

Table of Content
Introduction
Chapter 1: Instagram Basics – Beginner’s Guide
Chapter 2: All about Instagram Ads – objectives, Types, Formats
Chapter 3: How to market on Instagram?  - Getting your business started on Instagram
3.1 4 Ways to promote your business on Instagram
3.2 Tips for Instagram marketing in Holidays
3.3 How to do Cross Promotion Using Facebook?
3.4 Creating Ads using Facebook Ads manager
Chapter 4: Best Instagram tools and techniques 
4.1 14 hot Instagram tools and Apps
4.2 6 Tools to sell your products on Instagram
4.3 Creating Ads that stand out
4.4 Creating Instagram Content
4.5 3 Instagram Analytics Tools for Marketers – Algorithms
4.6 Running Successful Instagram Influencer Campaign
Chapter 5: Instagram Contests : Tools & Tips
Chapter 6: How to create profitable Instagram strategies?
Chapter 7: Retargeting with Instagram Ads
Chapter 8: Ways to improve Instagram Marketing : Driving Big Results for Business
	8.1 Using Instagram Hashtags to expand your reach
	8.2 How to drive website traffic wit Instagram?  
Chapter 9: Marketing Lessons from Businesses growing on Instagram – Case Studies
Conclusion





Introduction

After Facebook, Instagram is the leading social network where the most people in the US are spending their time. While people come to Facebook to connect with friends and discover things from people they know, people turn to Instagram for visual inspiration and to explore the world through imagery, giving businesses the opportunity to connect with people in an environment where they’re open to learning about new things.
Since Facebook started running brand awareness ads on Instagram a year and a half ago, businesses have seen impressive results, with 97% of campaigns generating significant lift in ad recall. Over the past few months, Facebook has been working to extend the power of Instagram ads to more advertisers. Now marketers around the world have access to Instagram ads and can purchase them through most Facebook ad management tools.
Instagram ads now more widely available
Marketers use Instagram to tell visual and creative stories related to their business, and now all marketers have access to Instagram ads. Instagram ads are now available for purchase through Power Editor, the Instagram Ads API and select Facebook Marketing Partners.
Additionally, Instagram ads are now available in every country where Facebook ads are currently offered. Markets where Instagram ads are now available include: Russia, South Africa, Chile, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Israel, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Spain, Argentina and Mexico.
Like Facebook ads, Instagram ads feature photos or videos and use Facebook targeting. Instagram ads that are available through Facebook ad management tools support both brand awareness and direct response objectives, including website clicks, mobile app installs and video views. And soon Instagram ads bought through the same tools will be available with more objectives, including website conversions.




By the end of the year, over 25 billion dollars will be spent on social network advertising across the globe. With advertisers spending 600 million dollars on Instagram advertising during the brief amount of time it has been open for business. Instagram ad revenues are predicted to dramatically increase year-over-year, and will pull in more revenue than other leading mobile ad platforms by 2017.
So why are marketers and advertisers spending more of their ad budgets on Instagram? There is a reason - To earn more revenue. Henceforth, we are sharing a step by step guide on how you can strategically understand, create and place your Instagram Ads that will leverage your profits substantially just like other businesses.













Chapter 1
Instagram Basics – Beginner’s Guide

If you had to tell a story about your business visually, what would you create. Definitely, Instagram is all about visually representing your brand and image to the world out there. Businesses can use this platform to showcase their products and services in alluring visual images to the world out there. 
Businesses do best on Instagram when they share well-crafted content that's on-brand and driven by a clear objective. Tell your story through captivating images, videos and captions.

1. Start with a Clear goal in mind:
Compelling ads on Instagram have a strong concept tied to a clear objective. Whether you're driving brand awareness, website clicks or app installs, create concepts that align to your campaign goal.

2. Celebrate your brand, look and feel:
Make your ads branded, and keep strong brand consistency across campaigns. Establish connective elements across your images and videos — like an identifiable color palette, composition or photographic style — to make your business recognizable.

3. Focus on craft:
Use well-crafted ads to enhance the equity of your business on Instagram. Ads do best when they're well shot, interesting to look at and artistic. What you create should draw people in and keep them wanting more.


How to start advertising on Instagram?

You must be wondering how to start advertising on Instagram? This is a step by step guide for instagram advertising.
Businesses of all sizes and types can now create Instagram ads to reach their targeted audiences.
In this post you’ll discover how to set up an Instagram ad from start to finish using Facebook Business Manager and Power Editor.
#1: Connect Your Facebook Page to Business Manager
The first thing you need to do to get started with Instagram advertising is to connect your main Facebook page to Facebook’s Business Manager.
If you’ve already set up Business Manager with the Facebook page you want associated with your Instagram ads, you can skip to step #2. If you’ve set up Business Manager but haven’t connected it to the Facebook page you want associated with your Instagram ads, start at the Connect Your Facebook Page section.
Set Up Business Manager
If it’s your first time using Business Manager, you’ll need to set it up.
Note: Read this post first to learn more about how Business Manager works, plus some pros and cons.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Get Started button. From there, you’ll see some general information about Business Manager.

Setting up a new Business Manager account.
Next, answer some questions about your business.

Setting up a new Business Manager account (continued).
Select your Facebook business page or create one if you don’t already have one.

Setting up a new Business Manager account (continued).
Then fill in your personal details.

Setting up a new Business Manager account (continued).
Connect Your Facebook Page
If you’ve already signed up for Business Manager but haven’t connected the Facebook business page that you want to associate with your Facebook advertising and Instagram account, go to Business Manager and add that page. To do this, choose Pages from the Business Settings pop-out menu.

Setting up a new Business Manager account.
From there, click the Add New Page button at the top right and follow the prompts, based on the page you want to add.

Options for adding a Facebook page to your Business Manager account.
#2: Connect Your Facebook Ads Account to Business Manager
Next, you need to add the Facebook ads account you want to use for your Instagram ads to Business Manager. To do this, choose Ad Accounts from the Business Settings pop-out menu.

Adding an advertising account to your Business Manager account.
From here, add a Facebook ads account to your Business Manager. You have the option to create a new account, claim your existing account or request access to another company’s account.

Options for adding an advertising account to your Business Manager account.
If you already have a Facebook ads account, go to your Facebook Ads Manager Account Settings and copy your account ID. Then select the Claim an Ad Account for My Business Manager option above and paste your account ID in the text box below.

Specifying an advertising account ID for your Business Manager account.
If you only have a personal ad account with little activity, Business Manager will ask you to create a new business advertising account inside Business Manager.
#3: Add Your Instagram Account to Business Manager
Next, you need to add the Instagram account you want to advertise with to Business Manager. To do this, choose Instagram Accounts from the Business Settings pop-out menu, as shown here.

Adding an Instagram account to your Business Manager account.
From there, add your Instagram account by entering your Instagram username and password.

Logging into your Instagram account for Business Manager.
Business Manager will then ask you to link your Instagram account to the Facebook ads account you want to use to create Instagram ads.

Linking your advertising account to your Instagram account.
#4: Set Up Your Instagram Ad in Power Editor
Now you’ll need to visit the Facebook Ads Power Editor to see if you’re eligible for Instagram ads. You’ll find the link to Power Editor under Ad Accounts inside Business Manager.


Locating the Power Editor link.
If it’s your first time using Power Editor, you’ll be asked to download a few things, including information from your Facebook ads account.

Setting up Power Editor in Google Chrome.
Next, you’ll see a message that you can start using Instagram ads.

Welcome screen announcing Instagram ads.
If you don’t get the above message, click the + Create Campaign button where you may also see your eligibility to use Instagram ads.

Message announcing Instagram ads.
From here, select an existing ad campaign or create a new one for your Instagram ad. For the ad objective, you must choose from Clicks to Website, Mobile App Installs or Video Views.

Choosing a campaign objective for Instagram ads.
Next, choose an existing ad set or create a new one, and then create a new ad.

Naming your Instagram campaign, ad set and ad.
After you click the Create button, you’re taken to your campaign in Power Editor. Here, you’ll want to set your campaign spending limit. Then click on the View Ad Set link.

Setting a spending limit and finding the ad set link.
In the Ad Set settings, configure your daily or lifetime budget and when you want your Instagram ad to run.

Setting your budget and scheduling your Instagram ad.
Below the schedule, configure your Instagram ad audience.

Configuring your Instagram ad audience.
If you have saved audiences, click the down arrow next to New Audience to select them. Otherwise, click the Edit Audience button to see the ad targeting options, which are similar to those you’d see in the general Facebook Ads Manager.

Configuring your Instagram ad audience.
Now, choose your ad placement. If you want to create an ad only for Instagram, uncheck all but the Instagram option.

Choosing Instagram ad placement.
After selecting the ad placement, configure your bidding based on your goals…

Optimizing your ad campaign for specific results.
…and how much you’re willing to pay per ad result.

Choosing your bidding options.
Finally, choose from Standard or Accelerated delivery options.

Choosing advanced delivery options.
When you’re finished configuring your ad set, you’re ready to configure your ad. To do this, click on the Ads icon to the left.

Finding your ad settings.
Next, select your Facebook page and Instagram account.

Selecting your page and Instagram account.
Then continue on to create your Instagram ad.

Creating your Instagram ad.
When you’re finished, click the green Upload Changes button to upload your ad and submit it to Facebook.

Uploading your ad.
After confirming the upload, you should be able to see your new Instagram ad in your Ads Manager.

Seeing your ad in the Ads Manager.
#5: Review the Results
Be sure to visit your Ads Manager periodically to review the results of your Instagram ad campaign. The following is an insight into my first Instagram ad campaign (the top row) compared to a similar ad for the Facebook news feed.

Results of an Instagram ad versus a Facebook news feed ad.
Results will likely vary based on your campaign goals, audience and budget.
Conclusion
If you have visual content that you can use to promote your business, content, products or services, Instagram is a social advertising platform you’ll want to consider.




Chapter 2
All about Instagram Ads
– Objectives, Types, Formats
Instagram ads – it all started with the display of a single filtered image and quickly turned into not only building a brand but also, a business.
As Instagram ads are quickly evolving, businesses now have the option to not only increase brand awareness but to also, increase website visits and offline sales.

2.1  Objectives:
Instagram Advertising Solutions Support the Following Objectives
1. Increases Clicks to Website: It sends people to important sections of your website
2. Leads to higher no. Of Website Conversions
3. Get people to take specific actions on your website
4. Gets high no. Of  people to install your mobile app
5. Get more activity on your mobile app
6. Video Views
7. Achieve predictable reach and greater control over message frequency
8. Page Post Engagement - Get people to engage with your ad
9. Drive mass awareness to a broad audience with guaranteed impressions
2.2   Types and Formats:
There are three types of sponsored Instagram ads: image, video and carousel.
1. Image ads are single photos that tell a story with their imagery. This ad format is what launched the world of Instagram ads. Advertisers have the option to create sponsored posts featuring a product or service they offer. They also have the option to include calls to action that leads to the appropriate page on the business’ website. These could include phrases such as “shop now”, “install now”, “sign up”, “learn more”, etc. What’s awesome about the Instagram picture ads is that the option is open to all advertisers.

An Instagram ad with a single photo.

2. 30 Second Video ads differ from organic Instagram videos. They can be up to 30 seconds long, and you can shoot in portrait or landscape format. In an attempt to develop a “cinematic feel”, Instagram has rolled out 30-second video ads. Prior to this recent launch, ads were limited to the basic Instagram video length of 15 seconds. These ads allow advertisers to move audiences through visual inspiration.

An Instagram video ad.

3. Carousel ads enhance your Instagram storytelling because they can include up to four photos. Retailers, car companies and non-profits have been at the forefront of this new ad product. All three types of ads include a clickable Learn More button that takes followers to your website.

An Instagram carousel ad.
				
