Social Media is expanding at a constantly increasing pace. It’s hard enough to keep up with the variety of platforms and the different ways that you communicate on them. Then you add in the need to create advertisements for each of them in the mix and suddenly your day is lost in front of your computer screen creating similar ads over and over.
Luckily, Facebook has just started rolling out a fantastic advertising tool that will save you a lot of time and trouble. Using Facebook’s Ad tools you can now create ads for Instagram as well!
If you haven’t heard of Facebook Business Manager yet, then you need to check it out. There’s a link at the bottom of the page for you to sign up and all you have to do is enter some basic information, select the account you want it linked to and you’re about ready to roll. Social Media Examiner has a great tutorial if you want a more detailed walk-through and help setting up the account.
You don’t need to have a Business Manager account in order to create Instagram ads on Facebook, but if you do then you can link your Instagram account to it and be able to respond to comments that you receive on the ads. If you opt not to create a Business Manager account then your Instagram ads will display with your Facebook name instead of your Instagram handle and it won’t be clickable.
If you have Business Manager
Go to Ads Manager.
Click the Create Ad tab at the top right of the page.
If you don’t have Business Manager
Go to the Ads Manager.
Click on the green Create Ad button at the top right of the page.
This will bring you to the standard Ads Manager in your Business Manager. Hovering over each of the listed options will tell you what they do as well as whether or not they work with Instagram. Choose the one that best suits your needs.
Now you can get to work creating your ad.
- Select your objective.
- Choose your audience. If you already have saved audiences, you’ll see them here.
- Set your Ad Budget and schedule. You’ll want to experiment with a variety of combinations to see what works best for each goal.
- Create your ad!
- You can choose to have a single photo or video or a carousel of images. Make sure that you see Instagram listed as an active placement option.
- Select your images or video. Scroll down to check what it will look like with each of your placements. Poorly optimized images never look good.
- Configure your ad display.
- If you have Business Manager
- Your Instagram account will automatically be selected.
- If you don’t have Business Manager
- You will have the option to add your Instagram account or you can simply use your Facebook page.
- If you only want this ad to appear on Instagram, simply deselect the other options.
- If you have Business Manager
- Run your ad!
- When you have everything looking good, click on the green Place Order This will submit your ad to Facebook for review. If it’s approved it will start running with the schedule you selected.
- Respond to comments.
- Once uploaded the Instagram ad won’t appear on your profile, but it can be accessed with a permalink.
- If you have Business Manager
- In Power Editor, under the Ad Links you should see View Instagram permalink with comments.
- If you don’t have Business Manager
- The permalink can be found under the Ad Manager Dashboard. Select your campaign, the ad set, and click the ad. You’ll see a little eye icon. This will lead you to an ad preview and the permalink.
- Review Insights.
- Make sure to visit Ads Manager to keep an eye on your ads’ performance. Click through the campaign to see a breakdown of results by placement. This will allow you to tailor future campaigns more effectively.
That’s it! If you were already creating ads in Facebook, then most of this process should be familiar to you.
You will need to be aware of some Instagram Advertising Guidelines.
Most of their guidelines are the same as Facebook’s but there are some additional ones.
- You are not allowed to repurpose images. This includes images used in previous ads.
- No heavy use of image filters.
- No text is allowed on ad images.
- No gimmicks.
- No logos on the ad. The exception is if a logo appears on a product in a natural way.
- No shocking images.
- Nothing too cheesy and way off from your brand.
- Try to use existing hashtags that are already popular.
- Ads should focus on moments, not staged products.
Integrating these two platforms isn’t just a huge timesaver for many business owners. Creating these ads in one place also allows you to see view the performance of the ads all in one spot as well.
We’re really excited to begin using this tool to help our clients expand their reach, save time, increase the efficacy of their advertising dollar, and improve their ad targeting across multiple platforms. If you would like to learn more about how we help businesses navigate Social Media, contact us today!