As a platform, Instagram serves a key purpose in connecting and engaging brands with existing and untapped target audiences, positions products and services in front of invested consumers, and amplifies business opportunities and successes. With over 2 billion active monthly users, Instagram also provides marketers ample advertising opportunities to convert viewers into customers.
This article will explore the benefits of video advertisement for Instagram and how different types of video Instagram ads can help you target your audiences throughout every point of contact with your Instagram account. We’ll dive into key statistics for making informed advertising decisions as part of your next Instagram campaign and highlight best video ad practices when you start to create ads.
No matter if you’re seeking to connect with potential customers directly in their feeds or via your next Live Ad, Instagram is your complete solution to creative, authentic, yet engaging video advertising.
Why Advertise on Instagram?
Instagram currently ranks as the 4th most popular social media network by number of users, making it a global hub for audiences seeking short-form and long-form video content to answer questions, learn something new, or be entertained.
As audiences continue to flock to the app for their daily visual dose - the average user spends an average of 33.1 minutes daily on the platform - this presents ample opportunities for you to create ads that position your brand’s products and services in front of solution-seeking customers and engage with as many consumers as possible.
Facebook also serves as the parent company to Instagram, unlocking even more tools and resources to run ads (like collection ads and carousel ads) from your Instagram professional account like a pro. All you need is a curious mind and a willingness to learn what makes up amazing video Instagram ads.
Benefits of Instagram Video Ads
From high levels of engagement to its global audience base, there are many benefits to create ads for video on Instagram. Not to mention, Instagram’s variety of ad formats and user-friendly ad manager (accessible from the upper right corner of your professional account) means ample chances to flex your creative skills, try new marketing techniques from your business account, and showcase your true brand personality.
High engagement rates
Given the platform's focus on visual video content and your target audience’s shortened attention spans, it’s no surprise that Instagram offers high engagement rates for marketers considering its advertising offerings. 70.4% of users continue to use Instagram to post or share photos and videos, making visual elements a key component of engagement rates.
No matter the end goal of your marketing efforts, be it to create ads to increase profile visits, connect with more customers, or boost click-throughs to your website or Facebook page, the high engagement rates of Instagram are a prime advantage to advertising on the app.
What’s more, having a presence on an app focused on visually appealing content lets you showcase your products and services using creative elements - a crucial step for particular industries centered around a sensory experience, like fashion, food, and beauty.
Diverse audience base
60% of Instagram’s user base falls within the age range of 19 to 34. This young, globally diverse audience fuels the need for brands to produce short-form, attention-grabbing content that appeals to their visual needs.
Given this large pool of users made up primarily of Millennials and Gen Z, there is greater opportunity to customize the content you produce, choose the ad format that best fits with your target audience, and tailor your messaging to suit the interests of this younger demographic.
Whichever segment you do market to, it's important you define your audience before you run ads on Instagram. This will cut down on Instagram ad cost and ensure your Instagram posts are being shown to the right audience.
Immersive Experiences to Showcase Products
Given the audience size and engagement rates of Instagram, this equals numerous chances to create immersive video-based experiences to showcase your company’s products and services.
Feed ads take (literal) center stage as a means to market goods to a target audience. Instagram’s in-depth audio library lets you choose a tailored soundtrack to fit the storytelling of your ad. Fun stickers and polls give your Instagram Stories advertisement the boost they need to interact with your viewers in a fun and inviting way.
Meanwhile, brands can create intimate experiences with their chosen demographic by incorporating video ad tactics like Instagram Live Ads, encouraging your users to interact with you in real-time to ask questions, engage with other customers of your product, and showcase real-time use cases, features. and applications.
5 Instagram Video Ad Types
While there are multiple ad formats available to experiment with when you start to create ad campaigns, the ad format you choose will ultimately depend on the end goal of your campaign - what is your objective, where would you like your ad to be displayed, and how you plan to measure your advertisement once your campaign finishes up, are all things to keep in mind when choosing your video ad format and ultimately designing your ad.
Each of the Instagram ad formats feature different specs for video resolution and length. There's also the choice to run ads in vertical or landscape format. You’ll also want to keep in mind that Instagram uses Facebook ads manager to run ads, which offers consistent updates to ad campaigns and improvements that make the dashboard of your professional account user-friendly.
The ad manager also serves as your main hub to manage your business account, your daily or lifetime budget, your ad set, and to monitor your ad performance and track ads. It also gives you an overview of your saved audiences. Keep on reading to discover five of the most common types of video advertisements on Instagram.
1. In-Feed Video Ads
The first of the five instagram ad formats we'll look at are in-feed video ads. These Instagram ads appear within the news feed of your 18+ viewers and and grab attention while their scrolling mid-feed. This ad type is ideal if you're campaign objective is to increase brand awareness or expand your reach.
Your target audiences interact with your ad similar to how they would with your regular Instagram posts by liking, commenting or sharing your new or existing post, or clicking your call to action button to perform a certain action, like taking them through to your instagram shop.
The beauty of this is that you don't need to worry about manual placements. Meta's delivery system ensures your effective ads remain as such by placing them in profile feeds they're most likely to perform best, ensuring your ads grab attention with audience members that fit your target demographic.
