Ever come across your Instagram feed and saw that ‘Promote’ blue button at the bottom right? It might be tempting to just click on it and spend some $$$ however, this is not the best way to go.

Something we always remind potential clients in our Complimentary Strategy Calls is that Instagram wants to take your money – so they make it as easy as possible for you to spend it on their ads platform. This in no way means that the ‘Promoting’ method is going to get you the best bang for your buck.

To understand why this is a bad idea for your business, means you need to understand exactly what is happening behind the scenes when you promote your post. Promoting your post is the same thing as Boosting your post on Facebook. These are the easy ways to start ‘advertising’ on their platforms. By promoting your post, you are spending money to reach your immediate ecosystem that consists of your current followers and their followers. Yes you are introducing your brand to new people, but you will be spending your money to reach ‘everyone’, not people identified as being a part of your niche.

So what should you be doing?

You should be using Facebook Ads Manager to run your Instagram Ads. By using Facebook Ads Manager, you are opening your brand up to a world of ways to target your exact niche. If you have identified exactly what your ideal customer looks like, you can target them specifically in Facebook Ads Manager to show them your highly-targeted ads on Instagram. This is a cost-efficient and more effective way to show your brand to new audiences and increase your sales.

TIP: For a more detailed explanation of how to set up Facebook Ads Manager for your Business, you can check out Facebook’s article here.

2. Use Lookalike Audiences for Instagram Ads

If you have been running and targeting customers through ads for a while, you will already have data that you can repurpose as lookalike audiences.

Lookalike audiences are the best strategy to introduce your brand to new audiences. This top of funnel strategy paired with a strong middle and bottom of funnel strategy will mean you brand is consistently being shown to new audiences that look exactly like your current customers.

You can check out how to create a lookalike audience here.

HOT TIP: We find a 10% lookalike audience works best with this strategy. However, this is not a golden rule, we test different percentages for different brands and different campaigns, so make sure you’re always testing!

3. Repurpose well-performing content

You do not need to produce evergreen content for advertising purposes every single time, this will only cause creative burnout along the way.

A better strategy is to use the content from your top-performing posts and repurpose them into Instagram ads (remember to run it via FB ads manager). This way you already know the content is what your target audience likes to engage on and will be likely to perform well.

TIP: You can also repurpose the not so popular ones to test the ads themselves for a bigger audience. This will be at your discretion. Remember, the only way to know if the ads are working is through constant testing and evaluation.

We have proved time and again that investing in ad spend is a good move for your business and if done properly, has the possibility to skyrocket your sales.

If you find you need further help with your Instagram Ads Strategies, follow us on social media @bidpixel where we post best practices and updates for businesses online. Or want to hear more about Digital Marketing Strategies for e-commerce? Head to our youtube channel here.

If you’re looking for experts to grow your business online for you, Book a Complimentary Strategy Call