Instagram Ads...Where To Start

Are you struggling with how to reach your ideal target market?  Facebook ads were successful back in 2009.  Since then with all the changes, it has been increasingly difficult to advertise effectively.  Show of hands if you have boosted posts on Facebook with little or no luck.  I know I have become more and more frustrated with the changes.  However, I know it is still important to post and attempt to reach my potential clients.  The big question is where to begin without wasting time and money?I received a copy of Mastering Social Marketing from Mario Masitti.  His new ebook and video teach you how to utilize instagram ads.  I will be honest, I had never placed an instagram ad before but knew this is where my clients are.  So I read the book and watched the video.  The video spoke to me because I could literally stop it and start it to make sure I was doing this right!  And I will be honest, I stopped it and started it a lot!When it was time to start my ad, I set my parameters to my target age group and also a mileage radius.I am attaching screenshots of my ad below.  You can use more than one image in a instagram ad.  Mario encourages it but I chose for this first test ad to not do that.This is a screenshot of my ad after 24 hours. You can view my relevancy score after running the ad for two weeks.  This ad cost me $60.11 and I booked one client from a school that I have not had a client from.So I sent this information off to Mario and he was able to give me some amazing feedback that I think will benefit you if you decide to run an instagram ad!From Mario...

My tips for improving your ad would be:

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1. Using multiple images and A/B testing them is very important. For example, using my favorite image netted a relevance score of 5 and didn’t do well. An image I didn’t think would work well netted a relevance score of 9 with a $.20/per click cost. Had I not tested the two, I would have never known! And worse, I could have written off Instagram or Facebookas a “bad platform” for advertising solely on inexperience. So the take away is to definitely split test your campaign. (I think I did a good job at driving this idea in the book, but I know you had a lot going on. :)

2. Keep an eye on your relevance score every 500 impressions (that’s about once a day on $5/day campaign). Once the relevance score on your best image drops to let’s say a 4 or 5, you have exhausted it as a campaign and it’s best to rotate campaign options (either new promotion, new images, new target demographics, or a combination). If you’re looking at running campaigns throughout the summer, this is vital.

3. On the flip side… don’t get TOO obsessed with checking your campaign. Once a day is perfectly fine - don’t drive yourself crazy with it.

4. I -highly- recommend having a separate landing page with an incentive and a special form. Your goal is to have them view your portfolio, and be intrigued by the offer (free session, free hair & make-up, senior rep, etc.) to contact you for pricing. Having a separate landing page / form also let’s you track how many bookings you receive from the campaign without having to directly ask. A common mistake I see photographers do is simply point an ad to their website/portfolio, but it’s still a great idea to follow traditional marketing techniques and create an incentive. If you skip the incentive part, it still works! You’ll still receive bookings… they just cost more to acquire. You might spend $50 to acquire your first booking.

Even with a few elements not being ideal in your campaign (single image, and direct to website link), you still booking clients shows how great Instagram ads are for photographers and definitely lends credibility into the process. :)

So my question is do you want to try instagram ads?  Have you?  I would love your feedback!  Want to purchase Mario's book?  You can buy it directly if you Click here to view more detailsxoxo,Vickie