With Instagram’s carousel ads, advertisers are able to showcase multiple photos within a single ad as well as include a link to the brand’s website or webpage.
The creativity of displaying carousel ads lies in the advertiser’s hands. You can “tell a story” with a sequence of photos, or simply display the product you are advertising using different shots.
Instagram carousel ads are beneficial for both advertisers as well as potential customers. It allows the advertiser to showcase the product in different lights and it allows the potential customers to retain more visual information on a product that they are likely interested in. With the bonus of an added link, viewers can be directed to the brand’s website.
4. Picture and Interactive navigation: If you want to get next level with your Instagram ads, try the picture and interactive navigation ad. This ad incorporates a tool that allows viewers to build their own personal product without leaving Instagram!

Mercedez-Benz took the interactive navigation for a spin with their “Build Your Own Mercedes-Benz GLA” ad.
It starts with a welcome page with the ability to choose a color, wheels, roof, and etc. For every category chosen, the user is directed to a new Instagram page that includes information regarding the model. The process continues until the user has essentially “built their own Mercedes-Benz GLA”.

5. Instagram Marquee
Instagram also launched a new tool called ‘Marquee’ that allows advertisers to drive mass awareness and reach within a short period of time. This is perfect for showcasing a new product or for any business that wants to address an ongoing topic.
Fox was the first brand to utilize Instagram’s new Marquee tool. Their campaign focused on promoting 5 of their upcoming fall shows.
Aside from the above mentioned Instagram ad formats, advertisers are now able to publish photo and video advertisements in a landscape format.
Instagram ads are effortlessly making their way into the paid social scene.
With a community of more than 500 million users, advertisers of both large and small businesses globally have the ability to generate clicks to a website, increase mobile app installs, increase video views, as well as mass awareness.

Chapter 3
How to market on Instagram?  - Getting your business started on Instagram

3.1   4 Ways to promote your business and get started on Instagram:

With the right strategy, Instagram can help you build awareness, boost engagement, and drive full traffic to your business.
Discover four ways you can use Instagram to promote your products and services.

#1: Run an Instagram Contest & Increase Web Traffic 
You can showcase your products, draw leads, and grow your followers using Instagram contests all at the same time. Plus, contests are just plain fun.
Framebridge conducted an Instagram giveaway contest that offered a chance to win a floral painting by one of their spotlight artists. Framebridge used their contest to drive traffic back to the blog.


You can take up this approach for your own business by announcing your contest on Instagram and transfer Instagram users to your online store’s blog for a chance to win.
If you want to run an Instagram contest for your business, You can simply propose a free product to celebrate a particular company milestone. And cherry on the cake, if the milestone is Instagram-related, you’ll promote customer loyalty and gain free publicity when fans tag their friends.

#2: Use Videos to highlight your Story
Videos can complement the photos in your Instagram account by telling stories through moving animation. According to a Vidyard report, 71% of marketers say video conversion rates outperform other types of marketing content.
You can record your own short Instagram video to complement the images you post. Simply tap the middle icon in the row of icons at the bottom of the Instagram app. This opens up your photo and video capabilities. Once open, tap on the Video tab and click the red button to begin recording your clip.
Instagram lets you record videos that are between 3 and 15 seconds long, which is more than enough time to grab the attention of your prospects and customers. Plus, adding a few videos to your Instagram stream will provide some variety in your imagery.
French retailer L’Occitane successfully complements their Instagram images with short videos. The video above shows a flower slowly opening until it presumably releases its wonderful fragrance, which ties in with the company’s cosmetic products.

#3: Jumpstart Interest with Instagram Ads
You see sponsored ads from businesses all over Instagram. They allow you to put your products or services in front of the specific audience you want to reach. In other words, you can target a customer demographic beyond just your current Instagram followers.
When you use Instagram ads to show your products in action, you help viewers understand how they can use your products. This is the same concept used by ecommerce stores when they show high-quality images of people using their products to give customers a sense of what they’re buying.

Instagram ads that show your product in action are a great way to connect with customers and prospects because they show people how to use the product.

Notepad+, a productivity app optimized for the iPad Pro, uses Instagram sponsored ads to promote the app. The centerpiece of this ad is a photo of the app on an actual iPad Pro. This gives customers and prospects an immediate visual sense of the app’s interface in use.
The good news is that businesses of all sizes can now create and run Instagram ads. All you need to start is a Facebook page. Then during the ad setup process, you’ll set a budget for your ad, select a target audience, and create the ad content. For a step-by-step walkthrough, you can refer the article about how to create an Instagram ad with Facebook Ads Manager.
#4: Drive Foot Traffic With Appealing Photos
Instagram users respond to beautiful, captivating, and creative photos. Strong images can help you boost engagement, and if you’re a local business, they can drive customers to your location. On your Instagram account, you want to post photos that show your products in the best possible light.
German restaurant Muse Berlin has grown its local customer base through Instagram by posting photos of its delectable dishes. Patrons see an appetizing dish on the restaurant’s Instagram feed and then come in and order it in the restaurant. Signature menu items make exceptional pictures because people eat with their eyes, after all!

By showcasing signature dishes with appetizing photos, restaurants can build a following on Instagram and drive more patrons to their dining room.
You can easily adapt this marketing strategy to promote your products and business. All you have to do is snap away at your products (whether through the in-app camera or a professional photographer you hire) and then upload the images to your Instagram account. Use your product to tell your story and invite viewers to come see you.

Final Thoughts
Many businesses embrace Instagram because it lets them showcase their products visually. Unfortunately, not all businesses have solid strategies for using images to their maximum potential. Some businesses post seemingly random images to their streams, while others post as many images as they think fitting.
The key to successfully marketing on Instagram is finding new and interesting ways to connect with your audience through visuals. By thinking outside the box and holding contests, using short video, taking out sponsored ads, and posting creative product images right in your Instagram feed, you can build awareness and boost engagement for your business.

3.2      Tips for Instagram Marketing in Holidays
Are you looking for ways to stand out your business on Instagram this holiday season?
These are six simple tactics you can use to grab attention and increase engagement with holiday shoppers on Instagram.
#1: Followers can be asked to select Their Favorite
It’s a well-known truth that asking questions on social media is a superior way to generate engagement. If there is a holiday season, you can take that strategy a step further by asking your audience, “Which one?”
Put two similarly themed products next to each other in one image and ask users which one they prefer for the holiday season. A fried turkey or a roasted one? The green dress or the blue dress? Presents under the tree or stocking stuffers?

Apps and tools like Layout from Instagram can be used to make it easy to compile two or more pictures into a single image that you can share. Showcasing two products can generate a load of conversation and engagement with users.

#2: Spotlight ways that your business helps the community.
Giving back is always good for both your community and your brand reputation, and this is particularly true during the holidays. With the focus on giving to others, many customers will not only take more notice of your charitable work and donations, but may also participate along with you.

No matter what option you choose for your business, supporting a charity can be a massive opportunity for positive brand-building. If you feature content of your company‘s good deeds on Instagram, such as your employees doing volunteer workor an image of the product you’re selling, users will take notice.

#3: Commence a Seasonal Fan Content Campaign
Fan content offers two distinct benefits to your business. It increases user engagement, while building rapport and loyalty. Also you get great ready-made content for no cost to your business, aside from the effort it took to find the content.
Starbucks does particularly well with Instagram marketing. They’ve successfully generated engagement by sharing user-generated content. With their annual Red Cup Contest, Starbucks asks users to share images of how they celebrate the return of the red holiday cups by using the hashtag #RedCupContest. The prize for winners is a Starbucks gift card, and the contest generates a ton of great content every year.

Run a fan content campaign during the holidays.

Encourage your Instagram audience to create and share holiday–themed content using a branded hashtag. Consider offering some sort of reward, whether you’re running an official contest or not. The prize can be a gift card, giveaway or the chance to have their content featured by your brand. Use a tool like Iconosquare to help you run contests to increase fan content, allowing you to schedule the contest and moderate responses in bulk.
Remember to prompt users to use your campaign hashtag so you‘ll be able to find their content, as Starbucks did with #RedCupContest. Use a tool like Gramfeed to help you sort through Instagram content quickly. You can not only search for a particular topic or hashtag, but also refine your results by keywords and by the time the post was uploaded.


Share your campaign using hashtag with your fans.
Make sure you ask permission to repurpose users‘content, particularly if they weren‘t participating in a contest or giveaway. You can do this by commenting directly on their posts.

#4: Feature Complementary Products
Many salespeople are trained to present “perfect pairs” to customers, showing them both the product they’re interested in and a product that complements it. This technique often results in higher sales, and works just as well for Instagram marketing as it does in person.
Feature perfect pairs in your Instagram posts to flesh them out and form a more visually dynamic image. Showing the second item not only increases the chances of a larger sale, but can also make the first item look even more alluring.

Showcase perfect pairs of products.
Many customers love to give and receive gift sets. A blue diamond pendant looks even better with a matching ring, a fishing rod is more appealing with a full tackle box and an assortment of tea flavors with an exquisite teapot adds a personal touch.
Come the holiday season, customers are looking for gifts, and they’re going to be more willing to splurge on multiple items at once since they’re already in the shopping mood (particularly on Black Friday).
#5: Highlight Holiday Sales and Discounts
As fun and exciting as the holiday season is for many, there is no doubt that it’s often an expensive time of year. Though all the focus for sales is on Black Friday, you can benefit from heavily promoting your upcoming or current sales or discounts throughout the holiday season on Instagram.

Promote sales and discounts throughout the holiday season.
To generate conversions and increase sales and impulse buys, use high–quality images of your products with mentions of sales, promotions and giveaways. Also add a note in the description with a coupon code or to tell customers where to find those deals.
With many users more willing to indulge come the holiday season, promoting sales and discounts on Instagram gives them the perfect reason to do so.
#6: Run Instagram Ads
 As users’ Instagram feeds become swamped with holiday-themed posts, it can be hard to stand out, especially when you’re trying to connect with new users.
Though relatively new, Instagram is emerging as a strong ad platform, as it’s partnered with (and run through) the incredibly successful Facebook ads.

Run Instagram ads during the holiday season.

Carousel ads and video ads perform well on Instagram. Carousel ads allow you to feature multiple images (often of products) that can be used to show a variety of choices or tell a story, and it’s no secret that video content is taking social media by storm.

While all types of ads can perform well on Instagram, these two options in particular will help your content stand out in the holiday season.

Conclusion
Incorporating these six tips with your Instagram best practices will help your content perform well throughout the holiday season. You’ll be able to beat increased competition to get your target audience’s attention and engagement using these tips.
Remember, too, that it’s important to make good use of hashtags and choose interesting, eye-catching images users will want to see.

3.3  How to do Cross Promotion Using Facebook?
If you are active on multiple social platforms, then you can use your Facebook page to grow followings on other platforms.
Promoting links to all your social profiles on Facebook lets your fans know where else they can find you.
In this article you’ll discover six ways to promote your social profiles on your Facebook page.
#1: Include Social Links in the About Section
You can add links to social sites in the About section of your Facebook page. Add them to any part of your description where they fit.
If you include a link in your short description, it shows up in the About area of your main Facebook timeline.
On the EasyLunchboxes page, special arrow characters highlight the social links. If you want to use these characters in your About section, just copy and paste them from another site.

Add links to social sites in the About section.
#2: List Social Platforms in the Cover Photo Description
Your cover photo description is one of the most underutilized places for text and links. When someone clicks on your cover photo, they see the full description of the photo, so you can add anything there you want to promote.

List your social sites links in the description area of your cover photo.
While this may not bring you hundreds of new followers on all of your social profiles, it’s such a quick and painless edit, why wouldn’t you take 10 seconds to do a little cross-promotion?
#3: Add Custom Tabs for Social Networks
Adding a Facebook app to your page, also known as a tab, can be a great way to show visitors your other social media profiles. Third parties (not Facebook) develop these apps and they all work slightly differently.
Here are some of the apps that easily bring in your other social accounts to your Facebook page:
* Woobox
* TabSite
* ShortStack
* Pagemodo
There are many more apps that can also help you with adding a custom tab to your page.
Your apps can also appear in the left sidebar of your timeline, and you can customize the thumbnail so it matches your branding.

