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How to Become Profitable with Instagram Ads

I’m sure by now you recognize the importance of staying active on social media to promote your business.

Your Instagram marketing campaigns need to be a priority.

If you’re not using Instagram to reach your customers, there is a good chance your competitors are doing so. In fact, more than 70% of businesses in the United States are using Instagram.

Furthermore, 70% of hashtags on this platform are branded.

That’s why it’s so important for you to leverage your Instagram profile to connect with your current customers and target prospective consumers as well.

Believe it or not, consumers want to interact with brands on social media. We know that 80% of Instagram accounts follow at least one business profile.

If you’re getting lots of followers, that’s great. However, you need to learn how to convert your social media followers into customers, or your efforts won’t pay off.

But what about the consumers who don’t follow your business on Instagram?

They might be interested in your products, services, and content, but they won’t see any of your promotions if they’re not following your profile.

That’s where Instagram ads come into play.

Buying ads on Instagram will help give you a huge advantage over your competitors who aren’t willing to spend the money.

That said, any time you’re spending valuable marketing dollars, it’s important to make sure those efforts yield a high ROI. You don’t want to blindly buy ads without making sure they’re profitable.

If you’re new to Instagram ads or if your current ones need improvement, you’ll benefit tremendously from this guide.

I’ll explain how to drive sales with your Instagram marketing strategy, get more followers, and expand your reach. Here’s what you need to know.

Determine your marketing objective

Instagram is owned by Facebook. You’ll be using the same platform you used to generate leads with Facebook ads.

The first thing you’ll need to do is select your marketing objective:

The goals are broken down into three main categories:

• awareness
• consideration
• conversion

Truthfully, there is no right or wrong answer here when it comes to making this selection.

Any choice can lead to profits. For example, if your goal is to generate website traffic, that traffic can eventually lead to conversions.

If you are trying to increase your brand awareness, extend your reach or generate leads, those campaigns can end up creating sales in the future.

But if you’re trying to get instant sales, you’ll want to select conversions, catalog sales, or store visits as your marketing objective.

These types of ads will have actionable CTAs to drive sales. But we’ll discuss that in greater detail shortly.

Again, your ads will be effective no matter what you choose. Everyone’s brand is different. Don’t expect your goals to mirror those of other companies.

If you have the budget, you can even run multiple campaigns with different goals to see which ones are the most beneficial for your business.

Then, you can continue running the most successful ones.

Identify your target audience

Next, you’ll need to determine the audience you want to target.

There are different approaches to this step, depending on the overall marketing goals of your company and each campaign.

You’re able to select your audience based on factors such as:

• location
• age
• gender
• language

Again, this will change based on each campaign. For example, let’s say your brand sells sports equipment to consumers in the United States.

That doesn’t mean all your ads will be relevant to every location.

An ad that promotes a sale on surfboards won’t appeal to someone who lives in Colorado. Ads for women’s golf clubs should be seen only by, you guessed it, women.

I know this sounds basic, but you’d be surprised how often I see businesses make such simple mistakes. They try to target as many people as possible, which isn’t a profitable strategy.

Another cool feature you should keep in mind when you’re selecting your target market is the ability to create a custom audience.

This allows you to set your ads to reach users who have interacted with you before.

For example, a person who doesn’t follow you can still see one of your posts on the Instagram “explore” page, also known as the “popular page.” That’s a custom audience you could target.

You can also set a custom lookalike audience. These ads will target users similar to your current followers.

Set a budget

I don’t recommend spending every dollar in your marketing budget on Instagram ads, especially if this is your first time using this strategy.

Get your feet wet before you dive in head first.

Everyone’s budget is different. But let’s keep things simple for now and say that your company has allocated $5,000 to spend on Instagram ads.

That’s great.

However, it doesn’t mean you should dump all $5,000 into one campaign. Mix it up.

As I said before, you’ll want to experiment to see which types of ads benefit your brand the most based on your goals.

Try running five campaigns at $1,000 each.

