So you’re running a beauty salon and looking for the best platforms to advertise on. With a variety of options to choose – from Facebook to LinkedIn, chances are that you might dismiss Instagram as an effective platform to advertise your beauty salon. You shouldn’t!
While Instagram is relatively younger than its’ parent company Facebook, there are many advantages to using Instagram ads compared to other forms of social media ads. Why? For starters, Instagram’s rapid growth of users ever since it was established has marked an astonishing growth to 800 million active users. Active is important! Users report that they currently tend to spend far more time on Instagram rather than on Facebook. Moreover, the platform offers some perfect opportunities for brands to engage with their followers and be discovered – both through Instagram sponsored posts as well as organically. So what is Instagram advertising, how much do Instagram ads cost and how to run an effective Instagram paid ads? Keep on reading to find out the answers!
How to start
Most “how-to guides” will start by explaining to you how Instagram sponsored posts work but they tend to miss one important factor, the very basics of an effective Instagram advertising – your Instagram salon page feed. Running an Instagram ad which leads to an undeveloped salon Instagram page is likely to produce poor results – sure, you’ve captured the attention of your target audience and they’ve taken their time to visit your page. But then they see a page consisting of only one or two posts. Or a feed which is not visually appealing or consist of boring content. Do you think they will click further? I bet they wouldn’t.
For this reason, we recommend that before you delve into Instagram advertising, you have already laid the basis of your Instagram salon page. At the end of the day Instagram is a visual platform – it is all about beautiful visuals that fit together well stylistically to produce a gorgeous looking feed. Extra tip: keep your content engaging, start discussions with your posts – for example a quick “how was your day?” description to one of your posts can generate great engagement. Comment back to your audience and don’t forget to show love to your followers.
Instagram Paid Ads
Now that you know the basics of Instagram marketing, let’s get into how Instagram advertising works. There are two types of Instagram ads – “Instagram feed” ads and “Instagram stories” ads. Both could be said to be just as effective.
Instagram feed ads
These type of ads pop up while users are scrolling through their feed. They are marked as “sponsored posts” and link directly to either the brand’s Instagram page or their website. Depending on the customized settings.
Instagram feed ads consist of:
Single Photo Ads – this option allows you to create up to 6 ads containing one photo each. They are a preferred choice as they are very easy to make. You start out by going to Facebook Ads Manager and selecting the images you want for your ad. You can browse from your image library, or upload a new photo, or use a free stock image. Then, just add in your caption for the ad, which can include up to 300 characters. It is best if you try to stick to 125 characters for these ads, however. Don’t forget to add a link to your website by clicking “Add a website URL” and selecting a “call-to-action” button.
Single Video Ads – these consist of a video or a GIF. Select the correct format, choose your video or upload a new one. Don’t forget to choose a video thumbnail, as this is very important. You can select from the options proposed by Facebook or upload a custom one. Should you want to have video captions, you need to upload an SRT file. Just like with the Single Photo Ads, you need to provide an accurate description and it is best to stick to 124 characters. Don’t forget to add a “call-to-action” button and a link to your Instagram profile or website.
Slideshow Ads – if you happen to be familiar with carousel posts – these are generally the same ads but they scroll on their own. They are basically video ads on a loop with a maximum of 10 images (with music). Here’s how to create them - upload a slideshow from your library or create one using the slideshow creator in Facebook Ads Manager. Choose a thumbnail, then a caption and add a website URL. If you happen to have Facebook posts which performed especially well in the past, you can use these existing posts for your salon Instagram ad.
Carousel Ads – these consist of two or more images or videos that people can scroll through. Here’s how to create one - add your caption, which will stay the same no matter what image a person is viewing. Then, you’ll need to create the cards for the ad. You can add up to 10 cards for one ad. For every card - upload an image, video, or slideshow. For every card you can have a different text which you will have to fill in the headline.
Leave the description blank and add a link and a CTA button.
Instagram Stories Ads
Instagram stories ads are pretty straightforward. They look exactly like a normal Instagram story would look like. You just need to upload your images or videos – that’s it. One thing to remember is that Instagram video stories must be up to 15 seconds.
PDF Topic: "Best Way to Get Instagram Followers"
How to target audiences
Target your audience by selecting specific location, age, gender, demographics, interests, behaviors, connections, or languages.
It is also best to target people who have interacted with your content or who have a relationship with your customers. And from there you can target others using the option ‘Lookalike Audience”.
How much do Instagram ads cost?
The cost of Instagram ads generally depends on your specified budget and whether you want to use manual or automatic bidding.
