Instantly Grow Your Instagram
Instagram has become a huge element of branding in the digital marketing arena in the past years, therefore it’s critical to take advantage of advertising using sponsored content on this social media network. Sponsored content falls into three categories on Instagram: photo, video, and carousel. Photo advertisements are the traditional still images that Instagram is known for. The only difference between this and user generated photos is that sponsored content includes the word “Sponsored” under the username of the post.
It’s also important to stand out, and video advertisements create notable attention by adding sound and motion; additionally, a 60-second or less video (in horizontal or vertical format) can be shared. 
Lastly, carousel advertisements are similar to photo advertisements; however, these ads allow the user to swipe left to see more images on the post. User engagement is important in the social media world, so it’s important to use sponsored content as a milestone in branding.
Sponsored Content on Instagram Works for Anyone
First off, advertisements on the app are native, meaning they won’t be disruptive when users are trying to engage with the platform. All of the ads have the same format and size which keeps things consistent. Therefore, your sponsored content will mesh well with organic content when displayed on the user’s feed. Sponsored content isn’t bothersome like an advertisement on a website or YouTube. For example, an advertisement that pops up to interrupt media can often discourage someone, and they’ll back out of the content they originally wanted to view. However, the only time a user will be aware of sponsored content on their Instagram feed is when they notice content from a page they aren’t following on their feed, or when they observe the “Sponsored” text on the post.
Additio
nally, Instagram also now offers different call-to-action buttons with each ad. Agencies can now include tabs such as “Learn more,” “Shop now,” or “Download” in their posts to get users to engage with content outside of Instagram’s platform. These new tabs make it easier to promote an app and encourage website traffic.
Facebook’s ownership of Instagram’s ad space also allows advertisers to have more control over what is being advertised and to whom. For example, you can target age, gender, and specialized interests within the demographics section of Facebook’s Ad Creator.
Furthermore, in recent months Instagram launched a new addition to its app known as “Business Tools.” This allows users to turn their personal Instagram account into a business one. When a business account is created, a new contact button is added to the page, which allows users to call, text, email, or get directions to the business by using apps outside of Instagram on their smartphone.
Moreover, Instagram’s Insights allows agencies who have a business profile to view engagement statistics, who’s engaging in what, at what time, and at what location. Instagram also provides Business Tools and Insights free to anyone who has an Instagram and Facebook profile. This is particularly beneficial for small businesses, independent freelancers, or agencies who may not have it in their budget to pay for analytics or platforms that can publish content.
Instagram Communities
Instagram is populated with hundreds upon thousands of communities, meaning marketers, advertisers, and businesses can now pinpoint demographics by engaging with other profiles that share common interests.
For inst
ance, a business may use content from another user (with permission) that’s relevant to their business brand and tag the original creator in the post. Not only does this generate exposure to the original creator, but the content can also become associated with your agency’s brand.
In fact, many users (particularly millennials) report using user generated content to influence their consumer decisions. Additionally, businesses can also use specialized hashtags to engage with a particular community on Instagram. For example, HP and Lucasfilm teamed together to promote the new Star Wars film and created the #AwakenYourForce tag. Users who engaged with this tag would be entered for a chance to win movie tickets and a notebook computer.
Instagram is actually also a great platform for giveaways too. 
It has very few rules to start a promotional giveaway, and contests are an excellent way to get different communities engaged with content. Additionally, contests that are the most successful in fostering brand awareness are those that:
- Require a user to tag a friend in the comments of the contest post, or
- Require users to post a photo or video with the business mentioned or tagged onto their personal Instagram.
Not only does this cause a multitude of engagement, but it’s essentially free marketing. It also builds a great relationship with users, because a giveaway represents giving back to the Instagram community.
Content Matters
On Instagram, content really does matter. Its sole platform is based on visual content; therefore, it’s important to share something that’s aesthetically appealing and follows the rules of design.
Moreover, there is a greater response to quality content rather than content of great quantity. Sure, an agency can gain engagement from pushing out content daily, but it may lose views or likes simply because of poor design. In fact, both organic and sponsored posts receive about half the engagement of those that are well designed; in other words, user engagement increases when content has well designed visuals over content that is posted with less thought or creativity.
On the other hand, visual appeal isn’t the only factor in an engaging post. It’s also about the actual content being shown. Whether it be a picture of a car or a video of an office set-up, it’s important to know the audience you’re engaging with. For example, a majority of Instagram’s sponsored content is geared around fashion, making up for over 500,000 different posts on the platform to date. Meanwhile, sponsored content of pets receives the most likes on average, followed by fashion, sports, food, and fitness. Therefore, understanding the subject matter is just as important as clear and concise design elements.
Overall, sponsored content on Instagram can and does work. It all comes down to understanding the audience, aesthetics, and effort. The more time an agency puts into making thoughtful and creative content, the more engagement and exposure they will receive.
