How to Market With Online Ad Formats on Instagram

Simply put, learn how to take advantage of these ad formats and have the greatest possible impact on your search engine optimization efforts. In this article, we'll look at some notable examples and the various types of online ad formats. But before we go into that, let's look at the basics of creating marketing materials. After all, if you want to increase traffic to your website, you need to convince people that it's worth looking at. So let's begin by examining some basic principles and examples of how marketing materials are presented online.

Many online ad formats allow marketers to present relevant data-driven ads that can be tailored to specific interests or audience groups. For example, marketers can create snapshots, Facebook applications, or email teasers in a number of popular formats. These marketing tools allow marketers to generate interest with a series of short ads that are easily customized to suit the target audience. Just like traditional forms of direct advertising, online marketers can also choose from popular social advertising channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as third party websites such as Google AdSense.

While some online ad formats allow advertisers to make banner ads visible while others encourage text-based ads, most marketers have accepted a hybrid approach that mixes traditional display ads with pop-up ads. This hybrid strategy makes sense for smaller businesses that lack the resources to buy large amounts of inventory, but who still want to increase exposure and traffic to their websites. Pop-up ads offer advertisers an affordable way to increase traffic, since they only show up briefly while the visitor is still on the website. This type of advertising has proven especially successful for small businesses that do not have the budget to purchase expensive television spots.

One of the most common forms of online ad formats is the "Like" and "Share" buttons that appear at the end of blog posts, Facebook statuses, and other online venues. Many marketers have incorporated Facebook's Like button into their promotional campaigns, since it allows users to let their friends know about content they find interesting. Companies that feature Facebook as one of their online advertising strategies have seen great success in terms of increased brand recognition and fan base growth.

YouTube is another highly popular place for online ads, and marketers often utilize YouTube's video advertising feature to promote their products. Unlike pop-up ads, video advertising is often less noticeable, since it will play automatically in the background of the user's web browser. If a user is not watching a video, they may not even notice the ad, since it will have played silently in the background. Video ads have become so popular that many Facebook users include "watch video ads" as one of the features they enable in their home pages.

Another popular form of rich media advertising is Instagram, a photo-sharing social site that has exploded on the online market in the last year. Like Facebook, many users let videos play automatically within their feeds, so companies that include video ads on their Facebook pages and on their Instagram pages are seeing a tremendous rise in targeted traffic from interested users. Like YouTube, Instagram users are more likely to look at an ad than to look at a wall advertisement, and ads that incorporate video are even more likely to be clicked if a user is logged on to Instagram. This ability to target specific groups of people has made Instagram a very successful marketing tool for companies that choose to advertise on its platform.

Companies that want to tap into this power should definitely consider incorporating Instagram ads to their online marketing campaigns. The key to success with Instagram ads lies in creating a highly targeted audience, since users on the social site tend to be younger and more affluent. To reach these customers, make sure your Instagram ads are highly related to what they're looking for, whether that's an ipod or a new car. Offer people who visit Instagram the chance to "like" your page, which will link them directly to your Instagram account where they can connect with you via your Instagram links. Many businesses have used this strategy to market to teenagers and others who would be very likely to be interested in your company's products and services. The social media site also makes it easy for consumers to spot promotions and discounts and encourage followers to pass along information about your business to friends.

While this may not be the ultimate solution for small, local businesses, it could well become one of the most effective forms of advertising currently available. Social media sites such as Instagram allow companies to reach large amounts of targeted demographics without having to spend a great deal of money on expensive offline ads or print media. Businesses that offer Instagram advertising have one more advantage over competitors: they already have an established brand story and a carefully developed brand image. Instagram ads are a great way to create that brand image and even to turn potential customers into regular customers.