The top three apps on your page appear in the left sidebar and can have custom thumbnails.

One of the benefits of adding your social site links to your page is that people can easily follow you from the tab and see your activity.

The first app listed also appears just under your cover photo.

Your social tabs are automatically updated with your latest posts.
Remember that mobile users can’t see your tabs on their phones, so if you include a link to your tab, make sure it’s “mobile-ready.” This means it has a special link that identifies when users are on a mobile device and takes them to a separate site that shows your tab content.
#4: Create a Photo Album of Social Icons
You can put together a Facebook album with icons from your social channels and include social links in the photo descriptions. When you initially share this album, your followers will see it, and you can always reshare a link to the album as a fun way for people to see your profiles on other social sites.

Use all of the social icons as images in a photo album.
The benefit of putting the photos in an album is that they’re a little more visible than a single image that gets pushed down in your uploads as you add more pictures.

In the photo description, add the link to your social site.

#5: Share Content From Other Social Channels
Sharing content from other channels with your Facebook page helps you cross-promote all of your social profiles and makes it easier to post content in multiple places.
But always remember the true goal. If you’re really trying to drive traffic to a blog post, for example, it doesn’t make sense to share the tweet of the pin of the blog post to Facebook. It would take someone too many clicks to get there. But some occasional sharing from your profiles on other social sites helps draw attention to those channels.
If you have share buttons, sharing content from your other social profiles with your Facebook page is usually just a matter of switching the destination to your page.

Sharing from another social site to your page is usually just about switching the destination.
On Instagram, sharing your posts with your Facebook page is a matter of changing your settings. By default, Instagram shares images with your personal profile when you connect Facebook to your Instagram account.
To change the sharing destination of Instagram images from your Facebook profile to your page, open the Instagram app and go to Settings (the three dots in the upper-right corner when you’re looking at your profile). Then tap Linked Accounts.

Change your Instagram settings on your mobile device.

Now tap Facebook to make changes to the destination.

Tap Facebook to make changes to your Facebook destination.
Edit where you want your Instagram photos to go when you tap Share to Facebook.
If you only want some photos to go to your Facebook page, you have to manually change this setting before sharing. Or you can set up a workaround such as an IFTTT recipe (discussed in the next section) to send only some images to your Facebook page.
#6: Automate Social Sharing
A little automation can be good. While it’s a great idea to post natively to social sites so you can upload properly sized photos or tweak the language to fit the site, sometimes it’s handy to post to several of your profiles with the click of one button.
There are a lot of tools that can help you do this, and the list below is by no means exhaustive. Here are a few ways to automate:
Send all of your Facebook page posts to Twitter by connecting them here. This option isn’t recommended for everyone, as your posts get cut off at 140 characters (with a link back to the original Facebook post) and you may not want every post to go to Twitter.
Use tools to post to several profiles at once. These tools allow you to craft your post and then select which social profiles it will go to. Many of the tools have other features as well, such as analytics, special scheduling and team management.
* Buffer
* Hootsuite
* Oktopost
* Edgar
* SocialOomph
* Rignite
* AgoraPulse
* Sprout Social
* Shareist
Use IFTTT to create rules around a type of post or share that you want to automate. For example, if you want to put some images for an event in a special Facebook album, you can create a recipe to automate the process.

Use IFTTT to create special rules around social sites and sharing.
By making others aware of your Facebook page and connecting in multiple places with people, your messages are more likely to be seen.
Think of your own browsing habits and how often you see messages in all places at once. If you’re anything like me, it’s probably not that often. So don’t worry about overwhelming your audience with the same messages if you post in multiple places.

Conclusion
Make sure you’re using some of these tips to get the word out about your other social channels.

3.4  Creating Ads using Facebook Ads manager
If you wish to run Instagram ads using Facebook Ads Manager instead of Power Editor, here’s the method.
Now that Instagram ads are available to most advertisers through the Facebook Ads Manager, they’re easier than ever to create.
Let us discover how to create an Instagram ad in Facebook Ads Manager, step–by–step.
. Already Using Business Manager?
If your Facebook page, Instagram account and Facebook advertising account are already linked through Business Manager, then it is easy to create Instagram ads through the Ads Manager.
Go to Business Manager and use the Business Settings menu to navigate to Ad Accounts. Then click on the link to View Ad Account in Ads Manager.

Select the ad account linked to your Instagram account in Business Manager to get started.
On the next screen, click the green Create Ad button on the top right. This will take you to the standard Ads Manager interface within your Business Manager to create a new ad. There, you can hover over the ad objectives to see which ones will allow you to create Instagram ads.

Choose an ad objective that works with Instagram.
From here, you can move on to step #1.
Not Using Business Manager?
Even if you haven’t set up your Facebook page, Instagram account and Facebook advertising account with Business Manager, you can still create Instagram ads using the Ads Manager.
Go to the Ads Manager and click on the green Create Ad button at the top right.
This will take you to the standard Ads Manager interface to create a new ad. Once there, hover over the ad objectives to see which ones will allow you to create Instagram ads, just as shown above.
From here, you can move on to step #1.
#1: Select Your Objective
First off, select an objective that works with Instagram. Currently, you can choose from “Send people to your website,” “Increase conversions on your website,” “Get installs of your app” and “Get video views.”
Once you selected your objective, tell Ads Manager what you want to advertise and click Continue.

After you choose an objective, specify what you want to promote in your ad.

#2: Choose Your Audience
Next, tell Ads Manager about the audience for your ad. If you have saved or custom audiences, you can include or exclude them in the Custom Audiences field at the top. Otherwise, configure your ad audience using the demographics shown below.

Configure the target audience for your ad.
Click on the More Demographics button to reveal even more targeting options.
#3: Fix Your Ad Budget and Scheduling
After you select your ad audience, decide your ad budget and schedule when you want it to run.
Facebook offers recommendations for bidding strategies with specific ad objectives. The ad objectives available for Instagram ads are as follows, and apply to the areas bordered by red in the image below.

* Send people to your website: Optimize for link clicks, get charged for link clicks (CPC).
* Increase conversions on your website: Optimize for conversions, get charged for impressions.
* Get installs of your app: Optimize for app installs, get charged for impressions.
* Get video views: Optimize for video views, get charged for impressions.

Configure budgeting for your Instagram ad and choose your scheduling.
You may want to experiment to see what optimization and pricing strategy works best for your ad campaign goals.
#4: Develop Your Ad
Depending on your ad objective, you first need to designate whether you want to use a single image or video or multiples. Make these selections, and then look below to see if Instagram is enabled as a placement. If it isn’t, you need to change your selections.

Select your ad configuration.
If you see the following, then the selection you made will work with Instagram. If not, then you need to change your selection.

See if Instagram is active as a placement option for your ad.
Now, select your ad creative (images or video). After you do, remember to scroll down and test what it will look like with each of your placements. You want to ensure they are properly optimized to look good.

Select your ad images or video.
Next, configure your ad display. If you connected your Facebook page, Instagram account and Facebook advertising account in Business Manager, your page and Instagram account will automatically be selected, as shown below.

Your Facebook page and Instagram account are selected through Business Manager if they’re connected.
With the above settings, the ad shown will be displayed on Instagram and in the Facebook news feed (desktop and mobile), Facebook right column (desktop only) and in Facebook’s Audience Network (mobile banners on third-party apps outside of Facebook). However, you can also run an Instagram-only campaign. Just remove placements outside of Instagram.
If you’re using Ads Manager without the Business Manager connections, you will have the option to select your Facebook page and add your Instagram account.

When creating an ad with Ads Manager without Business Manager, you have the option to use your Facebook page or add an Instagram account.

Alternatively, you can also use your Facebook page to represent your business in your Instagram ad without connecting an Instagram account.
Note: When you connect your Instagram account to your ad, you’ll get notifications about likes and comments on your Instagram ad in your mobile Instagram app. You may not get those notifications without the connection.

#5: Run Your Ad and Review Insights
Once you configure your Instagram ad, click the green Place Order button at the bottom right of the page to submit it for review. Once approved by the Facebook advertising team, it will start to run, based on the schedule you specified.
Visit your Ads Manager directly or via Business Manager to see the performance of your ad.
Remember to click through your campaign to see the breakdown of results by placement, if your ad is running on both Facebook and Instagram. Use the drop-down next to All Placement.

If you run your ad on multiple placements, view details in ad analytics.
Thanks to Ads Manager, placing Instagram ads is easier than ever.












Chapter 4
Best Instagram Tools and Techniques


4.1  14 hot Instagram Tools that Marketers will not be able to avoid
Using the right Instagram tools can improve your images, sell products, and save you time.
In this article you’ll discover 14 Instagram tools to help busy marketers use Instagram for business.

#1: Photo Apps
Not long after Instagram started gaining popularity, new apps began popping up with features like photo editing, new filters, and options to make your images more dynamic. These apps allow you to make your posts more diverse and interesting, increasing views and engagement in the process.
1. Layout
Layout from Instagram is a free app available for both iOS and Android that makes it easy to create multi-image collages to post on Instagram.
The collages can be visually dynamic and you can feature multiple images (and products) within a single post. Choose from various formats that differ in layout and number of images.
This app was created by Instagram, so integration is easy and the quality is high.
2. Quick
Quick makes it easy to add text to an image, allowing you to adjust the placement, size,color, and font.

Quick makes it easy to place text and edit its font, color, and location.
You can share the edited image on multiple social network sites in addition to Instagram, including Facebook and WhatsApp.
The app is free, but you can make in-app purchases to access more features.
3. Afterlight
If you feel limited by the extent of Instagram’s photo editing options and filters, look no further than Afterlight. This app makes photo editing fast and easy.

Afterlight offers a ton of great photo editing features, including filters and light effects.
Currently you get access to 15 adjustment tools, 74 filters, 78 textures, 128 frames, and 15 preset cropping tools. It’s $0.99, and available for both iOS and Android.
4. Superimpose
Superimpose allows you to take an image in the foreground, remove it from its background, and place it on another.
This app offers features like allowing you to rotate an image on the foreground and blend two images or their textures. The masking capabilities of this app are amazing.

Superimpose makes it easy to edit and blend images.
Superimpose is surprisingly easy to use, and comes with all of the necessary features to accomplish your editing goals. It’s $0.99 and available for both iOS and Android.

#2: Video Apps
Videos are an important part of social media marketing and are available for both regular Instagram posts and Instagram ads. It’s good to have a few apps on hand that can enhance and improve your Instagram videos.
1. Vintagio
Vintagio allows you to edit both photos and videos and apply filters to give them a retro or vintage look. You can apply different effects and filters, including sepia and black-and-white tones, along with filters that offer color effects from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Vintagio adds a vintage tint to your videos.
Choose from a number of built-in songs or a projector sound effect, or import songs from your library.
.
2. PicPlayPost
PicPlayPost offers features to make your posts more dynamic and engaging. You cancreate video collages using a combination of photos, videos, GIFs, and sound. You have the option to put an image (or multiple images) next to a video and have music play in the background.
A video posted by PicPlayPost® by Mixcord (@picplaypost) on Feb 2, 2016 at 2:01pm PST
PicPlayPost is free and updated frequently. It’s available for both iOS and Android and supports Live Photos for iPhone users.
3. Lapse It
Lapse It allows you to make time-lapse videos, which give an accelerated version of slowly changing events (like seeing a flower go from bud to bloom in seconds). You can import videos and add a time-lapse effect or capture videos within the app.
The app allows you to speed up and slow down videos, and add any song from your library to the background of the video. The interface is easy to use and it comes with 50 filters, including the tilt-shift effect.

