[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The world of Instagram advertising is ever changing. There are pros, there are cons, and there are things that make Instagram the preferred platform over Facebook. I want to walk you through some pros and cons and a list of 3 things that you should be aware of when you are looking to sell advertising to others on your account(s).
Let’s talk about WHAT advertising on Instagram even looks like since I feel like I hear from a lot of people who are clueless that that is even a thing.
Instagram Advertising is a VERY lucrative business!
I can personally tell you that selling ads on my themed 2.2 million follower account (that I built from 212k to 2.2 million on my own in 3 years without buying a single shout-out) has changed everything. I quit my 9-5, started working from home all day every day (except when I’m at coffee shops for a change of scenery, duh!), and started having full freedom and flexibility to be wherever I wanted to be, whenever I wanted to be there. Not to mention I went from barely making my monthly bills to actually having a savings account and closed my first fiscal year of business at well over 100k.
It is a real thing, and it is amazing.
Themed accounts (look up @sarcasm_only) are the BEST types of accounts to sell advertising on, but they are not the only ones. If you are an individual who is looking to be an “Influencer” (look up @ashleybluedef) through your account, then this applies to you too. Not sure on the word “Influencer?” Check out my blog article about it here!
Even if you are a business account, you have the ability to sell ads.
Selling ads begins by having an account that is large (I recommend having a minimum of 50k followers before working on sending out marketing emails to prospects), active and has a bio that attracts the advertiser and helps them know what you are interested in.
The benefit to Instagram is that the platform is growing immensely every year, and in 2017 Forbes and Business Insider projected that nearly 77% of all companies looking to promote a product or service will be using Instagram as their primary platform. Why? It’s cheaper than Facebook (by A LOT) and the engagement on their ads is, in most cases, nearly triple that of Facebook.
So what are the 3 things to know about?
1) Have a schedule, and STICK TO IT!
What do I mean by this? When I get busy and have a lot of advertisers all wanting to purchase at the same time I have to be really strict about my time. It is imperative to not OVER sell. Your account is valuable and overloading it with ads is not good for your follower base. We will talk in detail about this in another blog. A typical schedule for me involves a maximum of 4-5 ads per day spaced out by at least an hour. If I have to double them up then I tell the advertiser that they have to wait at least an hour after I post someone else.
Example: If someone wants to buy at 4 pm, but I have a 3:30 Pm scheduled, then I tell them I can’t post until 4:30 pm.
IMPORTANT: Have your google calendar handy for logging when you are posting ads. It can be overwhelming if you just try to rely on memory. Have a timer set for 5 minutes before you are supposed to post too!
Also remember that there are better times than others to post during the day. Know your page insights and be aware of when your page is most active so that you can inform those that want to purchase from you.
2) Know your page worth.
We will go into extreme detail into this exact topic in my Monetize Your Instagram Master Class, but for sake of this I want to touch on the basics.
The size of your Instagram matters but it matters a lot LESS than your engagement level.
It is a misconception to a lot of people that the bigger your account the more money you can charge for ads. This is FALSE. Advertisers want one thing. Return on Investment (ROI). If an advertiser pays $100 for a 6-hour ad on a 1 million follower page, which averages 20,000 likes per post, then they expect to make their money back and then some. However, if they spent that same $100 on an account with 500,000 followers that averages 50,000 likes per post then their same money for that same 6-hour ad will go A LOT further then it would on that 1 million follower page.
IMPORTANT: It is up to you to ensure engagement on your page. Being active with posting, constantly growing, and curating content that resonates with your audience are all key factors to that.
How much to actually charge we will go into in another blog, I promise! (It’s a loaded answer and will take a whole blog and then some to learn!)
3) The key to being successful at Instagram Advertising is having a good reach out method.
The best way to ensure that you can sell ads regularly is reaching out to NEW potential buyers regularly. When I first started I had to actively send out 30-40 emails daily to pages I either could tell were selling something, or I saw that they had purchased on other pages similar to mine.
The goal here: to create a huge list of potentials because, as with any type of sales, the funnel of how many emails you send versus how many buy is different. If you send 100 emails out per week and you get 20 responses, you should expect 5-7 purchases. It’s important here to think that those 5 will convert either because they like you and or your pricing fits their budget. Both are good things.
IMPORTANT: Curating an email that delivers your message effectively and converts is something we will go into in detail in my Master Class. However, you need to be sure to include your account name, stats on the account, and also put your personal voice into every email. Without it, your sales will be based on luck, I assure you.
In conclusion here I want you to take away a few thoughts. First being that Instagram is growing, rapidly! If you have wanted to take advantage of this and jump on board then now is the time. Second, selling ads requires effort. You will not make 100k in your first year if you are sending out 5 emails a week and posting content on your page once a week (no brainer, right? Okay, good I hope so!). Lastly, Instagram advertising requires being organized, diligent and intentional.
Related article: Instagram Influencer Marketing: How to turn a profit from selling ads on your Instagram Page
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Thanks for the info; this is an eye-opener though I’ll have to work more on my followers count first.
Hey Dalene! Absolutely! You can definitely learn alot from the hashtag guide I have available! Its specifically to help you with your follower growth 🙂