If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you’re well aware that there are several methods to use Instagram to boost user engagement and deliver tangible benefits for your business.

These are techniques that can offer your brand consistent results, from engaging with an Instagram influencer to funneling your marketing funds into sponsored posts. Of course, some influencers will be a bad fit for your brand, and we’ve all seen sponsored posts that receive no engagement. You might as well flush your hard-earned money down the toilet if this happens. 

So, what can you do to ensure that your brand’s sponsored postings are as effective as possible? The good news is that there are a few sure-fire ways to deter Instagram users from scrolling past your paid content:

The Visual Is Everything 

This shouldn’t really surprise anyone, right? Your sponsored posts’ success will be determined by the same factors that make your normal Instagram content appealing.

While research has constantly proven that Instagram has the best levels of interaction among social media platforms, the reality is that the average Instagram user will be swiftly scrolling through their feed, not pausing until something catches their eye.

You should consider whether the images you’re utilizing for sponsored articles are truly eye-catching. Great photographs necessitate preparation. They make use of editing software and prioritize lighting and color arrangement. They’re not hesitant to experiment with new angles or concepts, and they don’t look like a magazine ad—in fact, the greatest sponsored posts frequently appear to be organic.

Using high-quality photographs from a free stock photo collection is, of course, acceptable. You’ve already won half the battle by doing your best to use just the greatest photographs for your Instagram marketing efforts.

Specification

You can maximize your Instagram marketing potential by using targeting. This is because Instagram’s sponsored posts are targeted using Facebook’s in-depth targeting engine.

You might wonder why this is such a huge issue. Consider how specific your targeting can be. You can target people based on their age or gender, but you can also target them based on their interests, relationship status, or even where they attended college.

Clover, a mobile dating service, is an excellent illustration of how precise targeting may improve your Instagram marketing.

Sponsored postings from the company were only shown to “single men and women aged 18-35 living in the United States and Canada who used iOS 7+”—a blend of demographic and behavioral targeting.

As a result,

The company saw a 64 percent rise in new subscriptions, thanks in part to a little effort to focus more on their target group.

Your posts are significantly more likely to reach an audience that is truly interested in your Instagram content when targeting is done correctly.

Incorporate Calls to Action

The “call to action” (CTA) is one of the most overused marketing buzzwords on the globe, but it’s also one of the most critical aspects of any successful sponsored post.

With the new modification to its call to action button, Instagram has taken this a step further. The new button spans the entire width of your advertising, resulting in a 45 percent increase in click-throughs, according to Instagram’s internal data tracking.

But a good call to action is about more than just using Instagram’s button. The greatest sponsored posts use captions—and often even parts of images—to enlighten and persuade customers to perform the desired action. A direct and to-the-point call to action will be successful. There’s no equivocation here. You need to inform your audience what you want them to do (and how it will benefit them) in as few words as possible, whether you want them to download an app or sign up for a free product trial.

This is especially true if part of your call to action is included in the image itself—after all, you don’t want the text to clog up your image. Only include the most relevant, attention-getting words in your image (such as “Free Trial”), and save the explanation for your caption.

Make an Instagram funnel out of organic posts that already exist.

When you create an Instagram ad campaign, your main goal is generally not to increase engagement or attract people to visit your profile. Instead, it’s more than likely focusing on a revenue-generating aim, such as leads or sales.

That isn’t to say you should solely make conversion-oriented ads. It’s not easy to turn someone who has never heard of your company into a paying customer. Attempting to achieve such an impossible aim might be costly, resulting in a low return on investment.

This is why having an Instagram funnel is so important. You may use a funnel to present your company to a growing audience while directing them from awareness to conversion. As a result, you may keep getting the results you want while maintaining a high ROAS.

Although the majority of campaign planning takes place in Facebook Ads Manager, you can now begin creating your funnel on the Instagram app. Has one of your natural Instagram pictures gotten a lot of attention? Organic postings that perform well can be excellent candidates for sponsored promotions.

To begin, use the Instagram app and go to your profile. To get suggestions, touch the Ad Tools button or tap the post you want to promote. Instagram suggests top-performing posts to promote automatically.

Take advantage of native lead generation forms.

You now know how to attract new clients to your funnel and how to effectively retarget them. However, which marketing goal should you employ to create your Instagram funnel?

Lead generation efforts are effective at pushing prospects through the sales funnel. You can use this campaign objective to find warm leads and see if they’re a suitable fit for your company. These ads make use of native lead generation forms that autofill with the user’s information, making it simple for prospects to enter contact information so you can follow up with them outside of Instagram.

Because people that fill out lead forms are more likely to convert, they’re great additions to your remarketing lists. Organic tactics such as email marketing may also be able to convert these prospects. In either case, this goal is an important part of a high-ROAS Instagram advertising plan.

Prospects are prompted to download a lead magnet that covers future workplace technology developments through the call to action (CTA). Prospects that click the Download CTA are taken to a native lead generation form, which asks them for their contact information in exchange for the downloadable guide.

Finishing Touches

While consistently creating effective sponsored posts can be a hit-or-miss affair, many of the factors to success are similar to what drives engagement on your organic Instagram posts.

You’ll be able to get more out of your Instagram marketing than ever before if you follow these sponsored post best practices.