How Much Does Instagram Advertising Cost and How Can You Lower It?
One of today’s most popular social media platforms is Instagram. It’s a very visual app where users share pictures and videos with their followers. It’s been growing rapidly over the years and it only continues to do so, making it a great place for companies to advertise their items and services. In addition, for those of you who have already advertised on Facebook, then advertising on Instagram will be a breeze for you. That being said, if you haven’t, as long as you have the right tools and a bit of help, the process shouldn’t be too difficult for you either. However, before we get into the how, let’s first talk about the elephant in the room.
One of the most sought-after questions is “How much does it cost to advertise on Instagram?” Unfortunately, just as with Facebook ads, the answer is unclear. This is due to the fact that there are just too many factors involved in the pricing. That being said, it is possible to provide you with a reference point.
If you are advertising in the U.S., you’ll find some of the highest CPC rates at about $3.56. However, the worldwide average is a bit lower at around $2.40. As we mentioned earlier, though, there are so many things that impact that price. For instance, if you’re targeting women or the age group of 25-34, you can expect your price to be significantly higher than that of the other gender or group ranges.
Regardless of the amount that you choose, you can expect to receive a big ROI because Instagram actually boasts the highest engagement rate among all other social media platforms. In addition, there are a number of steps that you can take to ensure that your cost will be as low as possible. Continue reading to find out how to advertise on Instagram while gaining insider tips and tricks that will help you lower the CPC rate simultaneously.
How to Advertise on Instagram at a Lower Cost
Facebook is the parent company of Instagram, therefore, everything happens on there. Therefore, be sure that your Facebook business account is linked to your Instagram profile. As soon as that’s set up, you’re ready to begin.
In the Ads Manager, the first step that you’ll have to take is selecting your objective. Instagram simplifies this for you by narrowing down the options to boosting your posts, sending people to your site, increasing conversions on your site, getting installs of your app, increasing engagement in your app, or getting video views. Pick the one that is the most applicable to your ad campaign’s plan and then move forward with the next step. If you’re having trouble, it’s useful to do some research on your competitors to see which objective has worked the best for them.
In the targeting section, you want to make sure that you fill out as many options as possible in order to make the narrowest target audience possible. This is a great way to save money because if your audience is too broad, you’ll be paying for a lot more people that are very unlikely to convert. On the other hand, with a narrow audience, you will most likely only be paying for those who have a very high chance of converting. The options that the Ads Manager provides you with a range from very simple ones such as location, age, gender, and language all the way to those that are much more extensive such as interests, behaviors, and connections. In addition, don’t neglect to take a look at their gauge, which will let you know whether or not your selected target audience is narrow enough. Other targeting options that you should take advantage of include custom and lookalike audiences. With a custom audience, you are able to upload an audience that you’ve already interacted with before, therefore, there’s a big chance that they will convert. With a lookalike audience, you are able to find a group of people who are very similar to your most valuable audiences, which in turn, also guarantees a huge chance of major conversions.
Later on in the process, you’ll be able to set your own budget. This is where you need to think hard as you don’t want to be spending too much that you’d go bankrupt. At the same time, you want to make sure that you are actually putting in enough money to see a good return. Here, you’re allowed to choose between two different kinds of budgets: the daily or a lifetime budget.
When it comes to the creative, we can’t stress how important it is to create something that is visually pleasing while relative at the same time. People are visual creatures, therefore, their eye is caught by things that look good. For Instagram, you’re allowed to choose one of three formats: a single image, a video, or a slideshow. Make sure that you follow the specifications for each type of format. In addition, when it comes to the caption for the post, keep it to a minimum. You don’t want to lose their interest before you get to the juicy part, therefore, keep it clear and concise while interesting at the same time. In addition, don’t hesitate to utilize hashtags as they are so much more powerful than they are made to be. They’re actually a really great way to get a movement going, bring awareness to something new, or just bring in users who are interested in what you have to sell.
As soon as it’s live, you want to be sure that you track its process and make changes where you deem fit. At this stage, many companies enlist an agency such as our own that way you can really get into the nitty-gritty of things because optimization is key if you want to continue to succeed on Instagram.
Our solution, TEA, works to detect and eliminate threats like bots as well as analyze user engagement in order to uncover any obstacles or trends. Learn more on our site as well as with our free webinar.