Over the last few years, the popularity of Instagram has significantly influenced consumer behavior. Not only do shoppers turn to Instagram for product discovery, but they also buy products in-app.
Instagram has great sales potential for ecommerce brands. So, if you want to run Instagram ad campaigns on budget, it’s important to learn from other companies and their best practices.
Over 25 million businesses use Instagram to promote their products and services. How can you cut through the noise to reach your target audience? The answer is simple: run well-targeted Instagram ad campaigns.
Since the platform has over two million monthly advertisers, it’s no doubt that Instagram advertising is an effective way to achieve your business goals fast.
To inspire your next Instagram ad campaign, I’ve gathered six great Instagram ads with their results, and what makes them so good / what can be improved. Let’s dive in!
Now you can set up targeted Instagram ads right inside your GetResponse account.
Why advertise on Instagram?
As a marketer, it’s likely you have to divide up the budget and spend your money on what’s working for your brand. If you’re unsure about paying for Instagram advertising, here are several reasons to give it a try:
- Interact with your target audience: according to Business Instagram, the Instagram community has reached one million monthly active users, and 90% of them follow at least one business on the platform. For brands, this means your potential customers are definitely on the platform, and they want to interact with your company. To make it easier for your target audience to find you and interact with you, run Instagram ad campaigns to speed up the process.
- Beat Instagram algorithm: To keep users hooked and engaged, Instagram prioritizes content from the most important people in your life. Simply put, if you interact with a lot with accounts, the platform recognizes your relationships as “close”, so 90% of your feed consists of posts that come from “friends and family”. Unless you run the Instagram ad campaign, it’s difficult for brands to reach their target audience, especially when you are just starting out in Instagram marketing.
- Meet your business goals: With the variety of targeting options, you reach the exact audience you want. Plus, different campaign objectives help to achieve business goals, whether you want to reach more customers, drive website traffic, or increase mobile app installs.
For these reasons, running Instagram ad campaigns is a good idea for businesses of all sizes and shapes, and here’s how other companies use paid ads to achieve their business goals.
Instagram ad campaign ideas that work for ecommerce
1. Gymshark
Gymshark was one of the first companies that realized the power of Instagram Stories ads. Back in 2017, when the company decided to promote its Black Friday sale, Gymshark ran an Instagram Stories ad campaign to increase awareness and sales.
Running Instagram Stories ads is a smart choice these days. Why? According to Business Instagram, 500 million users create or watch Instagram Stories daily, ⅓ of the most-viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses, and people spend 80% more time watching videos on the platform.
What were the results?
- 16.4 million people were reached.
- 6.6x return on ad spend.
- 40% of purchases made during the campaign period came from Instagram.
What worked:
- When the company runs Instagram Stories ads, it helps to stay authentic as this content looks and feels like organic content.
- The use of the Instagram Story link with a call to action helps to convert interested viewers into customers.
- To promote its campaign, GymShark also publishes user-generated content that helps provide social proof.
What could be improved:
- Although the company features models wearing its latest items, showing off products from all sides can attract more customers.
- The background and the item are the same color, so it’s difficult for potential customers to understand how the featured item looks like.
- The company promotes its Black Friday sale, but it doesn’t mention the holiday in ads.
2. Milton & Goose
Milton & Goose is a company that sells fancy and quality toys, so just a few people buy them on impulse. When the company decided to promote its Black Friday sale, it was important to reach people who had previously interacted with the brand. Before running the campaign, the company reached out to influencers who took photos of their kids playing with child-sized kitchen and furniture to use social media visuals as user-generated content.
What were the results?
- 50% of customers discovered Milton & Goose on Instagram.
- 4.6x increase in 2018 Black Friday sale over the previous year.
- 38% of unique visitors to the website referred by Instagram.
What worked:
- Milton & Goose uses some real pictures of kids playing with the featured items, so showing off products in action increases brand trust.
- The company offers a promo code that is available for a short time, which creates a sense of urgency and influences consumer behavior.
- Writing a promo code in all caps helps to grab the attention.
What could be improved:
- Using a shorter caption could keep more focus on the offer.
- There’s no call-to-action button like Learn More, so it can be daunting for viewers to find out the items on sale.
3. Meller
Meller is a Spanish brand that manufactures sunglasses and accessories, with customers around the globe. In honor of its fourth birthday, the company ran an Instagram Stories ad campaign to promote its two-for-one offer. The campaign helped to increase customer retention and acquisition.
What were the results?
- 20% higher click-through rate with ads in Stories
- 35% lower cost per acquisition with ads in Stories
What worked:
- Using dynamic video ads hooks and keeps the attention of the target audience as the popularity of video content is on the rise.
- BOGO promotions work better than other discounts, so using a two-for-one offer gives wonderful results.
- Overlaying text on video ads helps users understand more about the offer without guessing.
- The CTA encourages viewers to visit the website.
What could be improved:
- Using the same color for the background and text font of the CTA button makes the CTA almost invisible.
Bonus guide
Not sure when and what kind of discounts you should offer to your customers? Plan a perfect discount strategy for your store with our easy guide!
4. Defshop
Defshop is one of the largest streetwear companies in Europe that uses Instagram to promote its products. Since Instagram shopping is gaining popularity, the company has decided to add product tags in posts to make it easier for interested Instagrammers to find out about the featured items. The campaign proved that modern users were ready to buy in-app.
What were the results?
- 56% more website visitors after using product tags.
- 64% increase in sales.
- 13% higher conversion rate.
