account, you need to link it to your Facebook page or add it to your Business Manager. Even if you don’t have an Instagram account, you can create ads using your Facebook page to represent your brand on Instagram.
After doing so, follow these 10 steps to get the most out of Instagram Ads Manager.
Step 1: Select a Relevant Objective
Sign in to your Ads Manager account and click “Create.” Select your campaign objective, making sure it is compatible with Instagram as an ad placement.
Facebook offers six campaign objectives, such as sales, leads, engagement, app promotion, traffic, and awareness. Each is suitable for Instagram, but keep in mind location limitations depending on the objective. For example, the Instagram Shop tab does not support awareness, engagement, and app promotion goals.
Choose the objective that aligns with your goals. For example, if you are looking to increase your brand presence, opt for the awareness goal; If you are looking to increase your income, choose sales.
For this case, we will select the traffic objective. Although the steps vary depending on the objective, we will focus on the universal key steps.
Step 2: Decide on Conversion Location
Once the previous step is completed, your campaign will be created automatically. On the campaign page, name your campaign and choose whether your ad relates to special categories, such as credit, housing, employment, social issues, politics and elections (may vary by country).
Head to the “ad set” tab in the left panel and create a name for your ad set. Next, choose the conversion location; For example, select “website” if you want to drive traffic to your website.
Step 3: Decide Whether to Use Dynamic Creativity
In some conversion placements, you can choose to use dynamic creative. This option requires providing variations of creative elements such as text, audio, videos, and images. Facebook will use these elements to offer a dynamic mix optimized for your audience.
Dynamic creative personalizes your ads for each viewer, significantly improving their performance. Experiment with this option if available.
Step 4: Set your Budget and Schedule
Establishing a budget and schedule is crucial. If you choose a daily budget, Facebook will optimize delivery to stay within your average daily amount. If you select a lifetime budget, you won’t spend more than the set amount over the life of the ad.
Set a schedule to prevent your ad from running longer than necessary. Imagine that a summer ad remains active during Halloween, losing relevance.
Step 5: Define your Target Audience
This step is crucial. You can use a saved audience, create a custom audience, or a lookalike audience. By targeting a lookalike audience, you’ll reach people with similar characteristics to your most valuable audiences.
If you create a custom audience, you will reach people who have interacted with your business. Customize by location, age, and gender, and narrow your audience even further with detailed targeting.
For example, if you sell custom furniture and want to reach people interested in home decor, specifically target people who have shown an interest in interior design.
Additionally, you can choose the advantageous detailed guidance option. If checked, the platform will show your ad to people beyond your targeting selections when there are opportunities to improve performance.
Step 6: Decide on Locations
It’s time to choose your locations. You can select Advantage+ placements to maximize your budget by showing your ad in multiple locations where it is likely to perform best. However, this means losing control over where the ad is displayed.
If you want to show your ad specifically on Instagram, choose manual placements and check the box next to Instagram. Select the specific placements you want for your Instagram ad, excluding some if necessary.
Step 7: Customize your Ad Settings
Once you have selected your locations, click “Next.” On the ad customization page, name your ad and customize the settings. If you collaborate with others, check the “Collaboration Ad” option to display both identities in the header.
Select the identity you want to use and choose your ad settings. You can create one from scratch, use an existing post, or a sketch from Creative Hub. If you choose to create the ad, upload images or videos manually or choose to automatically display the most relevant products in your catalog.
Select the format that suits your ad, whether it’s a single image, carousel, or collection for products.
Step 8: Ad Creativity
Creativity plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of your ads. Carefully select the images or videos that will form the basis of your ad. Make sure you stick to the recommended Instagram ad sizes. Visual quality is essential to capture the attention of your audience.
If you prefer, you can choose to allow automatic improvements. This will give Meta the ability to automatically adjust the visual appearance of your media to ensure it looks exceptional. Look at the preview and make adjustments as necessary.
Accompany your visual elements with clear and persuasive text. Brevity is key; Make sure your message is concise and direct. A clear message complements the visual strength of your media. For those who choose dynamic creative, it incorporates various text and headline options for effective personalization.
If you decide to use dynamic creative, take the opportunity to add multiple text and headline options. This allows for optimization on a per-persona basis, ensuring your message resonates effectively with different segments of your audience.
Step 9: Review and Confirm
Before taking the final step toward publishing your ad, it’s crucial to review each setting meticulously. This step is essential to ensure that all elements are aligned with your advertising objectives.
Verify that your target audience is clearly defined and aligned with the intent of your campaign. Make sure you’ve selected the correct audience, whether it’s a saved, custom, or similar audience.
Locations:
Review the placements selected for your ad. If your primary focus is Instagram, confirm that the manual locations option is enabled and the box next to Instagram is checked. Adjust these settings according to your preferences.
Budget:
Check your daily or lifetime budget, depending on what you have selected. Make sure it is in line with your financial goals. If you opted for a daily budget, remember that Facebook will optimize delivery so as not to exceed your average daily spend.
Examine your visual and textual creativity. Make sure the images or videos are attractive and relevant. Review the copy to ensure it is clear, concise, and in line with your advertising message.
Once you have reviewed each aspect and are satisfied that everything is in order, proceed to click “Review”.
Step 10: Analyze Performance and Adjust
Congratulations, your ad is now in the digital world. However, the road to advertising success does not end here. The analysis and adjustment phase is equally vital to continually optimize your marketing efforts.
Use the analysis tools available in Ads Manager. Examine key metrics like reach, engagement, clicks, and conversions. This data offers deep insight into how your audience is interacting with your ad.
Evaluate Performance:
Understand the strengths and weaknesses of your ad. Are you reaching your intended audience? How does the click-through rate compare to your expectations? Evaluate each metric to identify areas for improvement.
Based on the data collected, make strategic adjustments. This could involve changes to targeting, ad creative, or even budget allocation. Flexibility and adaptability are essential in the dynamic world of digital advertising.
With these 10 steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating and managing effective ads in Instagram Ads Manager! If you have any specific questions about any of the steps or need more details, don’t hesitate to ask.
