The more popular stories become, the more relevant the launch of advertising in them is. And if you plan to make an advertisement on Instagram, then it is better to create a separate advertising campaign for stories.

We have prepared detailed instructions for setting up an advertising campaign in Instagram Stories. After reading this material to the end, you can independently launch advertising in Instagram Stories, which will ensure the attraction of new subscribers and customers.

Read also: How to run Instagram ads on Facebook

How to advertise on Instagram Stories

There are only 3 ways to run Stories ads:

• order from bloggers directly or through the exchange (unofficial advertising);
• quick launch of advertising in stories directly in the Instagram app (by analogy with promo posts);
• setting through the Facebook ad account.

Next, we talk about the third method, namely, creating an advertisement for Instagram Stories via Facebook.

Setting up Instagram Stories ads

Step 1… Go to the Facebook ad account and click “Create”.

Step 2… Choosing the goal of the campaign. You can choose any one depending on your tasks. Let’s take the Traffic target as an example. Thus, the target action will be to go to our website or profile.

Step 3… Below is the name of the campaign. Disable the “Split Testing” and “Budget Optimization” options. We press “Continue”.

Step 4… We choose where we will drive traffic. There are 4 options: website, mobile app, Messenger and WhatsApp. When choosing one of the messengers, the user will go to messages. We choose “Site”, you can choose your option.

Step 5… Go to the targeting settings and go down to the “Audience” section. Here you need to set the audience parameters for ad impressions:

• Places (city, region or country);
• Age;
• Floor;
• Language.

And choose the interests of potential customers – subsection “Detailed targeting”.

Step 6. Placements.

The most important point in this material. Here you must first click “Edit placements” and uncheck all items except Instagram.

Then select “Instagram Stories” for posting at the bottom, put a tick opposite. All other items should be disabled.

Step 7. Budget and schedule. We select “Optimization for advertising display – Click on the link” and below we indicate the reference price per click. The reference price is the value that Facebook will try to provide us.

After that, we set up the budget. For a test run, you can set a daily budget of 200-300 rubles. Then, when you understand how this ad works and what kind of return you can get from it, increase the budget if necessary.

Create ad

Let’s move on to creating an advertising creative for Stories, but before that let’s talk about the technical side of the matter. Namely, about the requirements for images and videos that will be used in advertising.

Recommendations for images:

• Size: 1080 x 1920 pixels
• Format: 9:16
• File type: .JPG or .PNG

Video recommendations:

• Recommended length: Up to 15 seconds
• Aspect ratio: Vertical (9:16)
• Format: MP4, MOV or GIF
• Resolution: at least 600 pixels wide
• File size: 4 GB or less

Step 8… We write the name of the ad and indicate the pages on behalf of which the ad will be displayed.

Step 9… Format. There are 2 formats to choose from: Ring Gallery and Single Image or Video. If you select “Ring Gallery”, you can add up to 3 mini-stories to your advertising story.

We opted for the “Single image or video” format

Step 10. Next, you need to upload a picture for your ad. To do this, in the “Media Objects” section, click on “Upload Images” (if you want to upload them from your computer) or “Free Stock” (to select stock images).

As a reminder, you can select 6 images for one ad, which will be shown one by one. We took stock images and chose horizontal orientation to leave room for text.

Step 11… Moving on to the story layout. The layout itself is displayed on the right side of the screen, and on the left we need to add its content: text, link and call to action. When making edits, all changes are immediately displayed on the layout.

That’s basically it! In the end, click the “Confirm” button below and the ad will go to moderation. A notification about the passage of moderation will come in the Facebook itself, as well as to the email of the account.

It is worth noting that advertising on Instagram Stories differs from setting up a simple advertisement only in the types of placement. The rest of the targeting, budget and impressions parameters are configured according to the same principle. You can also identify the audience that saw your ads on Instagram Stories and then target them.

Read also: How to make Stories Highlights on Instagram

Examples of ads on Instagram Stories

Let’s take a look at some interesting examples of advertising on Instagram Stories.

Example # 1: Induce emotion

In one of their story promotions, Noom uses a non-standard video of a woman trying to smash a dozen eggs with a sledgehammer.

The video is made in such a way to provoke emotions in the user. At the same time, there is an understatement and wants to know what will happen next.

Advice: Try something new, bold, bold, or completely different to evoke emotion. Create intrigue and unexpected plot twists.

Example # 2: Emphasize swiping

In the video used by Adidas in Russia, they added not only animation that emphasizes the swipe, but also added a characteristic movement in the video itself, indicating what the user needs to do.

Advice: Create a story template that focuses on swiping.

Example # 3: The power of silence

As you know, most people watch stories without sound, so you need to find a way to visually convey the message. For example, a beauty salon Follain puts their proposal in a simple question.

Also, the offer includes a bold and specific “Swipe Up” CTA indicating a huge discount.

Advice: Create compelling headlines and ad content that speaks for itself (no audio). Or add subtitles as an option.

Example # 4: Boomerangs

Boomerangs are another great solution that makes videos without sound more interesting. For example, Frozen Pizza revives the usual cheese grating process.

Topic article: How to promote an Instagram account from scratch

How to make advertising in Stories effective

To make the most of the new tool and make effective ads on Instagram Stories, be sure to check your ads for the following points:

• Text on image… Place the cost of a product or service, tell us where you are or write a USP.
• Add all 6 possible images… Facebook, using special algorithms, will identify and display the image that your audience responds to best.
• If this is a video, you need to have time to say everything in 15 seconds.
• Get creative and test different hypotheses.

Share your advertising results in Stories in the comments.