Instagram Advertising

Instagram has long been a household name in the social media landscape. By advertising on Instagram, you’re capitalising on this! Instagram advertising is hugely successful because it’s a visual form of advertising and gives you the opportunity to showcase yourself in a unique way. We’ll teach you how to get off to a successful start with Instagram advertising!

The benefits of Instagram advertising

Visual approach to advertising
Extensive targeting options
High level of commitment
Easily reach a relatively young target audience

Cross-channel campaigns with Meta
Extensive advertising options

What is Instagram advertising?

Instagram is a social media platform where you can share photos and videos. The platform was founded in 2010 and grew rapidly, leading to Facebook acquiring the app in 2012. The figures clearly show that it is a fast-growing platform: Instagram has 1.3 billion users worldwide. In the Netherlands alone, there are already 8.5 million! Why? Because there’s no other platform that makes it easier to share beautiful photos and videos. Everyone enjoys seeing what their friends are up to. Instagram is the perfect platform for this!

When you want to advertise on Instagram, it means you become visible in people’s timelines through engaging adverts. It is important to create attractive adverts that align with what your target audience wants to see. You can reach this target audience precisely by making clever use of the many targeting options Instagram offers. In your advert, you can include a link to your website, a specific product or your newsletter. You add a call-to-action to encourage viewers of your advert to take a specific action. All in all, it’s a versatile and effective marketing tool!

How does Instagram advertising work?

To advertise on Instagram, you need a special Instagram Business account. Here, you specify what kind of business you are and ensure you have the correct contact details and a link to your website. Once your profile is fully set up, you can start advertising. It’s very easy! Whenever you want to post a message, Instagram immediately gives you the option to advertise with that post. You simply tick this box, after which Instagram takes you straight to the page where you can set up your advert: what’s your budget and who do you want to target?

This isn’t the only way Instagram advertising works: it’s also possible to enter target audience details in advance. You create a campaign and fill in all the necessary details here; the same details you ticked in the previous advertising method. When you want to post something, you simply select the type of advert, after which you can go live with it. Once you’ve done this, you’ll see statistics in your dashboard showing how well your campaign has performed. You can use this information for your next campaign, thereby optimising it.

This is how it works!

How do you set up a campaign via Instagram Ads? We’ll explain it to you, step by step.

Step 1 – Create a campaign and select an objective

The start of your campaign marks the beginning of working towards results. You specify the objective you wish to pursue and, in doing so, define the exact overall approach of your advertising campaign. Instagram itself offers various possible objectives, allowing you to measure precisely, throughout your campaign, whether you are achieving the desired results.

Step 2 – Budgeting & naming the ad set

To achieve the best possible results, you’ll work with different ad sets within a campaign. Generally speaking, these ad sets often share the same budget, which you set in advance on a daily basis. Whilst Instagram’s daily allocation of this budget may vary, it never exceeds an average weekly amount.

Step 3 – Selecting a target audience

To achieve the best possible results, you’ll work with different ad sets within a campaign. Generally speaking, these ad sets often share the same budget, which you set in advance on a daily basis. Whilst Instagram’s daily allocation of this budget may vary, it never exceeds an average weekly amount.

Step 5 – Selecting placements

Instagram is more than just a timeline. So, when you start advertising on Instagram, it’s also important to consider which placement options you want to use. You’re not just limited to Instagram adverts; you can also include your Facebook adverts at the same time.

Step 5 – Assessing target audience size

It might seem logical that the larger your target audience, the better your results. This isn’t always true: when you take a targeted approach, you’re often better able to set realistic expectations from the outset. Once you’ve defined your target audience, Instagram will give you feedback on how well-targeted your approach is. If it tells you that your target audience is too broad, it might be wise to narrow your focus slightly to a more specific target audience.

Step 7 – Choose the type of advert

You’ve chosen where you want to place your advert – now it’s time to choose how you want to do it. Instagram offers various ad formats. For example, you can post a single photo, or you can opt for a carousel containing several photos that complement one another. Think carefully about the message you want to convey and, with this in mind, choose the ad format that’s right for you.

Step 8 – Advert example in advert

Now that your advert is fully set up, Instagram first shows you exactly what you’re going to post before you publish your advert online. You’ll see the advert just as a viewer would see it. If there’s something you’re not happy with, you can still make quick adjustments.

Step 8 – Edit advertising material by channel

In principle, your advert is now ready, but the check in the previous step shows that your Instagram Stories advert isn’t quite perfect yet. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean you have to redesign your entire campaign, as you can still adjust each individual element before you publish.