Lapse It has an easy-to-use interface, but doesn’t sacrifice editing options and additional features.
Available for both iOS and Android, the app is frequently updated and has great support. The standard version is free, and you can purchase the pro version in-app for extra features for $1.99.
4. Boomerang
If you want to catch the attention of users as they’re scrolling through the news feed, Boomerang from Instagram is an app you should be using. It’s both a photo and video app, and allows you to shoot brief videos.
Once you post your video, Boomerang will play it forward and backward on a never-ending loop. The repetitive motion is dynamic and eye-catching.

In this boomerang, the handstand will play forward and back on an endless loop.
Boomerang from Instagram is free. It’s available for both iOS and Android.

#3: Scheduling Tools
Social media marketers know that there are peak times to post. Scheduling apps and tools make it much easier to post at these peak times to maximize engagement. Here are three handy scheduling apps to consider.
1. Latergramme
Latergramme is a great tool for businesses that want to improve their Instagram marketing. It has an easy-to-navigate interface and you can use it on multiple devices (including desktop, mobile, iOS, and Android).
The app lets you schedule new posts and monitor current scheduled posts, and you can manage two Instagram accounts with it.

Latergramme makes it easy to upload and schedule your posts.

The only downside is that Latergramme doesn’t actually post the content. You’ll receive a reminder, and then you need to go into the app and post the content.
These features come with the free package (you can upgrade for additional features), which would meet the needs of many small- and medium-sized businesses.
2. ScheduGram
ScheduGram is a great scheduling tool that allows you to upload single or multiple images at once (you choose Bulk Upload if uploading a video). You can then edit the images and post them either immediately or schedule them for a later time.
You also have the option to receive an email notification once your content has been posted.

ScheduGram offers a wide array of filters and editing tools for your images.
This tool allows you to manage multiple Instagram accounts and give access to team members.

ScheduGram allows you to schedule posts and can email you when they go live.
ScheduGram offers a 7-day free trial, and plans start at $20.
3. Hootsuite
Many businesses and marketers are already using Hootsuite to manage their social media activity. Hootsuite’s Instagram account management options allow you to schedule posts via the Hootsuite mobile app.
If you choose, you can cross-post the same content on other social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.

Hootsuite allows you to upload content and schedule it for multiple platforms at once.
It’s a good tool to consider if you’re looking for a more inclusive, all-in-one management dashboard for multiple social media sites. If you’re only looking to schedule posts for Instagram, the interface may be a bit complicated.
#4: Selling Tools
Unlike most social media sites, you can’t add links to each post on Instagram, which has frustrated a lot of marketers. Fortunately, there are tools you can use to turn Instagram into a platform for selling.
With selling tools available for several approaches, choose what will work best for your audience and business.
1. Have2Have.It
Have2Have.It uses one of the most popular approaches to selling on Instagram. It will encourage users to click the link in the business’s profile (the only active link account owners can utilize), which sends users to a virtual storefront. Users can purchase directly from that storefront, increasing your sales and revenue.
You can tag multiple products in an image, making it easier for users to buy a complete set of products.

Nylon Magazine’s profile link sends users to a virtual storefront of content.
Have2Have.It offers a free 30-day trial. After that, pricing depends on how many clicks you’re getting a month. (It’s free for 0-49 clicks, but goes up to $300 for 3,000 clicks or more a month.)



2. Shopseen
If you already have virtual storefronts in multiple places, Shopseen could be the selling tool that works best for you. It allows you to sell on Instagram by creating a storefront through your profile link.
Shopseen will link this storefront with your stores on Shopify, eBay, Etsy, and Woo, making it easier to manage and monitor your inventory and your sales.

Shopseen creates storefront links to post on your profile and syncs your products across multiple storefronts.
After linking your Instagram account with Shopseen, all you have to do is upload images of your products to Instagram and add a price to the description. Shopseen uploads the product to your inventory page.
You encourage users to click to this virtual storefront, and you can collect payment by credit card. Buyers don’t have to download an app.
Pricing is based on the amount of sales and the number of stores you’re running, starting with a free plan for one store and a 10% commission fee.
3. Soldsie
Soldsie promotes sales on Instagram by allowing users to purchase by commenting on a shoppable post. Both sellers and buyers install the app (which easily integrates with Instagram) to enable comment selling.

Soldsie makes purchasing easy, which can increase impulse purchases.
Soldsie comes with an easy-to-use selling dashboard, where you can turn product images into sellable posts on Instagram. You can include specific product details like color or size choices and product materials.
In the same caption, ask users to purchase by commenting “sold” on the image, along with any necessary selection (size/color) information. Once they do, Soldsie emails them an invoice that they can pay via credit card or PayPal.
Soldsie has a variety of pricing plans, starting with a basic plan that costs $49 per month and a 5.9% commission fee on all sales.
Final Thoughts
Instagram is a major player in social media marketing, and it’s got the complementary tools and apps to prove it. Every business is different, and some tools and apps will work better for you than others will. Test them out and see what works best for you.

4.2    6 Tools for Selling Products on Instagram
The right Instagram tools help you maximize your revenue.
In this article you’ll discover six tools to help you sell products on Instagram.
#1: Identify Shoppable Content With a Hashtag
Hashtags are a big part of how you connect with users on Instagram, and Inselly makes good use of them. Like other platforms on this list, Inselly lets you use the profile–link–to–storefront method of selling. It comes with the added bonus of the Inselly hashtag.

Add the hashtag #inselly to your description, as well as any other relevant tags that might put you in front of your target audience. Not only does this hashtag make it easier for users to search for buyable content, but it also flags your content as being buyable if users stumble across it somewhere else.

Use the #inselly hashtag to let users know your product is available for purchase.
Sellers can process purchases through PayPal, and buyers can contact sellers through a message either on the app or the Inselly website.
Buyers need to have Inselly installed and integrated with Instagram, but it’s free for them to do so. It’s also free for sellers to use, with no commissions or fees, although you can choose to purchase “coins” (the international currency Inselly utilizes) to promote your content.
[Editor’s note: Inselly recently updated. Buyers don’t need to install or integrate the software with Instagram, and it’s free for them to use.]
#2: Sync Inventory Across Your Online Stores
We have just discussed Shopseen in the above article. Shopseen is a multichannel listing interface that allows you to upload and list your products and have them automatically uploaded to a variety of ecommerce stores like Shopify, Etsy, eBay and Woo.
Shopseen will then update your inventory, continually and automatically, across all of these sales channels. They also have a straightforward Instagram selling tool that’s easy to use for both ecommerce businesses and customers.
Shopseen will create a storefront using your profile link, similar to other services you’ll see in this article.

Drive traffic to your Shopseen store with your bio link.
Once you’ve linked your Instagram to Shopseen, upload images of your products to Instagram, and add a price to the description. Shopsheen will then upload the product to your Shopseen page (which is off of Instagram).
Ask followers to click to your store through your profile link and you can collect payment from a credit card. They don’t have to set up their own Shopseen account, which is a strong benefit. This is particularly helpful for ecommerce businesses that feature their products on a wide variety of storefronts.

When customers see a product they want to purchase, they click Buy to add it to their cart and then check out with their credit card.
Pricing is based on the amount of sales you make per month and the number of stores you have. You start with a free plan that allows you to have one store and Shopseen takes a 10% fee on Instagram sales.

#3: Sell Through Comments
Soldsie allows users to purchase directly from a seller’s Instagram news feed without ever leaving the app. As an added bonus, this selling tool works for Facebook, too.
Both buyers and sellers have to install and integrate the software with Instagram after registering with Soldsie, which uses “comment selling” as its method of making sales.
Upload your products through your selling dashboard to turn the product images into shoppable Instagram posts. Then you include specific buying information and product details, such as “100% cotton, comes in blue and white“ on each Instagram product post.
Ask your buyers to make purchases by commenting “sold” directly on the post and including any necessary size/color/selection information.

Purchasing is as easy as commenting.
Once buyers comment with this information, Soldsie emails them an invoice so you can collect payment via PayPal or credit card.
Soldsie has a variety of pricing plans based on the needs of your store, starting with a basic plan that costs $49 per month, with a 5.9% commission fee on all sales.
	
#4: Connect To a Shoppable Storefront
Have2Have.It is a stand-alone tool from Soldsie that allows you to sell in a different way, knowing that versatility and variety can easily mean more sales. Rather than comment selling, Have2Have.It lets you use the profile link in your bio to send customers to your ecommerce website.

Place the Have2Have.It link in your profile.
The Have2Have.It storefront matches the look of your Instagram feed, giving it a more seamless integration.

Your storefront closely matches your Instagram feed.
Have2Have.It uses conversion tracking, provides advanced analytics and offers email capture information. Also, you can schedule posts to Instagram and connect multiple products to a single image.
This platform can drive traffic to your site and increase sales, and it boasts a 70% click-through rate. Have2Have.It is currently working on product integration with Shopify, a feature advertised as coming soon.
Have2Have.It offers a 30-day free trial, and after that, pricing depends on how many clicks you’re getting per month. It’s free for 0 to 49 clicks a month, and goes up to $300 for 3,000+ clicks per month. If you choose to use additional features such as a shopping cart and inventory management, pricing starts at $29 per month with a 2% transaction fee.
In general, this tool would work well for small- and medium-sized businesses looking to start selling on Instagram, due to its affordability and wide range of features.
#5: Chat Online With Buyers
Letsell.It is an app that both buyers and sellers need to download and install on their devices and Instagram, which is free to do. You register your products with Letsell.It and add both a photo and description, and the app will then post it on Instagram.
Ask buyers who are registered with Letsell.It to like the image of your product on Instagram. When they do, they’re taken to the Letsell.It app to verify and complete the purchase using PayPal. Letsell.It will keep track of all of your sales.
One unique feature is the ability to send private messages between buyers and sellers. This allows you to answer customer questions and assist customers with selecting products, increasing the likelihood of both sales and happy customers. This feature can make a big difference with customer service, especially if you’re purely an ecommerce business.
The app is free to download for both sellers and buyers, but sellers will pay a fee when a sale is completed (and only once the sale is finalized).

#6: Create a Clickable Gallery of Product Images
Like2Buy is a selling tool created by Curalate. You add your company‘s Like2Buy link to your Instagram profile.

Use your bio link to lead people to your storefront.
When users click it, it will take people to your Like2Buy storefront. This storefront is an image gallery of products available to purchase.

The link in your profile takes users to a clickable gallery of product images.
You can associate multiple products with a single image (think a “shop this look” image that can help sell several pieces at once), and use fan photos and user–generated content in your gallery, which is a great opportunity to build rapport and add new content quickly.

You can showcase multiple products in a single store image.
This tool also keeps track of users’ likes, showing them all of the images and products they’ve liked on Instagram in a personalized My Likes tab on the storefront to help increase sales.
As a seller, you can get detailed analytics, customize your storefront and add an email capture to your storefront to increase leads.
Like2Buy boasts having some big brand names like Forever21, Williams Sonoma and Nordstrom using their service to increase ecommerce sales. Largely because of this, it does not come cheap. You can request a demo for more information.
This is not the tool for smaller ecommerce businesses, and it’s almost certainly not the ideal tool if you need a solution now. However, it’s clearly a high-quality selling tool, and if you can wait and pay for it, it will likely be worth it.
Final Thoughts
Selling tools have revolutionized Instagram‘s sales potential, increasing its value as a marketing platform even further. No matter which tool you choose to try, it’s a good idea to publish a post letting your users know that your Instagram is now shoppable, like Hazel Bloom recently did.

Let followers know that your Instagram is shoppable.
The selling tools you choose will depend largely on your particular business and customer base, but these are six of the best ones to consider.

4.3  Creating Ads that stand out

Instagram has quietly rolled out some great features to help advertisers grab attention and drive traffic.
In this article you’ll discover four features you can use to create Instagram ads that stand out.
#1: Drive Traffic to Your Website
Until recently, Instagram ads only supported the objectives of mobile app installs, video views, and reach/engagement. Now you can choose from two additional ad objectives: Clicks to Website and Website Conversions.
This is the first time businesses have been able to send users to their site from individual posts, rather than just through their sole profile link. This could be a game-changer in making Instagram a stronger sales tool.