Don’t run them all simultaneously. Not everyone who sees your advertisements will convert. But if they see three ads over the course of a couple of months, it might get the job done.

While it’s important for you to spend within your means, it’s worth noting that even small business owners are planning to increase their Instagram marketing budgets.

As you can see, Instagram is second only to Facebook in the list of all social media networks small businesses plan to spend more money on in the coming years.

If you don’t have the funds to spend much money on Instagram ads right now, you should budget accordingly for the future.

The last thing you want is to let your competitors beat you to new leads. Or even worse, lose your current customers to the competition because they ran ads and you didn’t.

Choose which types of ads you want to run

There are a bunch of different types of ads you can run on Instagram. That’s because the platform is versatile. These are all the options for you to consider:

• photos
• videos
• carousel
• stories

One of the best parts about Instagram ads is that your content appears naturally within the rest of the content seen by users.

Such posts are clearly labeled as sponsored ads, but they still look like any other content from any other account an Instagram user might follow.

For example, let’s say a user is browsing through the stories of the accounts they follow. If you run a story ad, your story will be presented between two stories posted by profiles they follow.

Sure, a user may recognize they’re seeing an ad. But that won’t necessarily stop them from consuming your content.

In fact, 60% of users say they use Instagram to discover new products. And 75% of that group follow through with an action after that discovery.

The action may not be a purchase—it could be a click to find out more. But that should give you a chance to get these users to convert.

Use an actionable CTA

Your CTA will have a big impact on how users react to the sponsored content they’re presented with.

Let’s assume you accurately selected your target market and your ad is being displayed to those interested in your product and willing to buy. How can you get them to convert?

Invite them to buy with action verbs. Get right to the point.

Check out this CTA example from a MeUndies advertisement on Instagram:

Shop now.

There is nothing ambiguous about this CTA. It’s much more actionable than something like “find out more information here.”

That type of CTA won’t drive sales.

But with a call-to-action such as “shop now,” users who see this advertisement will know exactly what to expect when they click on the button.

As expected, this CTA brings you directly to the brand’s ecommerce shop.

Take a look at this landing page to see how MeUndies is able to drive sales with its advertisement.

It’s very simple.

Since people are viewing these ads on their mobile devices, don’t try to cram too many products onto the screen at the same time.

Here, when users scroll, they see only two products at a time.

Now, take a minute to scroll back up to the original post. It featured a model wearing sweatpants.

Naturally, the first two products displayed on the landing page are sweatpants. It makes sense and should promote conversions.

Let’s say your Instagram advertisement is promoting a new backpack, but your CTA brings them to a page selling water bottles.

Sure, the users might be interested in that product as well. However, they clicked on your CTA because they wanted to see the product in your original ad. Make sure the two match.

We’ll discuss your landing page in greater detail shortly.

Showcase your top benefits

You need to realize how people use Instagram.

They’re scrolling through posts at a fairly rapid rate. Don’t expect people to stop to analyze your ad if it’s overly complicated.

If your benefits can’t be identified right away, the user has no reason to click your CTA button.

You’ve got to come up with ads that are easy to recognize at a quick glance. Here’s a great example of how State and Liberty is able to accomplish this with its advertisement:

It’s very clear what the carousel ad is trying to convey.

Same model, two different shirts.

The shirt on the left looks messy, coming untucked. Many guys can relate to that.

But the shirt on the right looks great. It fits the model perfectly, which makes him look sharp.

Combining two images in one picture is much more effective than showing one shirt without anything to compare it to.

Once a user sees this, they may be interested enough to keep swiping through the rest of the carousel ad.

The next image of the ad uses the same strategy.

One shirt is neat, fits properly, and doesn’t cause the model to sweat. While the other shirt is messy, loose, coming untucked, and covered in sweat.

Even if the differences are embellished, that’s okay. It’s still an extremely effective way to promote the brand.

In just two pictures, this company is able to showcase how it differs from the competition by highlighting the top benefits of its product.

This campaign paired with an actionable CTA is a great way to drive sales.

