Instagram has over 1.4 billion monthly active users and is one of the most popular social media platforms for businesses to build a community with their target customers. With U.S. adults spending an average of 33.1 minutes per day on Instagram, how can you make sure to attract your ideal customers with a single post amidst all the scrolling?
That’s where Instagram sponsored posts come in, creating a new avenue for business owners and marketers to reach new customers by promoting specific products, promotions, and services to build brand awareness.
Which is why we’re excited to announce that Loomly now offers the ability to schedule Instagram Sponsored Posts! This latest release makes it even easier for you to make Instagram a part of your Facebook and LinkedIn ads strategy, creating all your content in advance.
Manage all your social media accounts in one place.
Craft, schedule, & auto-post content to all your social channels, then track analytics and manage interactions from a single, easy-to-use dashboard.
How to schedule an Instagram sponsored post with Loomly
Boosting an Instagram post using Loomly is simple:
- Add a Facebook ads account in your Calendar settings
- Launch Post Builder and select Instagram as one of your channels
- Fill in the Base Panel with the date and time, subject, label, and generic content
- Click next to move to the Fine-tuning panel, then click “Promote Post”
- Enter your promotion details in the pop-up window
- Click “Save” and you’re ready to schedule!
Why should you boost posts on Instagram?
While Instagram has a massive user base, your posts might get lost due to the platform's algorithm despite using the right trending hashtags and following best practices like adding collaborators or tagging users or products. Promoting posts on Instagram helps your content get discovered and generates quick results in terms of engagement, website traffic, and conversions.
Instagram post sponsoring allows you to target a specific audience by specifying demographics, interests, behaviors, and more. These posts often appear in the feeds of users who don’t follow your account, giving you the opportunity to increase your brand’s visibility and grow your follower base.
So whether you’re looking to increase brand awareness, gain new followers, increase post engagement, or generate new leads, promoting your Instagram posts can significantly extend your reach to the right audience.
Best practices for Instagram ads
Define clear goals
Just like any other marketing campaign, it’s crucial to define your objectives for Instagram sponsored posts. Setting some key performance indicators (KPIs) such as an increase in engagement, follower growth, link clicks, and other metrics will help you measure the success of your sponsored posts.
Understand your target audience
In order to create a successful Instagram ad, you need to know who would be most interested in what your business or organization has to offer. Go beyond the basic demographics like age, gender, and location and include behaviors and interests like recent purchases or a love of cats. The more detailed your understanding of your ideal customers, the better you can target your sponsored posts.
Pick the right timing
Not sure when to run Instagram ads? Think about holidays, high sales periods, and events relevant to your industry. For example, if you have a business that benefits from a holiday like Mother's Day or Father's Day, then you should start scheduling Instagram ads a few weeks before to capitalize on interest and urgency.
Create engaging content
Understanding your target audience’s content preferences is key to creating engaging posts to boost on Instagram. Your goal should be to craft a variety of relatable and relevant posts that capture attention while maintaining your brand’s vision, mission, and authenticity.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with trends and different formats, and get inspiration from other creators and businesses in your industry. Just make sure that you stay true to your brand’s tone, style, and message.
Have a clear budget
In any marketing campaign including Instagram sponsored posts, having a budget is essential to keeping on track. Define clear financial goals for your boosted posts, such as cost per click or cost per conversion. This will help you determine how much to allocate to your sponsored post budget to achieve optimal results.
Promote Instagram posts as part of your social media strategy
With Loomly, you can now boost your scheduled posts on Instagram along with Facebook and LinkedIn to keep your entire social media strategy running smoothly.
If you’re already a Loomly user, log in now and give boosting Instagram posts a try! If you’re new to Loomly and exploring social media schedulers, start a 15-day free trial to see how much easier we are to use.
Need help? Check out our support article for more information about promoting Instagram posts. If you have more questions or require further assistance, we’re just a message away. Want to help contribute to our product roadmap? Send in your request here.