You can use both of these objectives in photo, video, and carousel ads, so you’ll be able to use every type of ad format for both clicks and conversions.
Viewers will see a sponsored ad with an image, a description, and a clickable call-to-action button that will take them to your site. Call-to-action buttons include the options you’re already familiar with from Facebook, including Book Now, Contact Us, Shop Now, and Learn More.
To create these ads, choose either Send People to Your Website or Increase Conversions on Your Website for the objective.

Choose an objective for your ad.

Next, you can add a pixel to your campaign. If you choose Increase Conversions on Your Website for the objective, you’ll be asked to choose what type of conversion to optimize for.

The Ads Manager prompts you to choose a conversion to optimize for and a pixel to track it.

Now continue to create the ad as usual, and make sure that you select the appropriate call to action. The call to action is the only clickable part of the ad, so it needs to be appealing and match your offer.


#2: Stand Out With Landscape Images
Previously, the images and videos you shared on Instagram had to be cropped into a square format. While that option is still available, you can now use landscape and portrait formats as well.
These formats allow  you to make your images taller or wider than the square format allows. This gives you more cropping options to ensure your images show everything you want in them. Plus, the unusual formats help your posts stand out in Instagram’s feed.
When creating an Instagram ad, you choose the format of your image in the creative section. Once you upload or select your image, you’ll see an option to crop it.

Click on the circular gray button to crop your images.

When you click the gray button and select Instagram, the cropping window gives you two options for cropping your image. Click Original to crop it based on the image’s original format (landscape or portrait), or click Square to crop it as a square.

Click one of the cropping options at the bottom of the screen.
In the image below, you can see how different cropping options affect what users see in the feed.

This image demonstrates how different a cropped image can look.
Keep in mind that carousel ads are currently only available in square formats.

#3: Tell a Story With Carousel Ads
To create image carousel ads for Instagram, you need to connect your Instagram account to Facebook. This is easy to do if you haven’t done it already.
Although Instagram can be used as a selling platform, businesses use it more often for engagement, building brand rapport, and increasing followers. Telling a story or narrative through multiple images can help you accomplish all of these goals.



#4: Grab Interest With Video Ads
While Instagram ads started only with sponsored images, you can now use sponsored videos. Instagram video ads are most successful when you use no more than one filter throughout the video and capture viewers’ interest in the first few seconds. If you don’t, users will keep scrolling in the news feed.
Instagram ads can be up to 60 seconds in length. Other recommended video specs include:
* .MOV or .MP4 format
* A minimum resolution of 720
* A widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9
To create an Instagram video ad, you can choose from a variety of objectives. To keep it simple, let’s look at the Video Views objective. When you choose a video for the visual portion of your ad, you’ll be asked to upload a video, browse your library, or upload several images to create a video slideshow (this is a newly released feature).

You can create image slideshows to run as video ads on both Facebook and Instagram.

Once you’ve chosen your video, select the image you want to show when the video isn’t playing (before the video starts and after it ends). You can also upload an SRT file to create video captions.

Choose a thumbnail and add captions to your video.

The dimensions of the video you upload are important. If your video doesn’t fit Instagram’s dimensions, the Ads Manager will instruct you to change it.

The Ads Manager will let you know if your video doesn’t meet the dimensions necessary to run on Instagram.
Make sure to preview the video before you run the ad, and update the text if you need to.

Final Thoughts
Instagram ads, which had their massive rollout late last year, have been hugely popular with businesses and marketers. Instagram has added new features since its release, but unlike Facebook ads, some of these features have been rolled out quietly.
These four Instagram ad features won’t apply to every campaign, but they can help you advance relevant campaigns and expand the types of ads you can run.

4.4.    Creating Instagram Content
A good Instagram post is not as simple as just snapping a photo, applying a filter and posting it to your news feed. To have a real impact, your posts need to be carefully crafted and shared with purpose and intent.
In this article you’ll discover how to create Instagram posts that increase engagement and drive sales.
#1: Design Images to Capture Attention
If you’re posting a photo of a product on Instagram, be creative with the shot and make sure it reflects well on the product.
Find an Interesting Angle
Think about whether you should show the entire product, frame the shot a certain way or include another item to accompany the product.
Warby Parker posts creative photos of their eyewear on Instagram, often garnering more than 2,000 likes per post. Even with a simple pair of glasses, there are hundreds of ways to capture it in a photo.

Find a creative angle for a photo to showcase your product in an interesting way.
Once you find the most effective angle for your products, stick with that approach and be consistent. Don’t forget that your Instagram posts are also part of your brand.
Focus on Lighting
Whether photos are taken indoors or outdoors, good lighting is crucial. This may seem like Photography 101, but lighting also tells a story about your product. Even with careful tweaking and tuning, Instagram’s editing tools often can’t fix a photo taken with poor lighting.
Think about whether your photo should be shown in color or in black and white, and how to portray it best. Prada posts a variety of photos taken in unique lighting. Their exceptional professional shots speak specifically to their brand.

The lighting in a photo can tell a story about your brand.
Use a Filter
Instagram realized early on that much of the app’s value and appeal was in its filters. Each filter has a unique story that it communicates. While there is some evidence that photos with no filters perform best, filters may be necessary to achieve a coherent look for your brand.
The novelty of the #nofilter hashtag excites some users, but artistically edited photos contribute to the purpose of your posts. Does the X-Pro II filter or Valencia filter present your product in a refreshing or edgy way? There is an array of filters at your disposal to communicate a particular mood for your brand and products.
#2: Tell a Story With the Caption
You can give life to a photo with the caption. Nike’s caption here is evocative and tells a story instead of merely describing the product.

Use the caption to tell a story about your photo.
It’s important to identify what type of description resonates best with your audience. In Nike’s case, this photo represents the culmination of training for the Chicago Marathon.
#3: Add Relevant Hashtags
Hashtags make your photos discoverable. Use popular hashtags when they apply to your photo or your brand.
It’s best to stick with three to five hashtags at a time. You don’t want to overload your photo with too many hashtags because that can be viewed as desperation. Also be cautious about piggybacking on current trending hashtags.
Some brands create their own relevant hashtags, such as Tiffany & Co.’s #TiffanyLeather or #TiffanyAtlas, strategically crossed with more purpose-driven popular tags.

Add relevant hashtags to make your posts discoverable, but generally stick with three to five hashtags at a time.
Create a Hashtag Campaign
Regramming user-generated content is one of the best ways to promote your community and products. Create a brand-centric hashtag campaign for your followers to use.
Stitch Fix asks their fashion-forward followers to showcase their styling choices with the hashtag #StitchFixFriday. This hashtag not only fosters a sense of community, but also reaffirms who your audience is.

To highlight your community, create a brand hashtag that followers can use in their posts.
Remember that engagement is a two-way street. Follow and pay attention to your followers, and like the posts that are strategically and aesthetically aligned with your brand.
#4: Use a Call to Action
Consider adding a call to action to your post, which prompts customers or shoppers to do something. This is a great way to gain new followers, but make sure the action is relevant to your post. It could be as simple as “Shop Now!” or “Download our app.”
#5: Partner With Influencers
Instagram is home to the new celebrity: social media influencers. Top brands like Birchbox and Madewell partner with influencers to create compelling content to promote their products.

Partner with influencers to promote your products and increase your reach.
Influencers already have built-in distribution lists with large groups of followers and are trusted for their opinions on what products to purchase. By working with influencers, youharness their digital popularity to expand your follower count and boost direct sales.
Final Thoughts
In addition to creating impactful posts, you need to have a defined content strategy so your Instagram account can continuously attract followers and generate sales. Determine how many photos you’ll post weekly and set internal key performance indicators and goals to measure success.
Also pay attention to follower activity and respond to your community’s questions. Track which photos perform best so you can discover what content resonates with your audience and begin expanding your reach and driving sales.
As Instagram shifts from a visual platform to a visual marketplace, it can be a powerful sales driver for your business. Thinking strategically about your brand and how it’s portrayed on Instagram has the potential to generate leads and sales better than any other social network.

4.5.   3 Instagram Analytics Tools for Marketers – Algorithms 
Looking for tools to analyze your Instagram engagement?
In this article you’ll discover three tools to track engagement that will help you serve quality content and evaluate how people respond to your content on Instagram.
Instagram’s Feed Algorithm
Instagram released an Algorithm that has prioritized what’s shown in users’ feeds. This algorithm determines what content Instagram believes people will be most interested in and then show the most relevant posts at the top of the feed, regardless of how many accounts users follow or what time zone they’re in.
If you do content marketing on Facebook, you know how important it is to make sure you’re ranked highly within a social media platform’s algorithm. Algorithms that prioritize content in a user’s feed can (and will) inevitably affect your business on those platforms.
Whether you’re a small company or a large one, maintaining high levels of engagement will help keep your content on top when the Instagram algorithm kicks in.
Why You Need Instagram Analytics Tools
You need these tools to create stronger and more relevant content that your audience will be more receptive to as these tools will tell you which portion of your Instagram audience is interacting with what content, what content is performing best, and which audience segments you may be missing.
The following three tools will help you to track and evaluate the success of your content and overall marketing efforts on Instagram.
#1: Simply Measured
Simply Measured advertises its analytics tool as being the “end-to-end analysis of all your social media networks,” and this includes Instagram. It can be a great tool for marketers.
Simply Measured offers a variety of reports and analyses, both free and with paid plan.

Simply Measured’s free user report offers detailed analysis for a single Instagram account, including metrics on top posts, best times for engagement, and the amount and types of engagement.
When you first visit the site, you can get a free user report on any Instagram account (with up to 25,000 followers) in exchange for following the company on Twitter. This user report provides an in-depth analysis of the past two months, including your top post, best days and hours for engagement, top photo tags, top filters, and the amount and types of engagement you’ve received on your posts.


Knowing what days and times are best to post content can help you increase your engagement on any platform.
Additional analytics tools come with pricing plans starting at $500 a month, and include features like cross-platform analysis, social brand and hashtag monitoring, and the ability to add unlimited users to the account at no additional charge.
#2: Iconosquare 
Iconosquare is a go-to tool for anything Instagram, including contests, management tools, and so on. It’s also true for analytics.

Iconosquare evaluates metrics you don’t see as often, such as spread rates and talk rates.
Iconosquare’s analytics allow you to track important metrics like follower growth and losses, best times to post for maximum engagement, engagement rates, and engagement growth. It also shows your best performing content, both in terms of likes and comments.

Being able to evaluate your Instagram growth history over long periods of time can help you continue to grow your presence on the platform.
Iconosquare offers a 7-day free trial, during which you can access the analytics information to see if the tool is right for you and for your business’s needs. The plus plan is currently $28.80 a year and includes features like daily email reports, comment trackers, and analytics on the key Instagram metrics discussed above.
#3: Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a popular tool that many businesses already use, and it offers detailed reporting on a profile’s Instagram activity.
You can find analytics under the Reports section. You can see detailed information on daily growth in followers (and how much that number increased or decreased in the past month), the number of posts you’re sharing, your most used hashtags, your most engaged hashtags, and the number of engagements (both in total and the rate of engagement per medium).

Being able to evaluate your Instagram audience growth by day makes it easier for you to spot growth trends.
The only downside to Sprout Social compared to the two analytics platforms above is that it only accumulates Instagram data for the analytics once your profile is connected. It doesn’t pull up past data, as the others do.


Sprout Social offers a 30-day free trial, and the comprehensive reporting is available with the Deluxe plan, starting at $59 per user per month.
The three analytics tools in this article can give you all of the information you need to create higher-performing content, both immediately and in the long run.

