As a social media marketer, you must be adaptable. Think back to last year at about this time. No doubt, you had carefully pinpointed all the tactics that worked best for your brand on social media that year. This year, you hoped to do more of the same!
But the leaders of social media platforms had a different idea. Facebook rolled out one of its most substantial algorithm updates in January, which completely derailed brands’ social media plans.
With each algorithm update, we find ourselves scrambling to keep up and discover the new “secret sauce.”
In 2019, don’t let the hunt drive you crazy. Instead, go with the constant.
For years, brands’ organic reach has been falling. In 2019, you’ll again have to pay more to mirror the organic reach of years’ past.
Ads, and promoted organic content, will have to be a big part of your strategy in 2019 — as will Instagram Stories.
As Facebook usage continues to falter, Instagram Stories continue to explode. The feature now has 400 million daily active users (DAU) as of June 2018. That means Instagram Stories nearly doubled their audience in a single year (250 million DAU in June 2017). In 2019, Instagram Stories show no sign of slowing down.
Below, learn data-driven tips to fuse those two surefire trends and create better Instagram Story ads.
5 Ways to Make Better Instagram Story Ads in 2019
Note: All data, unless otherwise sourced, is from Facebook IQ’s 2018 study.
Implement these tactics and viewers will be more likely to watch your ad and act after watching.
1. No need to reinvent the wheel.
The same tactics that make your mobile feed ads a success translate super well to Instagram Story ads. Analyze your top five social media ads of 2018 and see how you could re-purpose the content.
Story ads built specifically for the platform are best, so you will have to do a bit of tweaking to make the transition flawless!
2. Talk to your people.
Targeting those who already know your brand or express an interest in your vertical is key. The more you can drill down and talk to the right people, the more relevant your ad will be to them, which makes the magic happen!
3. Lead with your brand.
Your brand name should, ideally, be within every frame of your Story ad. But it must be in the first few seconds. It makes it more memorable for viewers. Plus, if they don’t finish the whole ad, they still learned your name!
4. Show ‘em what you got.
If you sell a product, demo it! That’s the best way to increase your ad performance. You’ll also eclipse your competitors since only half of Instagram Stories current do this.
5. Edit and then edit again.
Your Story should be as short as humanly possible. Be ruthless in your editing and storyboarding. Go with just the bare bones.
Ads that are shorter perform better. And if you’re using multiple scenes, which is ambitious, quickly transition between scenes to boost your ad’s effectiveness.