Step 9 – Enter the destination and track conversions

Your objective had long been set, but hadn’t actually been properly incorporated into your advert yet. In this final step, you ensure that your Instagram advert serves as the first step towards your website. You add a destination to your advert: when viewers click on it, they are redirected to a specific page on your website. The number of clicks (i.e. your conversions) is tracked in a dashboard.

Step 10 – Campaign overview

Throughout the campaign, Instagram allows you to view the results. A clear dashboard shows you all the data needed to gauge success: who is primarily engaging with your advert, and is the conversion rate as you had hoped?

Funnel marketing via Instagram

Another reason why Instagram marketing is a good choice is that it allows you to easily implement a full-funnel strategy. This means you engage customers at different stages of the buyer’s journey: Awareness, Consideration and Conversion. We’ll explain how to go about this!

– Awareness. At this stage, we’re still talking about a potential customer. The customer is, in fact, still very much in the exploration phase. It’s not yet certain whether a purchase will be made, let alone where that purchase should be made. By advertising on Instagram, you tap into the Awareness phase by introducing yourself subtly. You show that you sell interesting products, but you can also feel free to talk about other aspects of your business. In doing so, you build brand awareness: in the next stages of the Customer Journey, you’ll be recognised.

– Consideration. The decision to make a purchase has been made, but where will it take place? In the Consideration phase, you are compared with your competitors. It is therefore important to stand out, with something that makes your business unique. This could include high-quality products, a brand experience, or simply a discount.

– Conversion. Congratulations: the choice to go with your company has been made! Does this mean you’re done? No! You must now do everything you can to make the experience as positive as possible. By doing this, you build loyalty. Your customer will choose you again for their next purchase! You can capitalise on the Conversion phase by offering a discount to new customers, or by suggesting products that complement the one they’ve just bought.

Curious to find out how we can help you?

Want to know where there’s still room for improvement? Our free audit will tell you. Request it now, with no obligation.

Request a free audit

Why Advertise on Instagram?

Before you start advertising on Instagram, it’s good to know why this is a smart move.

  1. Visual advertising – No other medium is as focused on a visual message as Instagram. This therefore presents a fantastic opportunity for your business, as you can convey so much more through visuals than through text alone. Showcase what makes your product so unique, or ensure your brand identity sticks in people’s minds through clever use of colour!
  2. Mobile – Instagram is primarily a mobile app. There is also a web version, but when you start advertising, we recommend focusing on mobile design. This works very much in your favour! Mobile phone use is, of course, extremely popular: by advertising here, you’ll reach a large audience.
  3. Young target audience – Different social social media have different target audiences. For Instagram, this is a young audience. If you want to raise awareness of your brand amongst a young audience, Instagram is a very suitable platform. You can communicate directly with them, or try to blend in by capitalising on popular trends. Incidentally, Instagram isn’t the only platform used predominantly by young people: advertising on TikTok can also be very interesting.

Promote a post VS create an advert

There are two ways to do Instagram marketing: you can choose to promote your post, or to create an advert specifically. We’ll explain the difference between the two!

Promoting a post
You don’t just use social media to promote your business. You can also use Instagram to give a glimpse behind the scenes. This allows you to tell your story and build a connection with your followers. Have you noticed that a post which wasn’t intended as an advert is suddenly performing very well? If so, you can choose to highlight it by promoting the post. This means it will appear more frequently on your followers’ timelines and will also be shown on the timelines of potential customers. The post will also remain on your own Instagram feed, so it can still be found.

Creating advertson
If creating a strong feed is important to you, you may already know that it can be tricky to incorporate adverts into it. Fortunately, with Instagram advertising, it’s also possible to place targeted adverts that don’t appear in your feed. This means you can tailor these adverts much more specifically and, for example, direct users to your website or a particular product. You’re encouraging customers to convert rather than focusing on follows or likes.

Advertising on Instagram via Facebook Business Manager

Hang on, wasn’t this page about Instagram advertising? That’s right, but Facebook Business Manager is a key part of it. There’s a good chance you’re also running Facebook adverts. In that case, you have a major advantage on Instagram, namely the fact that there’s a shared database between these two platforms. This means that the data you collect via Facebook can also be used to target audiences successfully on Instagram – and vice versa! It’s ideal, because the more data, the better.

Linking Instagram to Facebook Business Manager is straightforward: once your Instagram page is converted to a business profile, you’ll automatically start using Business Manager. You simply specify the type of business you run and ensure the correct links to your website, email and other contact details are in place. As soon as you start advertising, you can use the statistics button on your profile to view data on how often your profile has been viewed, the performance of specific posts and insightful information about your target audience. Essential for success, then!

