You can’t go five pages on Instagram without spotting a sponsored post. These posts appear on stories and feed randomly for the sole aim of promoting a product or a page. They’re the fastest means to get your products and services across to a wide range of Instagram audiences aside the hashtags. Here, we’ll look at vital information on how to go about advertising on Instagram, cost, and tips.

How much do Instagram ads cost?

Much like the sister social media platform Facebook, advertising on Instagram is basically the same process as Facebook. Hence, if you’re familiar with the cost of advertising on Facebook then this shouldn’t be much of a problem either. 

Just like Facebook, there isn’t a set price for advertising on Instagram. It depends totally on Instagram and the advertising slot for such types of advertisements. Let’s break this down, you create a bid for your ad’s placement. In reality, this much more complicated than it sounds. Also, that you want to advertise on Instagram doesn’t guarantee Instagram would want to accept your application with regards to advertising to the set of audience you want. There is more to obtaining a spot for your ad than just making the highest bid.

Rocket Social carried out a survey on the comparative costs of advertising on Instagram, It is expected that you will have to pay somewhere between 20 cents and $2 per click (CPC) on an Instagram campaign. However, if you prefer to run your ads on a cost per mille (CPM) basis, then you are likely to pay around $5 per 1,000 visitors on average, focusing on impressions.

How to place advertisements on Instagram and cost

Cost of advertising on Instagram is based on three factors

Advertising Cost Based On Where You Direct Followers

This actually has no additional charges attached to it. When advertising on Instagram you can choose where you wish your adverts to place depending on where you feel it can connect to most people. No matter where you send your followers, profile, website or your Dms (rarely), the cost remains the same.

Below is a sample of the cost of this option.

Place adverts based on the target audience 

Always put into consideration and carefully place ads with your target audience in mind. This option can be adjusted when setting up a sponsored post. This is the most essential part of advertising on Instagram as it determines who sees your ads and how relevant it would be to them. 

Apparently, there are two ways to go about this. The first option is choosing ‘automatic’ which means Instagram gets to decide who sees your adverts and automatically updates you on the outreach statistics. The second option involves you setting your target audience yourself manually, the results differ unlike the first.

The second option is way better, and it’s for the same price as the first, as it lets your advertisement reach out to more people. The selection of target audience can be influenced by factors such as location, gender, age, and interest of the target audience. Most importantly, set up your ads as such that it reaches the most audience. To help keep informed on all vital information, read on to find out tips to running a successful advertisement on Instagram

Advert placement based on budget and duration

Instagram allows you to decide how long you want your campaign to last. Also, this determines the budget. However, Instagram also lets you set your daily budget.

Instagram understands the importance of living within a budget hence this option. It allows you set a daily budget of any amount for a stimulating amount of time the ads are supposed to run. For instance, if you have a daily budget of $20, a 5-day campaign would cost $100. But just like everything on the internet, the more you pay, the more your potential reach is. For instance, if you’re estimated to reach 30000 people with your 5-day campaign, you could reach an additional 500 if you pay more. 

Think about what your average customer spends in-store and multiply that by potential customers. For example, if your average customer spends $10, then you could make $2260 from your $75 Instagram ad!

It certainly seems that it’s worth the cost to advertise on Instagram.

Factors that contribute to CPC price ranges

A lot of factors contribute to the price of CPC when advertising on Instagram:

1. The targeted age range. The age range of your audience matters a lot; for instance you’re likely to pay more if you’re target between the ages of 18-44.
2. What you’re advertising. The type of product or service you’re advertising greatly influences the CPC costing. For instance, fashion items such as apparels and jewelry cot more than other services.
3. The cheaper your services, the cheaper the ads. Instagram surveys to find out the market price of what you want to advertise. Expensive commodities cost more to advertise. Of course you don’t expect Instagram to charge a Rolex wristwatch ad the same amount it would charge a cookie vendor.
4. Whether or not you’re using Facebook’s campaign bids.
5. Your estimated action rates, which Instagram automatically predicts.
6. The relevancy of your brand.
7. Method of Ad placement. Instagram charges you based on how you want to run your ads. For instance, it is way cheaper to advertise through Instagram stories than through Instagram feed.

How to advertise on Instagram

This article isn’t complete without a detailed outline of how to go about advertising on Instagram. Here’s a detailed step on how to advertise on Instagram.

1. Set up a business account on Instagram.
2. On your profile, click on the ‘promotions’ option and then click ‘create a promotion.’
3. Create the photo template (ensure you choose the best photo that appropriately highlights the product or services you wish to advertise) for your brand.
4. Allow access to your Facebook account.
5. Select your target audience, (consider following the steps as previously discussed above) you can choose an automatic audience, it all depends on what you want.
6. If you decide to create your own target audience, then follow these steps to set up. Give the audience a tag or name. Next is location selection, most preferably go with a city, because it’s not too small or big. Choose the target audience’s interests. For example, if you’re selling bathroom accessories, choose people with an interest in housing and interior decor! Lastly, select the age and gender. Definitely select age and gender that corresponds with your existing audience.
7. Next is to choose your budget and duration. Its best to start small, give it an initial trial and see how well Instagram ads work for you.
8. Lastly, add a payment method and create a promotion!

What’s the easier way to run ads on Instagram?

Going with Instagram often comes with a lot of processes especially for startups, the best alternative is to go with a reliable service capable of running your adverts on Instagram at a much cheaper rate. With rocket social you could build your brand on Instagram without having to rob a bank. 

Rocket social is a dedicated Instagram account manager that helps you manage your Instagram account and grow your presence on the platform. Aside giving you the best rates on running ads, rocket social is a legitimate Influencer Marketing Agency which brings authentic & organic Instagram followers.

With rocket social, you can customize your adverts to target a particular set of audience depending on their searches and interest this way, your ads are seen by a wide range of viewers who have interest in your products and services. 

With rocket social, you are guaranteed the following; ease of use, low-cost ads, and services, real and targeted Instagram followers, and excellent influencer marketing to engage your audience. 

Need help with your Facebook and Instagram advertising? Our social media marketing agency specializes in social media management and advertising. Our team can help you increase the relevancy of your Facebook and Instagram ads while decreasing overall ad spend. Contact us today for a free consultation.