How to Captivate your Instagram Audience with Instagram Ads

Have you shared your company’s unique story with Instagram yet?

One day I noticed something different on Instagram: as I scrolled down my timeline, I saw images from a profile I didn’t recognize. I almost missed it, as it blended in so well amongst the other images in my newsfeed. I decided to investigate, and what did I find? The source of these unknown images was Pantene – a carousel ad, bringing me into the hair washing experience with Pantene hair products.

Experience is the keyword in that phrase; Instagram is about the visual experience.

How do you use Instagram to share your company’s unique story?

• Begin by remembering Instagram is a social image sharing platform. Use imagery to attract a consumer following. Viewers appreciate clever videos and images in lieu of wordy explanations.
• For the best results, sit down and develop a story that you would like to tell – a story that best fits your brand and your target audience.
• After you have created a story, discover the best way to present this story visually – whether it is with a single image ad, a video ad, or a 4-frame story ad.
• Your images should portray professional quality. Unless your theme is to have amateur photos, consumers will expect more from brands they follow – compared to their friends or family.
• Think of Instagram branding as a creativity contest. Create Instagram ads that set you apart from all company ads, not just your competitors.
• Try to develop memorable hashtags that will connect viewers with your campaign. Why? Because viewers love to feel like they are a part of the story. It also generates more of a buzz and campaign following.
• Once you have published your campaign, try to encourage people to send in images enjoying your product or service. This creates positive two-way communication between consumers and your company.

Viewers can tell when they are being sold to, and this is exactly what they do not want on Instagram. To engage customers, your Instagram ads need to be inventive, catchy, and different.

Or as the Instagram Blog states, “Our aim is to make any advertisements you see feel as natural to Instagram as photos and videos many of you already enjoy from your favorite brands.”

Here are some of our favorite Instagram ads and why:

Ben & Jerry’s delivered an Instagram ad that created an experience unlike any other. This image is relaxing, making users feel like they are the person in the picture holding the ice cream cone, imagining ice cream. The ad successfully draws viewers in, pushing us into thinking about their product. But selling the product is not the only thing Ben & Jerry’s is focused on with this image: they want viewers to follow their page for more interesting postings, and viewers will do exactly that.

At first glance, viewers immediately see the thought and innovation that went into this post. We are thinking about the trouble they may have gone through to get the dog to stay in this position. The ad motivates followers to craft their own GLA experience and share it with Mercedes using the hashtag, #GLApacked. This is Mercedes’ goal, to create a buzz through clever imagery and encourage people to join the conversation. With this creative approach, Mercedes will increase their Instagram following and boost sales.

Tesco Foods does it best. They use four frames for one image, separated into four separate fragments. Users have to click all the way through the Instagram ad in order to get the full story. Why does this work? The initial image confused viewers who wanted to know the whole story, therefore they had more motivation to swipe to the end and learn what the product was about. Viewers were aware that they will get a great visual experience from Tesco Foods, so they click “follow” for more.

Instagram is about the eye-catching visual experience. There are a lot of companies who have successful campaigns with Instagram advertising – now it’s your turn.

For assistance with Instagram advertising, take a look at Chain Reaction’s Instagram Advertising Services and Social Media Marketing services.