Struggling with Instagram ads? Don’t worry you’re not alone. Social media ads can be a tricky business. With endless options for each campaign, it can be difficult to choose the right content to see a return on your investment.

If you are not careful, you can spend thousands on Instagram advertisements without seeing an increase in Instagram followers.

Thankfully, there are some expert tips that we can share with you that have been proven to work. If you’re looking to increase your following, maximize your reach, & explode your engagement. Then keep reading on reading to get a breakdown of our Viral Instagram Ads Funnel for Explosive Growth!

instagram ads growth strategy

Start with content that is performing well.

Part of the ongoing struggle with social media ads is deciding what content to promote. You could reinvent the wheel every time you launch a new Instagram campaign and guess what will engage your audience. However, a better growth strategy is to use content that is already performing well on your page.

When you are first diving into Instagram advertisements, identify a few Instagram posts that received higher organic engagement than most of your posts. You can view the insights for each individual post and determine what content received the most likes, comments, shares, profile visits, and website visits.

instagram ads growth strategy

Consider the total engagement on a post instead of focusing on just one engagement metric to rank. You should also take note of the impressions each post received. If a post received fewer impressions but a high amount of engagement, it had a higher engagement rate.

Engagement Rate = (Total number of engagements/Total number of impressions) x 100

Compile this data into a spreadsheet so you can view engagement, impressions, and engagement rate by topic or date. If you have hundreds or thousands of posts, you can focus your attention on posts within a recent timeframe. Use this data to select your top-performing posts that are still relevant for your audience.

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Center your Instagram Ads on content that connects.

It is essential that the content you select for your Instagram paid promotions accurately reflects your brand and catches the attention of your target audience. Posts featuring expired offers, out of stock products, or irrelevant holidays and photos are not going to help you increase your followers on Instagram. While these posts help you connect with your current audience and funnel them through your sales process, they do not bring in new customers.

When selecting the content to promote for your Instagram business, make sure that it is content that encourages engagement. When people see your post as an ad in their feed and like it, they are more likely to see your posts in the future. They are also becoming familiar with your brand. Promoted posts on Instagram shouldn’t just encourage people to buy. If you want to get more Instagram followers, you have to ask questions, encourage opinions, and get people engaging with your posts.  

The content you select to increase your followers on Instagram should also build trust. Users seeing your content for the first time have no idea who you are and what you do. Your Instagram ad is your chance to convey your authority and showcase what you do best. Share something educational, highlight your accomplishments, showcase customer testimonials, and start building trust with new audiences.

instagram ads growth strategy

Choose the right goal.

For most Instagram Business Profiles, Instagram promotions drive traffic back to their website in order to convert the lead into a sale.

However, if you are using Instagram ads to increase your Instagram following, you should be doing things a little differently. Within your Ad Manager account, you can select a goal for your campaigns. Choose website clicks as your goal, but enter the URL of your Instagram profile instead of your website URL.

When users click on your ad to learn more about you, your products, and your services, they will be taken directly to your Instagram profile page. You do not have to worry about users exiting out of your website or scrolling past without remembering your name. This strategy cuts out unnecessary steps that lead to massive drop-offs in your Instagram ads funnel.

Target your audience.

Spray and pray is hardly a successful Instagram growth strategy for Instagram advertisements. If you want to grow your following, you have to be strategic about your Instagram ads. Instead of blowing through your budget by placing ads in the feeds of users outside of your target audience.

instagram ads growth strategy

You can create custom audiences for your campaigns. The targeting options for Instagram ads are impressive and utilize the same data and structure as Facebook ads.

Try customizing your audience to make the most of your Instagram advertisements budget and grow your following on Instagram. For example, you can create a custom audience of people who have visited your website in the past. When they select your ad, they will be directed to your Instagram profile where they can easily follow you.

You can also target users based on their interests or demographics. This process makes it much easier for your ads to end up in front of your ideal consumer. If you know your customers tend to fall in a certain age range or express interest in a specific category, you can narrow your audience to meet those qualifications. By targeting the right people, you can spend less on your Instagram ads while increasing your Instagram following fast.

instagram ads growth strategy

Don’t blow through your budget.

Throwing a lot of money at your Instagram ads does not ensure success. In fact, you should start by keeping your budget low for your Instagram paid promotions. Setting a daily budget of just $1 and limiting the number of days your campaign runs can keep you from spending more than you anticipated. This lower budget also enables you to test your campaigns and determine which content performs best.

Evaluate your campaigns on a regular basis and make changes as needed. Limit the number of variables you alter with each test so you can get a clear picture of the factors that impact your ads. Change your target audience, the content of your posts, the duration of your ads, and more to find a strategy that helps you increase your followers on Instagram.

Growing on Instagram within 24H (Even if you don't quite know what to post)