4.6 Running Successful Instagram Influencer Campaign

If you wish to generate leads, have you ever considered reaching out to influencers?
An influencer campaign is an effective way to promote your business and generate leads by leveraging the audience of another Instagram account.
In this article you’ll discover how to run an influencer campaign on Instagram.

#1: Reach Out to the Right Influencers
The first thing to do is to identify potential Instagram influencers and reach out to them.
Identify Influencers
Take your time exploring Instagram pages that are related to your business and whose followers align with your target audience. You can simply go to the Explore tab and search by keyword to find potential candidates.
Once you’ve found an interesting account, look at the suggested accounts that appear next to the account’s Follow button.

Find influencer prospects by looking at the Suggest accounts for any user.
Make a list of at least 10 accounts you want to target, focusing on ones with more than 100,000 followers. The more substantial the account’s follower base, the more successful your campaign is likely to be.
However, don’t look only at the number of followers that an account has, because that doesn’t tell the whole story. Look at the posts’ engagement (the number of likes and comments) and make sure there’s a good balance.
Contact Influencers
After you’ve compiled a list of influencers, it’s time to reach out to them. You want to ask if they would consider adding a link to your landing page to their bio.
Instagram pages that are open to advertising opportunities typically make it easy for you to contact them. In their bios they will provide an email address and often a Kik contact name as well. (Kik is a messaging app commonly used by the Instagram community.)


Once you have their contact information, it’s time to craft the message you’re going to send to influencers. Explain that you’re looking to promote your Instagram account and business, and want to know if they’re open to advertising opportunities. If they are, you’d like them to send you a quote.
You’ll get different types of quotes, based on the number of followers for the account, its engagement and the industry. Prices may also vary depending on whether the account is personal or branded.
Try to negotiate on pricing. You’re not dealing with Instagram directly, so pricing can be tailored based on your profile and situation. Some Instagram accounts earn over $10,000 a month, so don’t be shy about negotiating on prices.
Keep in mind that if you’re a small business, you may want to reach out to smaller accounts first. Then if you see a nice return, you can move on to larger accounts for future influencer campaigns.
If you contact a personal Instagram account with over 500,000 followers, the account owner might not be the one who replies to you. Instead, you may hear from an agency or a manager who is acting on their behalf.

#2: Set Up a Landing Page
After you have a list of influencers who’ve agreed to work with you, you need to create a landing page for your campaign. The landing page should be a simple web page and include an opt-in form. You want to drive traffic from Instagram to your landing page and invite visitors to provide their contact information. To do that, you’ll need to provide a free offer to incentivize them.
The offer can be a free guide, report, lesson, ebook or webinar in exchange for something from users. Because you want to generate leads, ask your visitors to provide their email address. Remember that the more valuable the information you offer, the more likely people will appreciate and remember your business.
The goal of your landing page is not to sell but to attract new leads. To catch the attention of Instagram users, the page needs to be clear, concise and engaging. It’s also important that the page is responsive since most of your traffic will come from mobile devices.

#3: Launch Your Campaign
After you choose an influencer, you’ll need to deliver your promotional materials for the campaign.
Because your goal is to drive traffic to your landing page, here are the materials you’ll need to send to the account promoting your business:
* Provide a caption with a strong call to action. Invite the influencer’s followers to check out your link in the influencer’s bio.
* Submit a picture of the product or a quote. (You can use a call to action here.)
* Share the link to your landing page. Edit the link with a link tracker so you can monitor the clicks and the return on investment (ROI) of each influencer campaign you run.


After you provide these three elements, the influencer will publish your post and add your link to their bio. The account’s followers can then start engaging with your ad.





Chapter 5
Instagram Contests : Tools & Tips
Instagram contests are a great way to get people talking about your business and increase your followers. If you have ever thought of running Instagram contests, here are some great tools and tips to run a successful contest.
In this article you’ll discover tools and tips to help marketers run a successful Instagram contest.

#1: Follow Contest Rules
When you’re hosting or promoting any kind of contest, you have to follow certain rules. Here are the guidelines for running an Instagram contest:
* Don’t inaccurately tag content or users, and don’t encourage participants to inaccurately tag content or other users. For example, don’t ask users to tag themselves in photos if they aren’t actually in the photos.
* Acknowledge that your contest isn’t associated with or supported by Instagram. You don’t need a neon sign stating this. Just be sure you’re not inadvertently making it seem like Instagram is endorsing your promotion.
* Follow proper eligibility requirements. Some businesses feature products or offer prizes that have age or residency restrictions. If you’re a winery, for example, clarify that users must be 21 and older to participate.
While most of these guidelines fall under the umbrella of common sense, it’s important to make note of them. It’s easy to forget about audience restrictions or forget to state them.
#2: Pick a Contest Type
If you’re planning to run a promotion or contest on Instagram, you’ll have to decide what type of contest to run, how it will operate and how users can participate.
Here are some different types of Instagram contests to consider.
Comment on the Post Contests
This is a popular type of Instagram contest where you ask users to comment on your post. For example, you might ask fans what their favorite flavor of ice cream is. Asking a question generates engagement because users have to engage beyond simply liking the post.
Beauty by Earth asked fans to like and comment on their Instagram post for a chance to win a free exfoliating sponge set. To follow up with contest winners, the company tagged the winners in an Instagram post with a request to privately send their contact information.

Host an Instagram contest where you ask users to comment on your post.
Ask Fans to Like the Post advertising Contests
Another type of Instagram contest is to ask fans to like the post that’s advertising the contest. While this tactic can generate some engagement, and fans are likely to participate because it’s easy to do, many businesses would rather see a more deliberate interaction like commenting.
Ask fans to Post their Own Photo Contests
For this type of contest, you ask fans to post their own Instagram images along with the contest hashtag. Make it clear to fans which hashtag they should use to participate. That makes it easy for you to find them and lets you know who’s entering the contest.
Starbucks’ Red Cup Contest generates a ton of engagement and attention each year. Fans are asked to post photos of their red cup moments with the hashtag #redcupcontest.

Starbucks’ Red Cup Contest generates lots of engagement and media attention.
Try to Combine Contests
You can also combine several of these contest types. For example, you might ask users to like your post and comment, or follow your brand and upload their own posts with a certain hashtag.
Keep in mind that you don’t want to ask users only to follow you, because you can’t track this action effectively or reliably.

#3: Choose a Tool to Manage Your Contest
You’ll find a number of great tools to set up, run and manage your Instagram contests.
Because Instagram has made it clear that they won’t be associated with or help support any contests on the platform, all of the tools available for managing contests are from third-party companies. Here are three to consider:
1. Gleam
Gleam‘s contest platform makes it easy to host a contest on Instagram, and comes with a slew of helpful features. The company boasts an average of four actions per user in their competitions.
The interface is easy to use and straightforward, featuring a dashboard with current and scheduled competitions. It allows you to specify start and end dates for your contest, set terms and conditions and add age restrictions. Additionally, you can offer other ways to participate, choose what actions users need to take and specify the number of winners.

Gleam has an easy-to-use interface with plenty of advanced features.

Gleam allows you to place a widget on your blog to encourage users to enter the contest. You can also capture lead information from users, such as name and email address.


Promote your Instagram contest on your blog.

The free plan allows you to create, schedule and run contests. Upgraded plans (starting at $39 per month) offer additional features like restricting users by country, gaining full control over widget text and more.

2. Wishpond
Wishpond‘s app supports photo sharing/hashtag contests. Like Gleam, it allows you tochoose where you want your contest to show up. You can promote your contest on Facebook, embed it on your website or blog or feature it on your domain.

You can promote your Instagram contest on other platforms.

Designate the hashtag you want to use for the contest and set other actions necessary to be eligible to win. You can also moderate entries before they appear in the public gallery, which you can customize with a variety of options.

Wishpond’s photo sharing contest app requires you to use a hashtag.

Once the contest is up and running, use the app’s analytics to keep an eye on its progress. You can see the number of conversions and viewers for the contest. It’s easy toexport the lead information, and you can view all of the entries and stop the contest at any time.

A user-friendly navigation bar makes it easy to track your contest and see the impact it’s having.

Wishpond will walk you through the setup process if you have any questions. There’s a free trial available. Pricing plans start at $44 per month (upgraded plans allow you to specify more users as admins, capture more leads and get API access).
3. Woobox
Woobox, like Wishpond, offers hashtag photo sharing contests where you designate a specific hashtag fans must use.

With Woobox, you can allow entries via hashtag across multiple social media platforms.

Woobox features cross-platform integration and it’s mobile-compatible. You have the option to set an age restriction, manually approve entries, limit the contest to one entry per customer and collect valuable lead information.

Woobox makes it easy to customize your contest.

If you want, you can allow fans to add captions and share their photo entries. Once the contest is over, Woobox will randomly pick a winner for you (although you can override this).
You can try Woobox for free. With upgraded plans (starting at $30 per month), you get more features, including a higher participant threshold, more brand pages per account and more apps and contests.

Final Thoughts
Instagram contests can offer a lot of benefits for your business. Remember Instagram’s rules and choose what type of contest you want to host, and the contest apps and tools listed above will do the rest for you.













Chapter 6
How to create profitable Instagram strategies?
Are you wondering how to improve your Instagram profitability?
This article will break down 7 profitable Instagram strategies. I'll show real-world examples of what it looks like when these strategies are implemented by some of the most successful and profitable Instagram brands out there.
Let's get filtering!

#1. Appeal to your target market

Creating content on Instagram which would be appealing to your target market just makes sense. You'll attract Followers who are more likely to actually be interested in purchasing from you down the line.
It's a lot like when you run a social media promotion: you need to offer a prize which appeals to your target market, otherwise you'll get thousands of useless leads and Followers who only want that iPad, cash or trip to Tahiti.
TheChive (901k Instagram Followers) does this as well as any brand account out there.
Their target market is 18-35 year old males. As a result…
* They post humorous memes
* They post education and "student-life" content
* They post "Argh, Mondays!" content
* They post pictures of pretty girls in bikinis
* They post "90s kids" content
Profitable Instagram Strategy Example from TheChive...

#2. Go behind-the-scenes

Social media is about relationship-building, and giving your Followers unrestricted access to your company is a huge part of developing that relationship.
People love to learn the ins-and-outs of the companies they like.
And any business can do this (not just the ones running fashion shows or a TV series)...
* Create a video walkthrough of your swanky new office
* Run a biopic series on your team which is fun, but also educational about how you market your SaaS company
* Ask your restaurant's frequent customers for their life stories. Then create a video of your interview shared over a meal.
* Do a Q&A with your CEO or CMO, talking about the origins of the company and how it's grown to what it is. For all of these, I recommend creating two videos: one full-length video hosted on a landing page within your website and another, 30-second clip for Instagram and Facebook. Get creative and make it fun!
Ben&Jerry's (632k Instagram Followers) does a lot of videos on their Instagram page, but not every "behind-the-scenes" post has to be a video...
Profitable Instagram Strategy Example from Ben&Jerry's...


Ben&Jerry's Instagram profile is awesome in a lot more ways than just going behind-the-scenes. 

#3. Feature User-Generated Content

Instagram users are all amateur photographers (why do you think the filter tool is so incredibly successful? It makes amateur photography look awesome).
So featuring the Instagram posts of your own fans (ideally with a brand-centric hashtag is a great way to tap excitement.
If you're a brand on Instagram you're already more exciting than a personal profile. If you have more than 5,000 followers (through an Instagram hashtag contest, perhaps) you're practically a celebrity. Featuring someone's content immediately creates a brand advocate. They'll show their friends, and every one of your Followers who wasn't put in the spotlight will want to be.
Mountain Equipment Co-Op (50.3k Instagram Followers) features UGC (user-generated content) in about a third of their total posts.
And it's not just a great way to drum up excitement and create a community around your brand. The fact of the matter is that this is a fantastic way to get high-quality images for free!
Profitable Instagram Strategy Example from MEC...


