Great Results for Clients with NEW Instagram Ads

It’s clear from early results that Instagram ads will be a huge win for Facebook and for SmartClick’s Clients
 
SmartClick was honored last month to get early access from Facebook to set up and run Instagram ad campaigns for clients before other agencies. Now that Instagram has topped 400 million monthly active users, surpassing Twitter, it’s clearly in the inner circle of website ad networks we’re recommending for clients (after Google, Facebook, and BingAds.) Instagram opens up an entirely new world of creativity. We’ve seen some nice early results from Instagram ads for clients.
 
Results
Here are some early results we’re seeing for clients:
 
Client A
 

Client B
 

For Client A we drove a cheaper cost/conversion than Facebook, mostly thanks to the less expensive clicks we’re able to get on Instagram. As with any other ad platform, it really pays to be an early adopter because when less people are trying to buy the ad inventory, it’s less expensive. This is the case right now with Instagram. We expect CPC’s to rise over time, but if you start to hone in on your targeting and creative now, you could stay ahead of the game for the long-term.
 
For Client B Instagram ads have a higher cost/conversion than Facebook ads right now. However the $1.48 that they’re getting is much better than a lot of other channels including AdWords non-branded search and retargeting. SmartClick has also been running Facebook ads for over a year for this client. We’ve honed in on targeting and creative whereas with Instagram, this is our first round of ads. We believe we can get Instagram down to parity with Facebook, if not better.
 
Opening Up A Whole World of Creativity

While we can tweak Facebook ads to work in the Instagram format, to gain the most from Instagram, we recommend separating the two and testing creative and targeting in their own silos. Instagram ads are obviously going to be very dependent on the image and possibly less on the text. Overlaying text on the image is still allowed on Instagram and we’ve seen it be very effective. However the text should be shorter and more to the point on Instagram since you have less space to work with. It’s also important to keep in mind that Instagram is almost a purely mobile platform, so all images should look good on a small screen. The website you’re directing ads should also be optimized for mobile.
 
A good amount of creative assets will be necessary for success on Instagram. If your brand doesn’t have its own then SmartClick is more than happy to do a photoshoot for your brand.
 
Is Your Brand (and Website) Right for Instagram?

You should consider both your brand’s target, as well as the mobile friendliness of your website in determining if you should advertise on Instagram. The target skews younger on Instagram than Facebook. If you’re looking for that young, hip audience then Instagram is a great fit. If you’re selling mortgage insurance or retirement plans then it might not be so good. Instagram is also great for highly visual brands.
 
Since Instagram is purely mobile, you should adjust your expectations accordingly. You should be looking at Instagram as an upstream awareness builder, not a sales closer. You can serve retargeting ads on Instagram, which puts you closer to the bottom of the conversion funnel. However, the best results are likely to come from upstream awareness building because of all the targeting options available to you. Also if you are selling big-ticket items (generally over $250) then it’s much less likely that you’re going to see direct transactions because it’s rare for people to make large purchases on their phones. However, Instagram could still be a valuable piece in your conversion funnel as it can introduce high-quality leads at a relatively low cost.
 
If you’re interested in running Instagram ads for your brand with a cutting edge agency then please contact us below.