Types of Instagram Ads

If you wish to use Instagram Ads, you’ll find there are various options available. This is because Instagram is not a one-dimensional channel. Although the focus here is mainly on photos, you can also post videos. In addition, you can use photos in different ways. You can expect the following types of adverts.

Collection Ads

A simple photo post, in which you highlight a collection of different items that go together. You add a link to the relevant page and make it easy for the client to put together a complete look.

Image Ads

The least conspicuous advert – and therefore incredibly effective. An Image Ad is a simple photo post in which you highlight a product or your company.

Dynamic Insta Ads

If your business uses remarketing, dynamic Insta Ads are very useful for you. This is because you can target these adverts based on previously proven behaviour. If a customer has visited your website, you can remind them of this!

Asset history
You collect a huge amount of data in your dashboard. It would be a shame if you could only use this for your current campaign, wouldn’t it? LinkedIn wholeheartedly agrees and therefore offers the ‘asset history’ feature. This allows you to convert old data into a new campaign, so you don’t have to repeat all the steps.

Why advertising on Instagram will remain important in 2026

Instagram will remain a powerful advertising platform in 2026 thanks to its strong visual nature, active user base and ongoing innovations. With over a billion monthly users and a large number of daily active accounts, Instagram offers unique opportunities to showcase brands in a creative and personalised way.

Companies benefit from advanced targeting options via Meta (Facebook), ensuring that adverts reach exactly the right target audience based on interests, behaviour and location. In addition, features such as Reels, Stories and Instagram Shopping continue to evolve, enabling brands to both increase brand awareness and drive direct sales.

At a time when attention is scarce and consumers scroll quickly, Instagram remains the platform of choice for standing out visually, creating engagement and driving conversions. That is precisely why advertising on Instagram will remain a key component of a modern marketing strategy in 2026.

Different bidding strategies for Instagram advertising

The best advertising campaigns are rewarded with good results that fit your budget. To achieve this, Instagram employs three bidding strategies.

Once your bidding strategy has been determined, you’re not quite there yet. The duration of your advert is also very important: you don’t want to pay for a single day more than necessary. With Instagram’s ‘Smart Advertising’ option, you can allocate your budget as precisely as possible. You can use targeted targeting and set a limit on how often or for how long your advert may be displayed. If you’d prefer to have more control over your adverts yourself, you can also adjust your budget on a daily basis. This takes more effort, but can lead to more targeted results.

CPC – Cost Per Click

If you want to encourage viewers of your advert to take action, CPC is an effective bidding strategy. This is because you pay per click, or per action taken. CPC is well suited to objectives such as a higher number of conversions or a better conversion rate.

CPM – Cost Per Mille

Is the call to action in your advert less important, for example because you’re primarily focused on building brand awareness? Then CPM is a suitable bidding strategy. You pay for every 1,000 views you receive, which guarantees that you’ll reach your desired audience within your budget. Whether it’s effective, of course, depends on how you set up your advert.

CPL – Cost Per Like

Instagram isn’t just about views: likes are just as important. If this is what you’re focusing on, CPL is the right choice for you. Because you pay per like, you’re effectively only paying for the success of your advert.

Instagram Advertising Targeting Options

We’ve already mentioned the shared database between Facebook and Instagram. This is very useful for several reasons, including for targeting. The target audience data you collect on Facebook can be used specifically for targeting on Instagram. You can carry out this targeting in three different ways:

  1. Custom Audiences: once you’ve carried out target audience research, this yields various data about your target audience. With Custom Audiences, you simply enter this data, allowing you to focus solely on an audience that could fall within your target group – or may even already do so.
  2. Lookalike Audiences: this is very similar to Custom Audiences, but there is a distinct difference. When you use Lookalike Audiences, you’re trying to target a potential audience that hasn’t yet shown any sign of recognition. The data for this target audience resembles the data you’ve collected via Instagram; Instagram converts it into a new target audience in no time at all.
  3. Remarketing: The final option for Instagram advertising is to focus on a target audience that has already shown an interest. When someone has visited your website, you can remind them via Instagram that they have done so. In this way, you can display the products they viewed again and try to persuade the viewer to return to your website and go ahead and place an order.

Instagram Ad optimisation

Once your advert is live, you’re not quite done yet. Instagram advertising is an ongoing process, in several ways. You’re always thinking about your next advert: what will the angle be, which products will you highlight, and which target audience will you appeal to? We call this process Instagram ad optimisation, also known as content optimisation. With this service, you ensure a steady upward trend in the effectiveness of your Instagram Ads by taking a critical look at your adverts. This not only allows you to remain flexible, but also ensures you’re the first to see the best results from your adverts. It provides extra motivation to keep going and to work towards your goals.

