Instagram story ads are a vertical form of ads on this social media platform, and they appear the same way Stories from your Following list do.
If you aren’t too familiar with Instagram Stories – they are a 24-hour post on your profile and appear on your feed separately from regular Instagram posts.
As most Instagram users watch Stories endlessly, running ads can be very successful. The story ads are immersed between the Stories of people you follow, and users don’t have to follow you to see your page’s ad.
Posting an Instagram story ad has multiple formats – from a photo to a carousel and video.
Photo ads run for 5 seconds, video ads for 15 seconds, and lastly, carousel ads can combine three photos and videos in one ad.
If you aren’t fully sold on using the Instagram platform for advertising, just consider that over 70% of US-based businesses use the platform. So, you could lose significant revenue if you aren’t among the majority.
Running Story ads, especially video ads, can help you reach your target audience and business goals sooner.
How to Create Instagram Story Ads? The Steps Explained
Instagram story ads are a vertical form of ads on this social media platform, and they appear the same way Stories from your Following list do.
If you aren’t too familiar with Instagram Stories – they are a 24-hour post on your profile and appear on your feed separately from regular Instagram posts.
As most Instagram users watch Stories endlessly, running ads can be very successful. The story ads are immersed between the Stories of people you follow, and users don’t have to follow you to see your page’s ad.
Posting an Instagram story ad has multiple formats – from a photo to a carousel and video.
Photo ads run for 5 seconds, video ads for 15 seconds, and lastly, carousel ads can combine three photos and videos in one ad.
If you aren’t fully sold on using the Instagram platform for advertising, just consider that over 70% of US-based businesses use the platform. So, you could lose significant revenue if you aren’t among the majority.
Running Story ads, especially video ads, can help you reach your target audience and business goals sooner..
How to Create Instagram Story Ads? The Steps Explained
If you aren’t much social media savvy, it might be a challenge to post an Instagram story ad. However, I assure you that it’s as easy as ABC.
Running an Instagram ad on your Story only takes a few steps. To do this, you’ll use the Ads Manager on the platform, which is very user-friendly and interactive, making it a breezy process altogether.
So, let’s begin!
#1 Open Ads Manager
The first step is to open the Ads Manager and click on “Create.” Then, you will be presented with the option „Quick Creation“ and „Guided Creation.”
Choose the option that works for your business the best.
#2 Set Goals
Once you have selected your preferred option for creating Story Ads, you can set goals and targets for your new Instagram ads.
You can choose the marketing objective you want to fulfill with this ad. Your options include:
- Reach
- Video views
- Lead Generation
- App Installs
- Brand Awareness
- Traffic
#3 Choose Ad Placement
Once you’re done with marketing objectives and have selected your goals, it’s time to go to the Placements section. You should go with the option „Automatic Placements“, as it will choose Instagram Stories automatically.
If that doesn’t work, you can opt for the „Manual Placements. “ When selecting this option, you must check the box for Stories under Instagram.
#4 Set the Desired Budget & Schedule
When you’re done setting up, it’s time to set how much money you will set aside for your Instagram Story Ads. You can choose the cost control to get the most link clicks.
You can also choose the daily budget, and you can opt to run the ad set continuously, or you can choose a start and end date.
#5 Choose Media for Instagram Story Ads
It’s time to decide what kind of media you want to run as ads on your Instagram stories – you can choose between a static image, and video content or make a scrollable carousel consisting of at least two photos or videos.
Choose photos that go well together to make your ad appear organic.
#6 Finish Up
Once you have selected photos and images for your full-screen vertical ads, it’s time to add details – a headline and a short description.
For some users, it’s easier to use Stories Templates, as it will automatically transform videos and images into ads and add some movement to make the ad captivating.
When everything starts to look eye-catching, click on confirm, and you’re done; the ad will be shown to your target audience.
What Is the Price of Running an Instagram Story Ad?
Instagram Story ads do not have a fixed price list for all users and businesses. On average, you can put the price range somewhere between $0.70 and $1 per click.
The price depends on several factors:
- Industry
- Day of the week when the ad is running
- Period of the year
- Targeted gender
- Targeted age
Sometimes, Instagram ads can cost over $5 per click. Yes, that may sound rather expensive, but there is an upside – you can limit the ad’s budget.
You can set how much you’re willing to spend daily by running ads to get more potential customers and build brand awareness. Also, there is the option to limit the campaign’s total cost to ensure it doesn’t cross your budget.
All in all, you don’t have to spend more money if you don’t want to. In fact, one of Instagram’s best practices is trial and error, and you will be able to manage everything yourself very soon.
Why Make Instagram Stories Part Of Your Strategy?
Making Instagram a key segment in your ad campaign can be the solution to getting more website traffic. Story ads on Instagram can increase your engagement rate significantly and help you get more followers in the nick of time.
This is your sign to start using Story ads on Instagram. Here are some compelling reasons why you should make Instagram Story ads a part of your business strategy:
Improving Brand Visibility
Increasing brand awareness is a key point in your social media marketing strategy. Allowing people to know more about the mission and vision of your brand will drive people to your business naturally.
Instagram story ads can tell a snapshot story of your brand – therefore, they need to be included in your marketing strategy.
Getting people to talk about your brand is one of the key steps to upgrade your business.
Increasing Engagement
People have the chance to see and learn a lot more about your brand’s image through ads. This way, you are also subconsciously encouraging your viewers to follow your page.