Create a landing page that drives conversions

Your advertisement might be great.

You were able to pick the right marketing objective and target the perfect audience, and the content of your ad is getting people to click on your CTA.

However, all of this is useless if your landing page isn’t set up to drive conversions.

When a user clicks a CTA that says something like “shop now,” they shouldn’t land on your blog or homepage. You want to bring them directly to your ecommerce shop.

Make it easy for them to complete the checkout process with just a few clicks.

However, depending on your marketing goal, you can set up other types of landing pages to drive conversions, even if those conversions aren’t sales.

Check out this example of a landing page from Olivers Apparel:

The company encourages users to recommend its brand to other people.

By sending $25 to a friend, they’ll get $25 in return. It’s a very enticing offer for a user exposed to a new brand for the first time.

You might be hesitant to spend money on a product you’ve never used before.

But $25 off your order may be a good enough reason for you to buy.

This strategy is a great example of a customer referral program that drives sales.

Let’s look at another landing page strategy from Buffy. You might want to consider using it in your marketing:

Instead of turning its prospective customers away with expensive prices, the brand’s landing page gives them an offer they can’t refuse.

You can try this product for 30 days at no cost.

They’ll ship it to you free, and if you’re not happy with it after a month, you can send it back—free too.

Instead of a CTA that says “buy,” the company used “try.”

Further, 30 days is plenty of time for prospective customers to decide whether they like the product or not.

Since Buffy offers such an enticing deal, I’m assuming the team is confident in the quality of its product, expecting the customers to be satisfied.

Sending Instagram users directly to your ecommerce shop is a great way to drive sales. But as you can see from these last two examples, you can use other types of landing pages that convert.

Highlight what makes your brand unique

This concept is similar to the idea of showing off your top benefits.

However, you and other brands may have similar benefits. If you can explain what makes your brand unique, you can have a competitive advantage.

For example, let’s say you sell athletic footwear. Some of its top benefits may be related to comfort, durability, style, and performance.

But does that really separate you from the crowd?

Something that makes your brand unique may be that a portion of your sales goes to a particular charity. That’s unique.

Here’s a more specific example from a Felix Gray Instagram ad:

The company sells different types of glasses.

But does that make them unique? Not really.

However, this advertisement says that its frames are crafted by hand. That’s worth mentioning as part of a differentiation strategy.

Conclusion

Your company needs to have an Instagram marketing strategy.

While you can use Instagram free, running ads can give you the competitive advantage you’ve been looking for. This will help you target new customers outside of your existing followers.

Start by identifying your marketing objectives. Then, decide what audience you want to target with each campaign.

Choose which type of ad you want to run. Budget your ads accordingly.

Make sure your CTA is actionable.

Create an ad that showcases the top benefits of your products. Explain what makes your brand unique.

Design a landing page that drives conversions.

If you’re able to accomplish everything I’ve explained in this guide, your Instagram ads will be effective and profitable.

What types of ads is your brand using to drive sales on Instagram?

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Why I Don’t Recommend Individual Stock Picking

One frequent question that readers ask me is advice on whether or not they should invest in the stock of a particular company.

“Is it a good time to buy Google?”

“Should I invest in Amazon?”

“Thinking of putting some of my retirement money into Citibank shares. Thoughts?”

Almost universally, I respond to such folks like this:

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

Why? What do I have against investing in individual stocks?

It’s simple. Unless you are investing with money that you are literally never going to need in your life, the risk of individual stock investing is simply too high for me to recommend it, no matter how amazing the company seems. There are a lot of sources of risk in individual stock investing and they add up to too much risk for the vast majority of individuals to use as an investment strategy.

Let’s walk through some of the many issues of investing in individual stocks.

First, you’re probably behind the curve of when you should invest in a company or sell shares. By the time a piece of information becomes general public knowledge so that an individual investor can act on it, it’s already been acted upon by large scale investors and the market price has already been adjusted.

