Big brands, small brands, and solo entrepreneurs are all starting to utilize the Facebook advertising platform, which includes Instagram – the hottest social media platform today.
I recently read that the average person is on Instagram 1 hour per day (and if your target market is under 30 years old I’d bet that average goes up by quite a bit).
As business owners, this gives us a great opportunity to get in front of our audience in a much more personal way than traditional advertising channels.
If you haven’t capitalized on the Facebook and Instagram advertising options yet, don’t worry – there is still time to get started and 2019 would be a great year to get it dialed in.
Let’s get right into my best Facebook and Instagram advertising tips and strategies for 2019.
Strategy #1 – More Selfie Videos
Selfie videos are mesmerizing.
Think about it, or track it next time you’re on Instagram watching Instagram stories.
When someone is doing a selfie video it’s hard not to turn up the volume and check out what they’re saying.
I’ve noticed this with our own metrics as well. Anytime we do a selfie type video just holding our phone the engagement increases.
Now, this isn’t something you always have to be doing, but it’s a great type of video to be including in your content strategy regularly.
This works great for Instagram story ads, where Instagram users are spending a ton of their time, but it can also be used as a strategy for regular video ads in the Instagram/Facebook feeds.
Why does this work well for advertising?
The trend of ‘people buying from people and not brands’ is going to continue in 2019.
People like to be connected to the people they are purchasing from. If they like you there’s a good chance they will buy something from you.
Holding up your phone and shooting video makes it feel a little more intimate and makes the viewer feel like you are talking directly to him/her.
I agree. Selfie videos are tough to do. It feels weird. But it’s working in advertising, so if you want to make some money give it a shot.
Strategy #2 – Blend In
People scrolling Instagram aren’t looking to be sold to and they aren’t looking for sponsored posts.
As an advertiser, the worst thing you can do is completely stand out as a paid advertiser. Most users are just going to scroll right by or swipe left.
So what’s the best way to blend in as an advertiser?
Try to look like you are one of their friends.
The easiest way to do this? Lower your production value with your video content.
As someone who enjoys high production value video content, this was a little tougher to implement, but I’m glad I did.
If your advertising looks like a highly produced commercial shoot you will most likely get ignored.
If your video is an iPhone shot selfie video you are going to get some attention because that is what people are used to seeing and what people like on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Now, this doesn’t have to be just selfie videos – that’s just my favorite example because they’re working so well right now.
But let’s say you are a gym owner and you’re running some ads for a new Bootcamp you have coming up…
Instead of a highly produced ad that has you reading a teleprompter and looking and sounding like a robot, try having someone just walk around the gym with you using a handheld camera while you explain the new Bootcamp and the benefits attendees will get from it.
Act like you are just pitching your new Bootcamp to your friend that walked in the gym.
That will seem a lot more personable than a robotic sales pitch.
People are on Facebook and Instagram to interact with friends. Act like you’re talking to a friend, and you’ll blend right in.
People won’t skip by your videos, and you’ll start seeing a better ROAS (return on ad spend).
Important quick tip: although you want to make your advertising videos look more natural and can even film them on your iPhone – always make sure your audio sounds good. (No one likes listening to someone speak who is standing 15 feet away from their iPhone camera)
Strategy #3 – Use More Screen Real Estate
It drives me crazy when I see big brands who always post horizontal videos on Facebook and Instagram.
This simple tip could make big brands hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Both Facebook and Instagram allow you to post vertical videos that take up almost the entire screen at no extra cost, but a lot of businesses completely ignore this.
Think of it this way…
The MLB offers you the prime advertising space behind home plate for the World Series. You can use as much of the space as you’d like. Would you ever just throw up a small ad on one side of the plate?
This is what a lot of Facebook and Instagram advertisers are doing. Check out the two ads below:
When users are scrolling through Facebook which one do you think will grab their attention more?
Of course, it’s the one of the left that takes up pretty much the whole screen. (And above that is the actual ad copy, so in total the ad actually takes up more than the full screen)
There is a time to use horizontal video here and there, but when given the option at no extra cost you should be using as much screen real estate as you can with your advertising.
This means posting both 4:5 (1080 x 1350) and 9:16 (1080 x 1920) sized photos and videos on any Facebook or Instagram placement that allows each size.
When creating your ads Facebook will even recommend these sizes, but for whatever reason businesses are ignoring this.
If you want to learn more about this I actually created a “How To Post Larger Full-Size Instagram Photos” video that will teach you how to take advantage of this simple, but effective strategy.
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Those are 3 of my biggest Instagram and Facebook advertising tips and strategies for 2019, but I could go on with these forever.
If you’d like to learn more I’ve got advanced strategies for Facebook/Insta ads in our new Create Freedom course.
Leave a comment below if you’d like to be notified when that goes live.
Dan Garner
