Why and How to Run Instagram Stories Ads

Instagram Stories ads have quite a few benefits…and many advertisers are still not using them!

Maybe you’ve heard that when you have 10,000 followers on Instagram you can get a ‘Swipe up’ feature to drive traffic to your website, landing page, webinar or shopping.

It is a great feature that helps drive traffic, BUT not everyone has 10,000 followers, right?

I have found a way to get that swipe up feature WITHOUT 10,000 followers. 

How? Instagram Stories ads!

Not only do Instagram Stories ads work. They work well. Sometimes EXTREMELY well!

Here are some reasons I love Instagram Stories Ads:

• Some of my lowest list-building conversion costs
• 60% conversion rate to webinar (average is 20%)
• Many more click-throughs
• Less crowded space (for now😉)
• Fully Immersive (don’t compete with all the other posts in the feed)

What if you have 10,000 or more followers? I still recommend testing these with your advertising to reach a new audience or re-engage your active audience.

Here is a step-by-step on how to run Facebook and Instagram Stories Ads.  

STEP 1: Go into ads manager and click the green button: Create.

STEP 2: Choose your objective

In this example, I am choosing Conversions because it is a webinar lead generation ad. But, this will work for any type of objective you decide to choose.

STEP 3: Change Placements (Ad Set Level)

Once in ad set, you will see many areas. Choose your audience and budget. To create a Stories ad, go to Placements.

 STEP 4: Only choose Stories

Here is where you will remove ALL checkmarks, except stories. You can do Instagram stories only. Or you can try Facebook stories too. (Might be worth a try to test both?)

 

 

STEP 5: Ad Level (Creative)

I prefer video. You can also use an image. For video (which I prefer), this should be a vertical video. I create mine right on my iPhone, save to dropbox and upload into ads manager.  For graphics, the sizing is vertical – 1080px by 1920px.  Choose image or video. STEP 6: Upload your video or graphic

 

 

Step 8: Review and Confirm Launch your ad! You are ready to test it!

 

 

(Optional): Test additional Creative Duplicate Campaign and Ad Set. Go into Ad. Clear video or graphic and replace with different one. Then name and save.

Step 7:

Name each ad creative clearly so you know which is working best when you review results.

This is a step-by-step on why and how to run Instagram Stories ads and get the swipe up without 10k followers (or if you just want to reach a new audience). Stories ads can cost you even less than other ads. It is worth testing!