To really boost website conversions and ensure your ads perform well from your Instagram professional account, ensure your videos include a captivating introduction, engage storytelling tactics, and take advantage of audiovisual elements, like the Instagram app built-in audio library.
Brand Example: Airbnb
The short-term rental industry giant effectively uses instagram advertising and by extension, in-feed video ads, time and again to capture the attention of wanderlust travelers and drive them to take action by booking their next vacation.
Their instagram ads based within audience feeds focus on stunning visuals of beautiful far-off properties, while also incorporating user-generated content from creators to give their Instagram ads a boost. Airbnb Instagram ads also add authentic elements to their ad campaigns by incorporating storytelling from hosts and guests to their videos, too.
2. Stories Ads
Next, let's look at Instagram story ads. Developed in response to TikTok Reels, Instagram stories are considered less polished than actual Instagram ads but are seen as more authentic because of this.
This type of Instagram ad is ideal for a small business who might not have as big of a following but wants to create intimate and authentic connections with its viewers. Stories Ads also let you embrace features like stickers, emojis, and other elements when you create Instagram ads.
In general, you can publish to Stories more frequently as they won't clog up your followers' main Instagram feed. They also disappear after 24 hours, instilling a "blink or you miss it" mentality that taps into shortened, yet heightened attention spans of potential audiences.
For a really effective Instagram ad campaign using Stories, the Meta ads manager recommends keeping the top and bottom of your video free by approximately 250 pixels to 340 pixels when you create ads. This prevents your creative features from being covered up by your profile icon or any potential CTA buttons you might add.
3. Reels Ads
There are on average over 140 billion Reels plays across Instagram and Facebook every day, making this format ideal for ads on Instagram. Reels ads are a newer type available within the Meta ads manager and are made up of short 15-30 second video clips. They let you showcase your products, take viewers behind the scenes of your small business, and connect with new demographics. Facebook gives preference to users who take advantage of new features and formats when they create ads, so this will definitely be one type you'll want to add to your instagram account.
The main goal when you create ads involving Instagram Reels is to keep them short, sweet and captivating. Reels see an average reach rate of 30.81%, nearly double the reach rate of other content types. Reels can be found all over your users' accounts, from the Explore page, to their Instagram feed, and of course, your Instagram profile. The next time you run Instagram ads, give Reels a try.
4. Explore Ads
While managing your Instagram professional account, it's likely you've browsed the Explore section of your profile from time to time to get a sense of what's new and trending. Did you know you can also run ads to feature on the Explore page, too?
Yet another winner for small business seeking to broaden their discovery efforts when it comes to a specific audience, while keeping their Instagram advertising cost low, Instagram's Explore Ads are tailored to the wants and needs of the viewer based on the Facebook algorithm. The ad placement appears among content the app specifically curates for users centered around their interests.
5. Instagram Live Ads
Last but not least, you can create ads to run during your Instagram Live. These ads on Instagram are promoted to followers watching your live video sessions who are actively engaging with you in real-time. An Instagram Live is a great opportunity to demonstrate use cases for new and existing products, encourage new audience members to follow your brand's Instagram accounts, and highlight your brand story and personality.
Best Practices for Running Ads on Instagram
Next we'll take a look at some of the best tactics to create ads from your Instagram professional account that will not only to help boost post performance, but also engage your target demographics.
Create Engaging Content
When you run ads from your professional account for your Instagram posts, it's important your content not only focuses on authenticity and storytelling elements but also that it aligns with your brand.
Viewers are constantly being fed photo ads and posts that give them a dose of the latest and greatest of their favorite brands, so it's critical your app promotion keeps them engaged throughout their continuous stream of scrolling.
Utilize Facebook Tools
The beauty of your Instagram professional account is that it unlocks all of the available tools within the Meta Ads Manager, so you can use the same features for Instagram to run ads as you would for Facebook. Instagram is owned by Facebook (or, Meta), so you have access to features like Facebook Pixel if you're looking to measure and optimize website audiences to create ads for desktop users.
Facebook also offers a step-by step guide to help get you started with Facebook Pixel, as well as helpful articles to determine your advertising cost, track your ad performance, and implement lookalike audiences.
Test and Iterate
Maybe your first round of story ads on Instagram flopped - why was that? The only way you'll know is to continually monitor your ad performance and get creative by testing different ad types through your professional account.
A/B testing compares two or more versions of the same ad to determine which version is most impactful in terms of ad performance. It's lets you play with creative elements of different types of advertisements using your ads manager. It also lets you make minor changes with less commitment (and a smaller budget) than a full blown ad campaign.
Perhaps you find carousel ads on Instagram or collection ads to be a better format because you were wanting to advertise multiple products. A/B testing is also available from within the Meta Ad Manager, so you can use the same tool as you would for your Instagram professional account with your Facebook page.
Maximize Engagement and Conversions with Instagram Video Ads
Video ads on Instagram are a powerful tool for capturing attention, meeting audience based interests, and converting viewers into customers. With the Instagram ads manager and the platform's vast consumer base, brands can strategically place visually appealing content in front of their target audiences.
By selecting the right video ad type and delivering authentic, engaging content from your Instagram professional account, businesses can significantly boost brand awareness and drive conversions.
Ready to maximize your Instagram advertising potential? Teamtown's graphic design-as-a-service model lets you create content that resonates with audience, delivers results, and fits your budget. Contact Teamtown today!