Top, Controversial, Instagram Tip: Tools like Instagress allow you to automate Liking and commenting on posts related to your brand. While you remember that automation does come with baggage (and remember to never buy Instagram followers), this strategy might be worth trying for those small businesses looking to increase engagement without devoting 40 hours a week to Instagram.


#4. Make it Possible to Purchase

Abercrombie & Fitch (2.9mil Instagram Followers) is, on Instagram, just like any other Ecommerce company.
They're looking to encourage their Fans and Followers to not just Like their posts, but also to purchase the items they see.
Now, Instagram (unlike Pinterest doesn't actually allow you to buy products you see on the platform, but what it does do is allow you to provide links in your author bio. In Abercrombie's case, that's a link to Curalate's tool Like2Buy.
Like2Buy is a separate ecommerce platform whose product display corresponds to the images you post on Instagram. "Like a product you see in a photo? Click the link in our profile to check prices and see more info!"
And here's what you'd see:


Profitable Instagram Strategy Example from Abercrombie & Fitch...


#5. Run Brand-Buzzing Social Promotions

Instagram is built for social promotions.
No matter if you run a smaller promotion directly in a post (like the example below from Canon) or incorporate a 3rd party contest provider (which will allow you to "Follow-Gate" your contest and require people to Follow you to enter), incentivizing engagement with a chance at winning a prize is a great marketing strategy on Instagram especially.
Canon Photography (1.2mil Instagram Followers) runs several social promotions a year, often theming them around a holiday or photo subject (the example below is for landscapes). They've done a great job of incorporating a few different hashtags into their post as well as asking people to use hashtag #Can_Landscape to enter.
Profitable Instagram Strategy Example from Canon...


#6. Tap into What People are thinking about!

Integrating what people (and your Fans) are thinking about in the real world is one of the top best practices or Instagram marketing.
It could be anything...
* Holidays like Christmas and Easter as well as Earth Day, Pancake Day, Sibling Day, etc
* Seasons, weather, news stories
* Special events like the Superbowl, a celebrity's birthday, a new employee or colleague's baby
* The release of movies, albums or politics
* Etc, etc, etc. A creative marketer is never at a loss for inspiration from the outside world
This example from The Seattle Seahawks (1.6mil Instagram Followers) is a great one. The Seahawks incorporated not just their newly-drafted players (in this case guard Germain IfedI) but also the release of the new Star Wars movie:


#7. Use Video if Possible

If you can incorporate video into your Instagram marketing strategy you 1000% should do so.
Video is the #1 way to show your brand's personality, introduce your team and communicate ideas easily and well. A professionally-done video increases brand reputation and a professionally-done, well-written and entertaining video can go viral.
For instance, the company DollarShaveClub is essentially founded on a Hootsuite (24.2k Instagram Followers).

Final Thougths

Hopefully these 7 strategies can help you to make your own Instagram strategy a profitable one.
Keep it professional but friendly. Use high-quality images (exclusively). Use hashtags often and intelligently and interact with your community by both sharing and commenting on their own content.
Instagram can be an incredibly profitable platform, but it's also an unforgiving one. Misstep, don't take the time, or forget these 7 best practices, and you'll need more than a filter to sort it out.











Chapter 7: 
Retargeting with Instagram Ads
Are you retargeting people with Facebook ads?
Want to know how to retarget Instagram users?
Serving relevant Instagram ads to people who’ve visited your website helps increase sales and conversions.
In this article you’ll discover how to retarget your website visitors using Instagram ads.
#1: Install the Facebook Pixel on Your Website
Before you can start using Instagram ads to retarget website visitors, you need to set up the Facebook pixel on your website.
You can do this with Facebook Power Editor. First, open Google Chrome and then log into Power Editor.
If you manage multiple accounts, make sure that you‘re logged into the Facebook ads account that corresponds with the website for which you want to implement Instagram ads retargeting. You can double-check which ads account you’re logged into in the top-left corner of Power Editor.

Make sure you’re logged into the right Facebook ads account.

Next, click Tools and choose Pixels from the drop-down menu.

Select Pixels from the Tools drop-down menu.

If you haven’t done so already, create your Facebook pixel by clicking the green Create a Pixel button. In the Create a Facebook Pixel dialog box, type in a name for the pixel and click Create Pixel.

Enter a pixel name and click Create Pixel.

Next, you see a message that your Facebook pixel is ready. Click Install Pixel Now to see the pixel code.

Copy the Facebook pixel code.

If you already have an active Facebook pixel, you can access it by clicking Actions and choosing View Pixel Code from the drop-down menu.


If you have an existing pixel, choose View Pixel Code from the Actions drop-down menu, then copy it.


Next, copy your Facebook pixel code and paste it between the head tags of your website code. For more detailed instructions for installing your pixel, check out this page.
Now you need to make sure that your Facebook pixel is working. You can do that with the Facebook Pixel Helper, which is a free plugin for Google Chrome.
Once you’ve successfully installed the Facebook pixel on your website, Facebook will automatically start tracking every person who visits your website.
#2: Create a Custom Audience to Retarget
Next, you need to create a custom website audience.
To do this, go to the Facebook Pixel tab and click the Create Audience button.

Click the Create Audience button.

Now, create the custom audience you’d like to retarget. Select Website Traffic for the audience type.

Select Website Traffic as the audience type.
Then in the Create Audience dialog box, enter the details for your custom audience.
The custom audience in the example below will retarget anyone who has visited my website in the last 30 days. Note that the domain option appears only if your Facebook pixel is installed on multiple domains.

Create a custom audience for retargeting.
Keep in mind that it’s a good idea to create audiences based on the action you want users to take when they see your ad, rather than broadly target every website visitor (as in this example).
When you’re finished creating the audience you want to retarget, click Create Audience.
#3: Set Up Your Ad Campaign
Now you’re ready to create your ad campaign to retarget past website visitors.
To do this, open Power Editor and click Create Campaign.
Then enter a name for your new campaign and choose one of these objectives: Clicks to Website, Website Conversions, Mobile App Installs or Video Views.

Fill in the details for your campaign and choose an objective.
When you’re finished filling in all of the details for your campaign, click Create.
#4: Build Your Retargeting Ad Set
Now you need to edit your ad set. First, set your budget and schedule.

Set your ad budget and schedule.

Then edit your audience so you’re only targeting people who have previously visited your website. To do this, click the Edit Audience button.

Click Edit Audience.

Then select the custom audience you created. Once you’ve done this, click Save.

Select the custom audience you previously created.
Next, select Instagram as your placement.

Select Instagram for the placement.

Finally, confirm that the custom audience you selected and refined for Instagram actually has people in it. To do this, check that your potential audience (in the top-right corner of the Ad Set panel) has more than 20 people in it.

Make sure your audience is larger than 20 people.

If it doesn’t, you may need to broaden your other targeting parameters. Alternatively, you can wait until your Facebook pixel has captured more than 20 people who have visited your website in the past 30 days who also have Instagram accounts.
#5: Design Your Retargeting Ad
Now select the retargeting Instagram ad that you created in the ad set for past website visitors you just set up.
Look under Destination and select the Facebook page associated with your website.

Choose the Facebook page associated with your website.

Next, you need to connect an Instagram account to your business. Alternatively, you could use the selected Facebook page to represent your business on Instagram, but this isn’t recommended.
Click the Add an Account link to add your Instagram account to your Facebook ads account.

Click Add an Account.

You’re now asked to enter your Instagram username and password details. After you’ve done this, click Next, and Facebook will assign your Instagram account to your Facebook ads account.

Enter your Instagram username and password.

Navigate back to your ad and choose the Instagram account you just verified.

Choose your Instagram account.

Now create your Instagram ad just like you would any other Facebook ad.

Create your ad in the same way you’d create a Facebook ad.
Keep in mind that Facebook recommends an image size of 1080 x 1080 pixels for Instagram ads.
And just like Facebook, keep the text in the ad to no more than 20%. You can use the Facebook Grid Tool to check if your ad contains more than 20% text before uploading it to Facebook. Facebook also has a great guide for Instagram ad creative.
As you add information to your Instagram ad, the ad preview will update automatically.

You see a preview of your Instagram ad as you create it.

#6: Launch Your Retargeting Campaign
Once you’ve completed all of the steps above, you’re ready to launch your Instagram ads retargeting campaign. To do this, click the Review Changes button in the top–right corner of Power Editor and follow the prompts.

Click Review Changes to launch your campaign.

When you combine the steps above with granular targeting, optimized ad copy and appropriate ad design, you’ll have a new, powerful weapon to add to your digital marketing arsenal.



Chapter 8 
Ways to improve Instagram Marketing : Driving Big Results for Business

8.1 	Using Instagram Hashtags to Expand Your Reach
In this article you’ll discover how hashtags make your Instagram images and video more discoverable.
How Hashtags Work?
While hashtags originated on Twitter, they quickly became part of each social media channel. At this point, Instagram hashtag density tends to be much greater than Twitter’s because companies realize the success of their Instagram marketing depends on proper hashtagging.
One of the ways people find content and contributors they enjoy on Instagram is to search with hashtags.
Here’s how that works.
Each piece of Instagram content you post can be accompanied by a short message or caption and a few hashtags. The hashtags help organize and categorize images and video content, which aids the process of content discovery and optimization.
For example, a travel company might post this picture of a pretty sunset in Aruba, and then use the hashtags #sunset and #Aruba when it’s uploaded to Instagram.

This image was found by searching Instagram with the hashtag #Aruba.

By using these two hashtags, the image is catalogued so other Instagram users who enjoy looking at sunsets and images of Aruba can find it—even though they don’t yet follow the travel company’s Instagram feed.
Those users may share the photograph and add #Caribbean or #vacation to it—making the circle of people who might see it even wider.

A second user has added the hashtag #Carribean to this image.

When someone shares your Instagram content to Facebook, the Instagram hashtag is published along with it. This provides a nice way for businesses that have new Instagram accounts or small follower numbers to get exposure to more people interested in what they offer.
This means your content has a better chance of being discovered by other fans who may not have originally seen the image or who are searching for the hashtag with Facebook’s Graph Search.
Hashtag Best Practices
Regular Instagram users see hashtags as tools for improving the network experience, whereas online marketers see the potential for building communities, increasing brand recognition and extending business reach.
Small business owners who are new to Instagram tend to make two mistakes when it comes to using  hashtags: using too many hashtags and using irrelevant hashtags.
As a general rule, every image and video your business uploads to Instagram should include a short caption. While you can include up to 30 hashtags, consider using no more than three to five hashtags.


TOMS keeps their hashtags to a minimum.

Instagram accounts that overload their descriptions with hashtags in an effort to reach more users come across as blatant and desperate marketers.
It may be tempting to use popular hashtags in the hopes of reaching thousands (or millions) more people on Instagram. For instance, one of the most popular hashtags is #love and it’s been applied to more than 184 million photos. If an accountant uses that hashtag with photos of his office, he is not doing the network—or his business—any favors.
Some of the top 30 hashtags such as #food and #fashion may be relevant to your business and are therefore fair game. However, users are bound to ignore and even blacklist businesses that routinely abuse and spam hashtags.
How Top Brands Use Instagram Hashtags
Large companies that have found marketing success on Instagram use popular hashtags sparingly—they do not blindly apply irrelevant hashtags to their content. Instead, those companies are more comfortable either dominating hashtags or creating new ones that are related to their brands.
For example, during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Nike posted many inspiring photographs of children playing soccer in disadvantaged neighborhoods and the only hashtag they used was their own slogan: #justdoit.

Nike posted photos during the 2014 FIFA World Cup with their slogan #justdoit.

Clearly, Nike intends to dominate their own hashtag on Instagram and will not risk diluting the effort with additional hashtags. And let’s face it, if you’re looking for inspirational sports stuff, searching for #justdoit is a no-brainer.
Organic and gourmet food giant Whole Foods Market uses one or two hashtags per photograph with the intention of describing a food item or a place. For example, “Power Breakfast! Oatmeal topped with #chia seeds, goji berrie`s, kiwi, blueberries, bee pollen, and Maca powder from @nutritionnut_.”

