Instagram Ads: 4 FAQs to Get You Started

Published: September 28, 2015

Author: Deepika Patel

For a long time coming, advertisers have been waiting for access to Instagram ads. We have all (likely) seen sponsored content in our feed, but that was previously limited to a select few advertisers as Instagram rolled out and tested product variations. But we got our wish in mid-August, when self-serve Instagram ads became available through Facebook’s Power Editor.
Of course, with anything new comes questions. We’ve broken down four FAQs on the Instagram ads launch to help you get on your way.

Why is it available through Facebook’s Power Editor?

In 2012 Facebook acquired Instagram; because of this we now have an easy ad management across both platforms. Those of you familiar with Facebook’s Power Editor will find adoption of Instagram ads to be a breeze! Instagram campaigns will essentially be built similar to Facebook, inclusive of ad sets and ads. A major benefit of this is the minimal learning curve to begin running ads on Instagram.

What targeting is available on Instagram?

All targeting capabilities available for Facebook ads are also available for Instagram ads. This includes everything from custom audiences to behavioral targeting.

Why target the same audience on Instagram?

Reaching users across platforms will trigger different user behavior. For instance, Instagram provides a place where users can comment, like, and share freely without their actions being published to their friend’s feeds as an update. This may encourage more social engagement from users, which can result in differing performance. Also, given that the nature of the platform is focused around visualization, this is another opportunity for a brand to define itself in a different way than on Facebook or Twitter, potentially resonating with more ideal customers.

What ad types formats are currently available through Instagram self-serve?

Currently video and the widely recognized square image format are the only available formats for ads to date through self-serve. There has been a recent roll out of for landscape and portraits formats that only apply to organic posts for now; you can expect this to become available as the self-serve platform evolves.

Do you have any questions on the Instagram roll-out? Leave a comment, and we’ll get you some answers.