Increased visibility, audience growth, engagement boost… these, and many other benefits of Instagram promotions made them an appealing marketing tactic for anyone doing business online. Many influencers are not an exception: many content creators large and small, understood the benefits of Instagram promotions years ago, and have been doing them extensively. As time goes by (and competition online grows!), more and more creators are looking for ways to put their content in front of the eyes of more people and Instagram promotions have been one of the main methods for this. If you have been considering giving paid Instagram promotions a try, you are in the right place. In this article, we will go over what Instagram promotions are, how can you benefit from them, as well as what type of content you can promote, and how exactly you can do it. Let’s dive in!

Instagram promotions, also known as Instagram advertising or Instagram boosts, are the practice of setting up paid ads to promote your content. The main aim of this is to make pieces of content visible for more, and more precisely targeted people. Instagram promotions help to increase the visibility engagement, and reach of your content beyond your existing followers. By setting specific demographics, interests, and budgets, you can ensure your content reaches the people who are the most likely to be interested in what you have to say. Instagram promotions can help you to overcome challenges of organic reach and engagement that often result from the algorithmic nature of the platform, ensuring that your content appears in the feeds of relevant users, even if they are not following you but share similar characteristics with your target audience.

If you have never boosted an Instagram post before, it may seem a bit overwhelming at first. But don’t worry! The process is quite straightforward, and you will get the hang of it pretty quickly.

To help you with this, below is a step-by-step guide to take you through the process.
There are two ways to promote your Instagram posts. One is from Facebook Ads Manager, and the other is from Instagram itself. Here, we will concentrate on how you can create ads directly from Instagram.

To start, make sure that your account is set to Professional Account, and connected to a Facebook page/account. These two processes are connected: once you set your Instagram to Professional Account, it will request that you connect your page to a Facebook account. Without this, Instagram will not allow you to boost your posts.

Head to your profile, select “Ad tools,” choose a post that you want to promote, and hit Next. If you haven’t connected your page to a Facebook account yet, you’ll be prompted to do it here again.

At this stage, you need to fill in your ad details.

The information should include:

• The goal of your campaign
• The audience (you’ll be able to choose their interests and demographics)
• The budgeting of your campaign (daily or lifetime expenditure)
• Campaign duration and running time

Once you’ve added all the information, hit next to proceed. Your ad will be sent for review to ensure that it complies with the policies of Instagram. It will start running as soon as it has been cleared, and you’ll be notified about it.

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Instagram promotions consist of two parts: the visual and the copy. And while the importance of a catchy and attractive visual cannot be overestimated, the copy you add to your boosted posts is just as important for the success of your campaign.

When writing a copy for your boosted Instagram posts, there are a few tips and tricks you can consider, which will help you craft compelling texts that can capture your audience’s attention, convey your message, and encourage them to interact with your content.

• Keep your copy sweet and short – Instagram users scroll quickly, and it’s important that your message is understood at a glance. Make sure to have an attention-grabbing opening as well.
• Have a clear objective – Determine the main goal of your promotion, and make it as clear as possible in your copy. In other words, know what you want them to do and make sure that they know it too.
• Know your audience – Know who the people you are targeting are, and make sure to include information or points relating to their interests, preferences, and pain points.
• Use emotions – Appeal to emotions to create a personal connection, as emotionally resonant copy tends to be more memorable and engaging.
• Use hashtags – Incorporate relevant and trending hashtags to increase the discoverability of your post.

Now, let’s talk about the second part of your Instagram promotion, the visual. Instagram is, first and foremost, a visual platform, and for your promotion to stand out there, you need to craft a visual that catches the eye, creates a positive first impression, and gives you credibility from the get-go. A creatively-crafted design will stand as a beacon of attention, prompting viewers to pause, engage, and explore further. Crafting such a visual involves a combination of visual aesthetics, strategic messaging, and an understanding of your target audience. Here are a few steps you can take to achieve this:

• Know your audience, what type of content they like, and what types of visuals resonate with them.
• Have a clear visual hierarchy, and highlight the most important elements in your visual using contrasting colors, sizes, or placements.
• Use bold colors to catch their attention in the crowded feed, but make sure that the palette you go for aligns with your aesthetic.
• If you decide to add typographic elements, go for clean fonts readable even on small devices.
• Use compelling and high-quality imagery that evokes emotion and shows your work in context.

As time goes by, and through some experience and A/B testing, you’ll know better what type of visuals work better as ads for your personal brand.

When it comes to the types of posts you can boost on Instagram, the platform is quite flexible and allows for a significant selection of post types you can choose to promote. Some of the main post types you can choose to boost on Instagram are static photo posts, video posts (including reels), and carousel posts consisting of both images and video content. You can also promote your active, highlighted, or archived stories, and, if you have an Instagram Shop, your shopping posts feature tags as well. All in all, the platform allows you to promote Stories, Feed Posts, Reels, and Shopping posts through paid ads. With this said Instagram ads do come with a set of limitations. In stories, for example, some creative elements are not available for ads that run on stories. On story ads, you can use up to five allowed interactive elements, which include location, hashtag sticker, @mention, polling stickers, a tappable text, or one countdown sticker. GIFs and emojis are not recommended, and if you are promoting a story without a pre-existing post, only the Swipe-up CTA will be available. To promote Reels, you need to make sure that they are shorter than 90 seconds, do not contain copyrighted music, GIFs, or other elements, and haven’t been shared on Facebook. Feed posts and carousels are the most “relaxed” in this regard, as Instagram doesn’t set any limitations on them!

Now, let’s address the financial aspect of Instagram promotions.

The question “How much do Instagram promotions cost?” has no single right answer. The cost of Instagram ads can vary widely based on several factors, including your advertising goals, target audience, ad format, and the overall quality of your campaign. Instagram offers various pricing models, and your budget determines how much you’ll spend on your ads.

However, there are certain industry standards and recommended ranges that you can take into consideration when planning and executing your campaign.

These are three of the key metrics Instagram uses to calculate the cost of your campaign. The numbers indicated above are the prices you should expect to pay for better-performing ads.

Maximizing the effectiveness of your boosted Instagram posts requires a strategic approach and attention to detail. To get started, there are quite a few hacks and best practices that you can refer to, in addition to the high-quality ad copy and visuals discussed above. Firstly, be clear on what is the objective of your ad from the start. Are you promoting a specific product through your post, want to showcase your work, or improve brand awareness? This knowledge will then guide the entire process of setting up your ad, from choosing the right post to targeting strategies. You also need a clear Call-To-Action (CTA). Whether it’s “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” or “Swipe Up,” make it clear and compelling. Then test, test, test. Experiment with different audience segments to see which one responds best to your promotions. A/B testing can provide valuable insights. Promote your post among different audiences, test various CTAs, and boost different content types. Make sure to change only one variable in every test to have a clear idea of what was the change that made a positive impact. Start your tests by promoting the posts that performed the best organically: chances are, it’s what your audience is interested in the most. Next, be realistic with your budget. Start with the amount that will allow you to run your ads consistently. Don’t overspend or under budget; find the right balance. Lastly, make sure to monitor your campaigns regularly, and adjust them based on performance. Monitor metrics like reach, engagement, clicks, and conversion rates through Instagram Insights, and direct your budget toward the promotions that work the best. Over time, as you experiment with ads and gather data, figuring out what works better will be much easier.