Let’s say the company issues a really good quarterly earnings report and it seems like that company is hitting on all cylinders. By the time you’re even aware of this, the value of that company’s stock has already taken off.

Similarly, let’s say some minor bad news comes out about a company and you think it’s time to sell. By the time you can even take action on it as an individual, the company’s stock will have already fallen in value.

Why? Not only do large scale investors often hear such info before you do, their computer systems react to such news instantaneously. You have no chance whatsoever of beating them.

In short, you’re not going to be able to take advantage of information in any real way, because by the time you hear about it, the company’s share price will already account for it.

Second, you can’t predict the future. You have no way of knowing if the economy is going to keep rolling like it is or if it’s going to fall off the tracks in the next two years. You have no way of knowing if a company has a great product about to come out of R&D or if they’re running on eggshells and about to collapse. You have no idea whether some other company is about to revolutionize that sector and push your company aside, or if your company’s going to be the one to revolutionize it. You just don’t know.

Investing broadly takes care of these kinds of risks. By investing in lots and lots of companies at once, you’re going to have some shares that are taking off like a rocket, some that are kind of idling in place, and some that are dropping. On average, throughout history, they’ve gone up at a pace between 7% and 10% over the long haul, but there have certainly been years during economic downturns where the average value has dropped.

On the other hand, individual shares have years where they triple in value and years where they lose all value, and as an individual, you have little ability to tell which is which. In late 2000, Enron looked like a great investment in one of the biggest companies in the world. By late 2001, it was a penny stock.

Why is this bad? In general, individual investors can’t really afford to lose their entire investment unless they’re already financially set for life and they’re investing with the excess. If you don’t have a financial fortress of at least enough to keep food on the table for yourself and your immediate dependents, you shouldn’t be taking on extreme risk with that money.

Third, it takes time to do this well. To actually invest and not just gamble based on what you heard on CNBC or from your buddy at work, you have to spend time reading earnings reports and SEC filings and other things like that. (If you’re not doing that, you’re going to be eaten alive by those who do because those who do that extra work are going to blow you away in terms of knowledge.) If you’re invested in a number of companies, that’s going to be a lot of time and effort.

Let’s say, however, that you still think it’s fine to invest in individual stocks because you still believe it’s financially prudent. There are still several mechanical reasons why it’s a bad idea.

For starters, it’s expensive to invest in individual stocks. To do this as an individual, you’re going to have to work through a brokerage. A brokerage is going to charge you for each and every buy and sell that you make. If you buy shares, you have to pay a fee. If you sell shares, you have to pay a fee.

Now, if you’re buying and selling shares in large quantities, the fees aren’t a big deal. If you’re buying $100,000 worth of shares of a single company, a $9.99 buy fee is only 0.01% of your investment. However, if you’re not dealing with such large sums of money, the percentage shoots right up. If you buy $1,000 in shares of a company, that $9.95 fee is 1% of your investment gone, right there, and then if you sell those shares later, that’s another 1% of your initial investment that vanishes. You have to get a 2% return on your investment just to break even. Similarly, if you wish to diversify your investment at all, you’re now executing multiple buys and sells, each of which comes with a brokerage fee.

Another issue is emotional attachment. When you’re investing in individual stocks, it’s incredibly easy to get emotionally attached to one company. You likely know a lot about this company. You probably believe in this company – or else why would you be investing your hard-earned money in them? When you have those kinds of connections, it’s very easy to believe that genuinely bad news is just a speed jump and minor good news is huge, great news.

Because of this, it’s often really hard to see when you should be dropping an investment in a company. Individual investors will often stick with a company long past the point where they should have sold their shares because they know that company and they believe in that company and that often blinds you to warning signs and little problems. We’re human. We can’t help but wear rose-colored glasses sometimes.

Finally, diversification is really, really hard. A single investment in the shares of an individual company is a really really risky move. You can mitigate that risk by investing in lots of companies in different industries, but by doing so, you multiply the amount of time you have to invest in studying all of those companies (the annual reports and quarterly reports and SEC filings and other materials mentioned earlier). You are also multiplying the fees you’re paying at your brokerage.