Bring attention to specific products with Instagram hashtags.

Using ingredient hashtags like #chia puts Whole Foods Market’s images right in front of their target.
Starbucks believes in using three to five hashtags for the purpose of maximizing content interaction (usually named after one of their beverages). They also make great use of hashtags like #glutenfree to show up in searches not necessarily related to coffee.

This image was hashtagged with #glutenfree to let people know Starbucks has specialty snack options.

Conclusion
Instagram is a mature, full-fledged social network that uses hashtags to organize and categorize its vast collection of image and video content.
Failure to use hashtags renders Instagram content virtually private. On the other hand, using the right hashtags helps put your content in front of people searching for keywords and phrases associated with your brand or business.
Social media marketers can take advantage of hashtags to increase their reach as long as they choose hashtags carefully and don’t overuse them.

8.2   How to Drive Website Traffic With Instagram?
With a few simple tactics, you can generate quality website traffic from Instagram.
In this article you’ll discover how to use Instagram to drive traffic to your website.

#1: Add a Website Link to Your Bio
The most common way to lead Instagram followers to your website is to use the “link in bio” tactic. Instagram lets you include one clickable link in your bio, so make sure you use it effectively. To add a link, go to Edit Profile and type it in the Website text box.
In Birchbox’s Instagram bio below, their link directs followers to a customer appreciation day promotion on the company’s website.

Make sure you include a website link in your bio.

With the tool Have2Have.it, you can use your bio link to direct followers to a page with the same look and feel as your Instagram feed, where they can click images to purchase your products or read your content.
The New York Times has a Have2Have.it link in their Instagram bio. When followers click the link, they’re taken to a curated page with the top stories of the day. Users can click on an image to see the story behind it.

The New York Times uses a Have2Have.it link to drive traffic from Instagram to their online content.
With an analytics dashboard, you can gain key insights to see what content performs best. Focus on high-performing posts to form a content strategy.
By tracking clicks on Instagram, you can increase revenue and subscribers to online content (such as blog posts), newsletters or email campaigns. Of course, you’ll want to track your click-through rate, so use a shortened Bitly link or vanity URL to know where your clicks are coming from.
Overall, you can use this tactic for any links including an ecommerce website, YouTube channel or company blog. To take it a step further, create an Instagram landing page that captures email addresses through downloadable content like an ebook. The landing page design should mirror the look of your Instagram feed so there’s a visual connection for the user.

#2: Place a Call to Action on Images
Design Instagram photos that convert. You can layer a call to action and your website URL directly onto an aesthetically pleasing photo.
In Canva’s post below, the image has a call to action asking followers to enter a contest for a year of free access. The photo caption then directs users to click the link in Canva’s bio.

Add a call to action to your images.

This technique is beneficial for Instagram contests where you ask your followers to enter their email information on your website. Now, you have a strong piece of shareable branded content that drives followers to your contest.

#3: Include a URL in Videos
Instagram video brings digital storytelling to life. In fact, videos on Instagram generate three times more inbound links than image posts, so it’s definitely worthwhile to invest in a 15-second narrative.
Brands like Dollar Shave Club use video in innovative ways to spice up their Instagram feed. Their videos work similarly to a television commercial.

Include a URL in your videos to direct Instagram users to your website.
Dollar Shave Club’s videos include the URL in a text overlay and a voiceover (“Shave with a fresh blade anytime; try Dollar Shave Club.com”) that further drives Instagram followers to their website. The videos are quick, fun and engaging, making viewers want to learn more.

#4: Invest in Instagram Ads
Instagram recently announced it was opening its API to all companies and brands. By investing in the platform, you can target the right audience demographic through people’s interests. With an ad spend alongside your Instagram strategy, you’re likely to see an increase in website visits and ecommerce conversions.
Clickable links in Instagram ads give you an opportunity not only to be creative, but also let your followers learn more about your digital campaigns or attribute direct revenue from Instagram.
With Instagram ads, you can create awareness in a broader audience and promote campaigns that prioritize conversions by tracking sales and views.

#5: Leverage the Reach of Influencers
Sometimes you need an extra push to build brand awareness and extend your reach. By working with influencers, you can amplify your message.
Connect with influencers in your niche or industry (whether that’s fashion, beauty, sports or other verticals) to create effective Instagram content. Influencers capture followers’ attention because they’re recognizable and trusted for their product advice and reviews.

Instagram influencers are digital celebrities with loyal followers.

When working with influencers, make sure they use effective calls to action to send their followers to your website. This can be done through Instagram videos or with powerful copy that links to your website.

Final Thoughts
As Instagram becomes a revenue-based social channel predicted to outperform Twitter and Google in ad sales by 2017, make sure your Instagram strategy is focused on driving leads to your website. You can learn about follower data to form content strategies, drive revenue and brand awareness from clickable links and promote blog posts right on the platform.

Chapter 9
: Marketing Lessons from Businesses growing on Instagram – Case Studies
You can maximize your chances of Instagram success by watching what’s working for others.
In this article I’ll show you five examples of businesses growing their Instagram followers.
#1: Starbucks - Inviting Engagement
Starbucks definitely doesn’t have a growth problem. They’re one of the largest retail chains in the world and they have an internationally recognizable brand.
However, the Starbucks brand was built on the ethos of the small local coffee shop. In order to preserve this idyllic brand image, it’s important for Starbucks’ marketing to downplay size and create a more personal, familiar voice.

One of many posts in the #whereintheworld series.

Starbucks has done a brilliant job of creating that connection on Instagram with their #whereintheworld campaign.
The idea is simple: Starbucks posts a photo of one of their distinctive retail locations and invites their followers to guess where that store is.
However simple, this inventive campaign actually accomplishes a lot of Starbucks’ marketing objectives.
First of all, by showcasing the individuality of each of their stores, it gives Starbucks the chance to prove that it’s not your typical cookie-cutter chain.

This #whereintheworld series photo highlights the beautiful décor of this particular Starbucks store.

Second, by inviting their audience to participate in an informal conversation, they bring a certain level of familiarity to the table. This level of brand familiarity is something all companies should strive for and it becomes increasingly difficult the larger you are.
Let the success of the #whereintheworld campaign be an inspiration. If Starbucks cancome off as down-to-earth and personal, you definitely can too.

#2: Forever 21 - Embracing Video
It’s been over a year since Instagram announced the launch of the video feature, but brands have been slow to respond. According to Buffer, only 4% of Fortune 500companies have adopted video as an Instagram tactic.
Unlike those companies, Forever 21 has embraced Instagram video as a core social marketing tactic.
For many young women in the Forever 21 demographic, the beginning of the new school year is a chance to reinvent their image and try out new personalities and styles. With this in mind, Forever 21 is centering this year’s back-to-school campaign on the idea of making a statement.

Forever 21 cross-promoted their contest on their website and Instagram.
A major driver of this campaign is an Instagram video contest that invites followers to upload a video of a dance routine with the hashtag #F21StatementPiece for a chance to win a $10,000 scholarship.
As of this writing, the campaign hasn’t even been up for two weeks and there have already been hundreds of responses. The kind of personal expression and effort it takes to come up with a dance routine, film it and then upload it is the deepest kind of engagement a brand can hope for.

Each video submitted to Instagram gives Forever 21 more exposure.
Forever 21 has not only created a campaign that resonates with their followers, they used Instagram video to create an even more engaging experience.
This isn’t the only way brands can leverage Instagram video to create better campaigns, but it does serve as a prime example of the power it can have.

#3: 9GAG - Creating User-Generated Content
For those who don’t know, 9GAG is an online community dedicated to sharing quirky Internet humor (usually memes).
9GAG primarily uses their Instagram account as a kind of “best of” page. They typically handpick the funniest, most successful post from their site and sometimes add a funny caption to go along with it before they post it to Instagram.
Sometimes they spontaneously announce a contest. The most recent of which looked like this:

9GAG reinforced the idea of community by centering its contest around a popular meme joke.

“Awkward seal” is a popular meme—it’s a picture of a seal making a strange, scrunched face that looks like a human’s response to awkwardness. 9GAG called on their audience to submit their own version of the face with the hashtag #letsdothis9gag.
Although the contest only lasted for a day, it garnered thousands of responses, mentions and conversations.

The mutual silliness and embarrassment of posting a strange face in a public forum fosters a sense of community.
9GAG’s contest succeeded because they asked their followers to create personalized content. To an audience that already loves 9GAG, the chance to contribute was too much to resist.
#4: National Geographic - Matching Constraints With Brand Guidelines
National Geographic has been around for more than a century and is a household name, in large part because of its world-renowned photography.
Because their photography is the cornerstone of their reputation, they had to be very careful about their foray into a social channel that some have accused of cheapening the art of photography.

From the moment the National Geographic page loads, their beautiful photography is showcased front and center.
National Geographic‘s Instagram account conforms to the basic conventions of the community like hashtagging and mentions, but they also buck certain trends when it helps preserve their brand.
Their photos are certainly not shot with cellphones and definitely don’t use the stock Instagram filters.
National Geographic also takes advantage of the fact that Instagram captions don’t have a character limit. Each of their posts reads more like a mini magazine article than a typical, forgettable snapshot caption.

National Geographic shares gorgeous photographs and includes longer captions to give them context.

The success of the National Geographic Instagram account should serve as a valuable lesson. Although Instagram is often seen as a diversion, if you put the time and energy into creating immersive, quality content, your audience will take the time to engage with and appreciate your effort.

#5: Triangl - Creating a Consistent Style
Triangl is the one brand on this list that most readers are unlikely to recognize. However, they are worth mentioning because they’ve built their brand largely on Instagram.
With nearly 1.2 million followers, they’re one of the most followed brands on Instagram. So how has a relatively unknown brand created such a dominant presence on Instagram?
Take one look at their most recent posts and take a guess:

Viewing the photos lined up next to each other really highlights Triangl’s consistent posting pattern.

The brilliance of Triangl’s account is how incredibly disciplined they are. They found out what worked for their brand and their audience and have not deviated a bit.
Each Instagram update alternates between a picture of a model wearing one of their swimsuits and a photo of a perfectly picturesque waterside scene. The photos are varied enough to be interesting, but consistent enough to be distinctly branded.
Triangl provides an especially important lesson for brands just starting to build their Instagram presence: To create a truly distinct branded account, discover what your fans like about you, then consistently create content around that theme.
This doesn’t necessarily mean being as rigid as Triangl, but their success with extreme regularity is definitely worth noting and emulating—at least to a certain extent.
The Final Thought
Although each of the tactics highlighted above was created to address a specific problem or opportunity a brand had, they’re likely applicable to your own business as well.











Conclusion
Recent developments have brought Instagram, from a technical perspective, closer to Facebook than ever before. Image, video, image carousel, video carousel and dynamic ad types are all now available across both platforms, on top of the identical targeting capabilities and options.

And while Instagram is almost 100 percent mobile, Facebook is not far behind, with our latest benchmark report showing roughly 80 percent of Facebook ad spend going to mobile inventory.

The differences between the two channels are now primarily concentrated in a few areas. Individual audiences may be more or less prominent on one platform vs. the other (e.g., younger vs. older), along with the aforementioned specialized creative considerations.

In that vein, there is no one “right” way to advertise on Instagram. Creative approaches vary by industry, target market and other situational factors. In general, it’s helpful to initially ask:

* What interests my audience most, and what frustrates them?
* What messaging approach or tone will encourage customers to engage with our ad?
* How will our visual brand identity support our performance marketing objectives?
* What’s my product’s unique selling point, and how do I convey it visually?

Going through the remainder of 2016 with these questions in mind, along with the tips and statistics above, should help inform your Instagram advertising strategy. 


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