Recently, I opened the Instagram App on my daily commute and the first picture that appeared was from a brand called Bombfell. I knew I didn’t follow this account, so why was it there?
My eyes quickly found the word “sponsored” located on the upper right hand corner of the photo and suddenly it all made sense; Instagram had started selling sponsored posts to appear on my homepage. If you have never seen one of these lovely advertisements, here’s my prime example.
How does Instagram do this?
Basically they use your personal info from Instagram and Facebook, like many social media sites do, to gather information and present the most relevant posts, catered specially to you.
Hide this?
It’s easy to eliminate these posts from your homepage by simply clicking on the sponsored tag and selecting “hide this”, however, speaking marketer to marketer, I find it quiet amusing to see the ads that other brands are putting out there.
As an average consumer though, I can understand how these images could be somewhat annoying and why one might want to hide them. I think it’s interesting to note that anyone can create an Instagram Ad now, with a running Facebook page (their parent company) and some simple editing skills, any company can have an Instagram Ad up and running shortly.
Why should you consider advertising on Instagram?
There are a plethora of reasons why one should utilize these “interruptive type” ads and you can read the whole list that Instagram provides on their business website here. Regardless of what industry you are representing, a lot of positive results are currently being generated for this marketing strategy.
Specially speaking within of the Fashion and Beauty markets, this is definitely something that all brands, no matter how big or small, should begin doing ASAP. Why? Well, we’ll tell you:
1. Take a look at these figures that are provided on Instagram’s website. These numbers are crazy, this social media site has skyrocketed in terms of users and content that have been circulated since it’s debut in 2010. Basically we are saying, it would be crazy to NOT be on this platform.
2. Because the F&B market is a goods market, it’s crucial to have links available to your website so consumers can view your products within your advertising. Instagram allows you to hyperlink any URL to the photo or video for easy access.
3. Post engagement is key, F&B brands rely heavily on consumer reviews and testimonies for sales. People trust the opinions of others and by having a comment section available under the advertisements allow others to engage right then and there. As opposed to traditional print or online ads that do not share the same functions as a normal Instagram post.
4. Awareness and views are essential for reaching as many users as possible. Because the sponsored ads are targeted towards people based on their previous likes or accounts they follow, this allows you to reach consumers that you might not have been able to before. For example, if someone follows L’Oreal and Rimmel, then they might recieve Clinque ads based on relevance.
L’Oreal Case Study
The carousel format “lets you show 2-5 images and/or videos, headlines and links or calls to action in a single ad unit” as defined by Facebook. Like many companies L’Oreal took advantage of this new innovation and ran with it.
Levi’s Case Study
Levi’s is one of the brand that experienced high benefits from advertising on Instagram. Read the following for all the facts:
Interested in advertising on Instagram?
The Instagram brand actually has their own blog, where they provide helpful tips and tricks for businesses that are currently adverting on their site, or ones that are investigating if they should start. Their posts walk users through new updates that are available, as well as case studies, or more of “brand shoutouts”, to companies they believe are doing a great job advertising with them.
Conclusion
We believe that investing in Instagram advertising is a win-win situation, because if you aren’t doing it then you are missing out. This is a great platform to be creative on and illustrate your brand in it’s best light. So why not give it a try?
LUC Marketing 399 