Again, as I said earlier, you could simply skip all of that work and just trust your “gut” or the advice of some guy at work. If you do that, though, you’re going to be eaten alive by those who are very informed on the subject and actually do the homework. You’re hoping your “gut” beats them. Hint: you won’t unless you’re incredibly lucky.

Now, multiply all of that effort across lots of companies.

What you’re looking at is something that’s akin to a full time job. It might be enjoyable, but it is going to gobble up a lot of time and energy. Even then, you’re still not going to be able to get ahead of the large scale institutional investors.

Given these factors, I simply can’t advise individual investors to put any money into individual stocks. Instead, I point individual investors toward index funds, which basically amount to investing in the stock market as a whole (or, as I like to think of it, an investment in capitalism in general). By doing this, you’re basically buying all the companies, which means there’s no real need to study individual companies at all. Put your actual investment money into things like the Total Stock Market Index, not into individual shares of Google.

But what if this whole thing just seems really exciting to you and you really want to invest in individual stocks? If you feel that way, I strongly encourage you to find other ways to channel that energy. Seek out a local investment club where people will discuss investing. Look for online stock picking forums. Look for stock picking contests to enter. What you’ll quickly see is that while it can be quite fun, it’s also incredibly risky, the type of risky that you don’t want to commit your life savings to.

If you really insist on investing, budget for it and treat it solely as entertainment, not as an investment. I buy things with my entertainment budget that retain value and sometimes increase in value, plus I get to enjoy them as entertainment. Treat your stock picking in the same way. If money goes in, budget it as entertainment. If it comes out, great! Use it for something useful or else just reinvest it.

If you’re not extremely wealthy and you’re thinking of buying individual stocks as a genuine part of your future investment portfolio, don’t. Instead, invest in something more diverse or, even better, clean up your financial life by eliminating debt or saving for upcoming big expenses. Your life will be in much better shape if you choose that path.

The post Why I Don’t Recommend Individual Stock Picking appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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11 of Our Favorite Money Apps — and Their Most Surprising Features

How This Woman Went From Almost Homeless to Flipping RVs for a Living

My Boss Is Nagging Me to Get a New Car… and She Knows How Little I Make

Dear Broke,

Let’s look at the good first, because everyone needs some encouragement: You graduated college (yay!), got a job (excellent work!) and are living within your means (wahoo!). You have a lot to be proud of right now. There are moments when you feel underpaid, and there are moments when your car will sputter out on you, but overall, you’re holding the reins on your life with good control. Don’t lose sight of that.

The reason I’m reminding you about all the good things you have going for you is that I have serious doubts you’ll be able to get your boss off your back. Since you’re a reasonable person who wants to stay employed, I vote for the humorous approach. Practice a few not-so-snappy comebacks for when your boss starts to nag about your wheels. Here are a few suggestions:

“Look, it’s not pretty, but it gets me around.”

“I’m committed to a lifestyle of only unshiny, old wheels.”

“I know it’s not much to look at, but I’m pretty attached to that car.”

“I’m actually in a bet for how long the car can last. You don’t want me to lose, do you?”

Look, some of them may not be true, but the broken record of lighthearted brush-offs will eventually get old for your boss. It sounds like you work at a small company and can’t avoid interacting with your supervisor, but you can choose not to engage further.

Even if your life at home were filled with puppy dogs and rainbows right now instead of stress, I still wouldn’t want you to have to justify your financial choices to anyone but yourself.

Have a tricky money question? Write to Dear Penny at https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/?aff_id=178&aff_sub3=MainFeed__smart-money/budgeting/dear-penny-beater-car/dear-penny/?aff_id=178&aff_sub3=MainFeed__smart-money/budgeting/dear-penny-beater-car/.

Lisa Rowan is a personal finance expert and senior writer at The Penny Hoarder, and the voice behind Dear Penny. For more practical money tips, visit www.thepennyhoarder.com.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

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