What worked:
- Including the information about the prices helps to improve customer experience and make the purchase decision faster.
- The company tags each product within each post, which helps to satisfy every potential customer’s preferences, needs, and wants.
- Using lifestyle photography helps to sell a solution rather than a product that encourages impulse buying.
What could be improved:
- When the image lacks the information about the company or the offer, the chances are that your target audience will scroll the post without tapping on product tags.
5. Shein
SHEIN is a fashion brand that targets young women who are interested in style and fashion. With over 8 million followers on Instagram, the company knows the power of the platform for boosting ecommerce sales, so it also runs ad campaigns to get better results. To find out what could work best for SHEIN, the company ran test focused on a new conversion optimization method, focusing on post-view and post-click conversions. The campaign helped to optimize ad spend.
What were the results?
- 23% purchase conversion lift with view-through conversion optimization.
- 45% more cost-effective per purchase conversion with view-through optimization.
- 9% increase in people reached on Instagram.
What worked:
- The company runs carousel ads to showcase various tops within one post and therefore attract more potential customers.
- To promote its eye-catching tops, SHEIN uses a plain background to keep a focus on the promoted items.
- The company’s logo in the upper-left corner reminds users of who is selling the products.
- Using the ‘Shop Now’ action button encourages Instagrammers to visit the website and find out more about the featured products.
What could be improved:
- Modern customers crave brand authenticity, so using lifestyle images or UGC photos can deliver better results.
- Although SHEIN breaks up the text, the caption isn’t informative enough to hook the attention.
6. Treat Well
Treat Well helps customers find and book beauty, styling, and wellness services online at any time of the day. The company operates in 11 countries around the globe, so using Instagram helps to reach the global community with ease. Treat Well always uses creative ways to promote its services, so it’s no wonder the company has used the new collection ad format on Instagram to drive salon bookings.
What were the results?
- 19% more bookings than the campaign goal.
- 7% lower cost per conversion compared to previous ad strategy.
What worked:
- Having a wide variety of products or services, it’s a good idea to use a new collection ad format to showcase your business in an interesting and engaging way.
- The company uses a compelling video to show off the range of services, and it gives results as animated ads get 1.5x more clicks than the static image.
- Adding text overlays and a simple logo helps tells more about the business without clogging the ad up with information.
- The information about the nearby salon locations encourages Instagrammers to book directly from the ad on Instagram.
What could be improved:
- There is too little information on how the service works.
- Instead of showing photos of nearby salon locations, the company can provide viewers with valuable information about the services and prices.
- Photos below the ad look less professional than the compelling featured video.
Bonus advertising ideas for ecommerce brands
The examples mentioned above prove that Instagram advertising delivers great results and inspire to run your campaign, but wouldn’t it be great if you could find alternative advertising options on Instagram?
Analyzing top ecommerce brands on Instagram, we’ve found several alternative advertising ideas you can use instead of running your paid ad campaign on the platform.
Send products for review or unboxing
Living in the era of word-of-mouth marketing, when 92% of customers trust peer recommendations more than branded ads, brands of all sizes have to collaborate with niche influencers to spread the word about their products or services.
With a loyal following, it’s easier for influencers to tell more about your brand without being salesy – followers trust them more than paid ads. So, it’s a good idea to send products for review. For example, you can find an influencer who creates unboxing videos, offer compensation for a brand mention, and enter an already-established community of your potential customers.
Just take a look at an example of an unboxing video from fashion influencer Tobs. As a German influencer, Tobs has teamed up with the local Adidas to show off its products:
To tell more about the brand’s new release, Tobs created a long-form video to post on his IGTV. Not only does it help to showcase the featured product from all sides, but it also helps to keep the audience hooked and engaged (as customers love videos more than images).
Collaborate with creators and influencers
If you want to go the extra mile and make it easier for the niche influencer’s followers to discover more about your product, collaborate with people who use Instagram creator accounts. Why? These users can add product tags in their posts and therefore sell featured products in-app.
But if you’re not a large brand, it’s more likely you need to find an influencer who won’t charge much. The good news? It’s no longer a problem to find an opinion leader who resonates with your target audience and meets your marketing budget. Moreover, nano-influencers – those who have less than 1000 followers – show the highest engagement rates as they have in-person connections with the majority of their followers.
Sponsor a giveaway
Another great way to cause a buzz around your product and drive ecommerce sales is to become a giveaway sponsor. Many bloggers organize giveaways to increase reach, reward their fans, and attract new followers. To offer a solid variety of gifts, they often team up with brands that sponsor prizes (or they simply provide their products for giving away).
For brands, this means an opportunity to bring their products to a wider audience. When an influencer gives away your product as a prize, it helps to attract the right people who are interested in your products. Here’s an example of this strategy in action from influencer Kailyn Lowry and the world’s first streaming service of animated storybooks Vooks:
When it comes to customers’ needs and wants, there ́s no one’-size-fits-all solution. All of them have different preferences, so it’s nearly impossible to choose a product that can satisfy every potential customer. So, it’s a good idea to give away gift certificates that will allow the winners to choose whatever product they want.
Conclusion
As one of the fastest-growing social media networks with the most-engaged community of users, Instagram has become a goldmine for marketers who want to achieve business goals. Since the competition is growing and the Instagram algorithm is changing, it’s important to find an alternative way to reach your target audience.
Luckily, Instagram advertising comes in various types and offers different objectives, so that every business can achieve its goals. And the examples mentioned above prove that paid ads give results fast when done right.
What are your tested tips for driving ecommerce sales with Instagram?