With more followers that like and comment on your content, you get a better engagement rate.
You can make the most of this by inviting your viewers to participate by posting polls or asking direct questions on Stories.
Generating Leads
Getting more followers means growing the number of leads and prospects, which is ultimately, the goal of your business. Your aim is to create organic Instagram Stories – so even if your Instagram ad lasts for only 24 hours, it will still be seen by many people that don’t follow your page. It needs to spark interest in both your followers and the audience you’re trying to attract.
How to achieve that?
Simple – create ads that match the vibe of your business page in general, as they will open the door to other Instagram users to click “Follow.” You can use your Instagram Story ad to post mobile shots of your ideas or post-studio shots of your products and services.
Getting Instant Feedback
Another important thing when talking about Insta Story Ads is the feedback that you receive from your followers.
If you’re getting ready to launch a new product, you can use Instagram Stories to scope out the situation and perform market research. Before the official launch, you can ask your audience how they feel about the new product or service.
Why should you consider this?
Well, it can help you save a lot of money if your product turns out to be a bust.
Simply said, if you aren’t sure about the need for a certain product or how it looks – you have someone that’ll give you an honest answer. After all, one of your aims is to create a product that’s tailored to your customer’s needs.
Just ask your audience directly using Instagram Stories.
Are Instagram Story Ads Effective?
The short answer is definitely.
Instagram Stories ads are fully immersed between the Stories of your following list – the users see it when they concentrate on the content before them.
If you are already making use of sponsored content on Instagram, you may be wondering:
Are Instagram Story ads more effective than sponsored posts?
Again, yes. Story ads are far more effective for your marketing campaign than feed ads. They are, by default, more compelling, resulting in more clicks and a higher conversion rate for your website.
They also have a lower cost-per-click than feed ads – making them more successful and cheaper in the long run.
You can get the best of both worlds, though. While Instagram story ads last only a couple of seconds, feed posts can stay on as long as the user views them. So, when making a campaign on this social media platform, I advise you to mix both and see which ad formats work better for your brand.
5 Tips for Creating Engaging Instagram Story Ads
Creating an exciting Instagram feed is a challenge in itself, and so is making engaging ads that will catch the eye of every viewer. Higher brand awareness doesn’t come from Story ads but from the content inside them.
That is why I’m sharing the best practices for creating Instagram story ads below!
Emphasize the CTA
Here’s the thing.
Instagram Story ad campaigns will fail if you don’t spice the ad with a straightforward call-to-action. There are several ways to call your Instagram users to action – “Shop now”, “Swipe up”, or “Click to learn more about …”
So, to increase your brand’s awareness, you will add a CTA to tell people more about your brand’s Story. If your ad is a product placement, you will likely need to add a CTA such as ‘shop now’.
Make Use of the Full-Screen Format
Instagram Stories are used more than any other option on this social media platform, so you need to use this particular ad placement. Instagram Story ads give you more space for a good ad than regular posts, and you need that space to get to the point quickly.
Your goal is to catch your Instagram followers’ and target audiences’ attention, and you only have a few seconds to do this. Therefore, the ad needs to be efficient, yet captivating. Whatever the goal of your video ad is – you will need to get straight to the message.
Use Sounds
More Stories are viewed with sound rather than without – which is why your Story ad should have a sound to provide more value to your viewers. You can use music, special sound effects, or a voice-over to get people to watch your ad.
If you aren’t sure which Instagram sound works best for your Instagram story ad, do a little market research to see what would work for your target audience. Popular sounds sometimes work for certain businesses, but on the other hand, just poll it out to see what works swimmingly for your brand.
Add Text Overlays
Adding text and a CTA can make your Story ad more accessible — which is very important if you want to get your message across to more people. Also, text can accentuate your key points, and get users to purchase your products.
Text overlays allow people to understand your brand’s message, but they can also captivate everyone in under ten seconds.
Be Interactive
Don’t just recycle and repurpose your old Instagram ads – make new ones, especially if you want to post an Instagram Stories ad.
You need to create new, fresh Story ads and make them interactive and existing.
If you just copy and paste a story from your Facebook Ads Manager, you won’t achieve the goals you were hoping for, and the video format might not fit the Story’s vertical format.
Check out Insta-exclusive options for formatting, as it allows you to make the best video or image ad in the industry.
Instagram Story Ads FAQ
Here’s a recap of some of the most important FAQs.
Q: How Successful Are Instagram Story Ads?
A: Instagram ads can drive higher brand awareness and increase the engagement rate on your business page. Most of the time, a carousel ad posted as a Story can perform better than newsfeed ads.
Q: Is It Better to Boost Your Stories or Posts?
A: Instagram Story video ads will always catch viewers’ attention better than sponsored posts. Videos tend to be very captivating, and if the content resonates with the viewer, it will certainly be very effective and make them click “Follow.”
Most users watch stories continuously, while posts aren’t as popular – it’s not uncommon for users to miss your sponsored post entirely.
Q: Are Story Ads Cheaper?
A: Yes, Instagram Story ads are cheaper than any other form of Instagram advertising. Instagram Stories ads have a lower cost-per-click compared to feed ads or sponsored posts, so if you’re looking for a budget-friendly way to captivate your Instagram users, consider making organic Instagram Stories as ads.
Q: Where Do Instagram Story Ads Appear?
A: Instagram Story ads appear in-between Stories from people users follow. That way, the Story ads are fully immersed in content users they already follow, making it more likely that they will click on the link inside.