Objectives for Instagram Advertising

There are many objectives you can achieve through Instagram advertising. We’ve listed a few for you:

  • Greater brand awareness
  • More traffic to and on your website
  • Higher conversion rate
  • Better lead generation
  • Higher number of app installations
  • Improved client engagement and loyalty
  • Additional video views

Use of CTA buttons

You can achieve maximum effectiveness with Instagram advertising by adding smart CTAs to your advert. This stands for Call-To-Action: you prompt your customer to take action. You add a button to your advert, featuring a link to your website. For example, the customer reads the following CTA and takes immediate action:

  • Sign up now! If your focus is on getting more subscribers to your newsletter, it makes sense to refer directly to a ‘sign-up’.
  • Find out more: when you use a Collection Ad, this is a smart call-to-action (CTA). It signals that your website has even more to offer than just the products shown in your advert, which quickly piques the viewer’s interest.
  • Contact: a CTA does not necessarily have to be aimed at conversion; it can also be used to clear up any confusion. For example, you can link a ‘Contact’ button to your email or phone number, enabling clients to have their questions answered straight away. In this way, you improve the client experience.
  • Take advantage now! It is, of course, a huge benefit for your viewer that they have viewed your advert. By using words such as ‘take advantage’ or ‘benefits’, you really convey that feeling, making your customer feel valued and prompting them to take action more quickly.

Instagram Advertising Tips

To help you get started with Instagram Ads, we’d like to share a few tips with you. Put them to use straight away!

  1. Work across media. Instagram is a fantastic tool offering plenty of opportunities, but you can only truly capitalise on these opportunities if you make Instagram part of an all-round social media strategy. By working across different media, your Instagram links to your YouTube channel, which in turn links to LinkedIn. On LinkedIn, you talk about your Instagram, thereby building an audience across various platforms.
  2. Everything is visual. Conveying your message in text might be a piece of cake, but successfully conveying it visually certainly isn’t. When you get it right, however, it’s all the more effective. A visual advert grabs attention and turns it into a conversion. So give this some serious thought!
  3. Work professionally. Because Instagram is quite accessible, many companies are tempted to share all the visual material they have straight away. This can result in attractive, atmospheric photos, but in reality it often ends up with low-quality images that don’t really show anything. It’s therefore better to hire a photographer who’ll ensure your Instagram is filled with high-quality photos. This isn’t just good for the look of your social media, but also for your branding in general.

Want to set up your own Instagram campaign?

Are you raring to go and set up your own Instagram campaign? Great! By taking into account the points we’ve mentioned above, we’re confident your Instagram advertising will be a success. If you want to be sure of the best possible results, you can, of course, also choose to seek professional help. If you partner with Traffic Today , you’ll be working with a digital marketing agency that emphasises close collaboration. We don’t just look at what your competitors are doing, but also at what you want. In this way, we’ll spread your message in a way that really resonates with your audience. Did you know, by the way, that as well as LinkedIn, we can also help with Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat ? Advertising

Frequently asked questions about LinkedIn Advertising

What makes a good Instagram advert?

It is difficult to answer this question, as it varies depending on the company and its objectives. A good Instagram advert is, of course, effective, but what that effect is depends on the advert’s approach. In any case, it is important that you focus on your target audience: what do they want to see and how do you respond to this, in order to create the most successful advertising campaign possible.

Of course, with all Instagram adverts, it is important that the objective is clear. Your advert must stand out and prompt the viewer to take action. For example, add a CTA or use your brand colours in a creative way!

How much does advertising on Instagram cost?

The costs of advertising on Instagram vary enormously. This is because you yourself play the biggest role in this. By combining the right bidding strategy with a strong campaign strategy, you can achieve your objectives on the lowest possible budget. Of course, you can choose to outsource your Instagram advertising, which means entrusting your Instagram account to a specialist who knows how to use Instagram successfully.

Can you advertise on Instagram without a Facebook account?

No, without a Facebook Business Account, it is not possible to advertise on Instagram. The Business Account is where you set up your adverts: your company details are stored here, as well as information about your target audience, insights into your adverts and the performance of both your Instagram and Facebook profiles.

When did Instagram start offering advertising?

Although Instagram was founded in 2010, it has only been possible to advertise via Instagram since 2015. This is because it was not until 2015 that Facebook made it possible to use a Business account on Instagram as well. Prior to this, there was therefore no way to promote your posts. Of course, it was already possible for businesses to establish a unique presence as early as 2010, but this had to be done without a budget.

4.7 on Google

52 reviews

Want to get the most out of Instagram?

Are you curious about the possibilities of Instagram Advertising? Please feel free to contact us for a no-obligation chat. By phone, online or in person? Just let us know what suits you best.

Our team is
ready to help you