Instagram Ads to Increase Followers: 9 Ways to Reach Your Audience

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Karen Lin

Instagram Growth | Feb 04, 2025

Want More Real Instagram Followers?

Ready to attract more followers on Instagram? Anyone with a business or personal brand should master how to create and run Instagram ads. Using ads or sponsored content is one of the quickest ways to grow big enough on the platform and nurture organic growth

The problem is, defining the perfect strategy that gives you a positive return on investment (ROI) can be tricky. That’s why we’ve identified 9 powerful strategies that reach your target audience, increase followers and boost engagement rate. Let’s look at the many ways to accelerate Instagram growth with ads.

How Effective Are Instagram Ads For Followers?

Instagram continues to evolve at a dizzying rate. However, one thing has remained constant: it’s a profitable space for almost all types of businesses. If you’re asking the question: how can I increase Instagram followers? Take advantage of opportunities to promote your brand to succeed on the crowded platform. Ads are highly effective as part of a business content strategy and are a must-have in your marketing toolkit.

Instagram is the #1 social media platform for people who want to connect with brands. Check out these latest statistics, which show the clear advantages of running ads on Instagram.

  • Instagram ranks 4th among the most visited website globally, with over 6 billion monthly visits.
  • Over 2 billion people use Instagram daily, making it the 3rd most-used social platform in the world.
  • There are 169 million Instagram users in the United States.
  • Instagram is the number one platform of choice for Gen Z and women aged 25-34.
  • Instagram Stories have a potential ad audience of 996 million users.
  • Instagram Reels reach an audience of 758.5 million users.
  • Around 35% of Instagram users will purchase on the platform by the end of 2024.
  • Predictions show Instagram’s 2024 ad revenue reaching around $71 billion.

A close-up of a smartphone displaying the Instagram app interface. 

What Types of Ads Can You Use on Instagram?

When thinking about how to run an ad on Instagram effectively, choosing the right ad format is key. To increase growth, use the most suitable options for your specific goals and target audience. These are the 8 main ad types and the best ways to use them:

  1. Photo Ads – Single images that appear in the feed of an Instagram user. Can include a caption, call to action or link to a page. A simple way to advertise products or drive traffic to your website.
  1. Video Ads – Similar to photo ads but with video content instead. Instagram videos can last up to 60 seconds and are great for showing products in action.
  1. Carousel Ads – Allows users to swipe through multiple images or videos in one ad. This is the perfect ad format for telling a story or showcasing a range of products.
  1. Stories Ads – Full-screen ads that appear between user’s stories and are only visible for 24 hours. They can include photos or videos. You can add text overlays, stickers, GIFs etc. to make them more immersive.
  1. Reels Ads – Videos up to 60 seconds long shown between Instagram reels. Ideal for businesses that want to create short, engaging video content for a younger target audience.
  1. Collection Ads – A cover image or video followed by product images, allowing users to browse and buy products without leaving Instagram. Great for e-commerce brands looking to drive sales.
  1. Explore Ads – Ads that appear in the Explore page of the Instagram app. Users can discover content tailored to their interests here, so it’s an excellent way to target niche audiences.
  1. Shopping Ads – Shopping ads allow you to tag products in your posts. Users can view prices, details and make purchases by clicking the shopping tag. 

How Much Does an Instagram Ad Cost?

The cost of running ads on Instagram varies depending on factors like your target audience, ad format, bidding strategy and the competition for ad space. Just as the ad type makes a difference to your Instagram growth, so does the pricing model.

Pricing Models

Understanding pricing models helps you choose the right approach to grow your Instagram presence. Take a look at different models to give you an idea of how much your ads will cost:

  • Average CPC (Cost Per Click) – CPC is the amount you pay every time a user clicks your ad. The average CPC on Instagram ranges from $0.20-$0.70, but this can change based on your industry and the competitiveness of the ad.
  • Average CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) – CPM is the cost for every 1000 impressions (the total number of times your ad appears on a user’s screen, regardless of clicks). Average CPMs range between $2.50 and $3.50 but again this depends on target audience and competition.

If you’re wondering how to gain followers on business Instagram, consider your goals and decide whether to maximize clicks or impressions – for example, CPM may be better if your main objective is brand awareness as it focuses on increasing visibility. If you want to drive traffic to your website, CPC may be more suitable as you only pay when users take action.

Ad Format

The cost to advertise on Instagram can also depend on the format you choose. Photo ads cost less, while videos and carousel ads cost more due to increased engagement. Select the right ad format for your needs – single photos are cost-effective and great for direct product promotions, while carousel ads can help you show multiple products or features.

Bidding Strategy

Instagram lets you set bids to get the most our of your ads budget. You can set the maximum amount you want to pay per click or impression, which gives you more control over spending but must be carefully monitored to avoid higher costs.

Target Audience

Audience targeting is an effective way to choose a specific demographic for your ads and boost engagement rate, but it can come at a higher cost since targeting a niche audience can increase CPC or CPM because of the competition for ad space within that group.

Essential Steps to Increase Followers on Instagram Through Ads

Before getting started, make sure you complete these essential steps to increase followers of your Instagram posts through ads.

  1. Change your Instagram profile to a professional account. You can choose between a business account or a creator account.
  1. Link your Instagram account to your Facebook page. This will help you create an Instagram ad campaign with advanced tools in Ads Manager. You can integrate tools like Facebook pixel, which measures the effectiveness of campaigns.
  1. Set up a payment method for your ads.

You should also learn about the creative requirements for various creative formats used in ads.

A laptop and smartphone sit side by side, both displaying the Instagram app interface.

How to Run an Ad on Instagram: Increase Followers by Boosting

Instagram offer various options for running ads to increase followers. Experiment with different strategies and use all available tools to get the most out of your ads. Let’s discuss how to increase followers by boosting your posts, stories or reels.

1. Boost a Post

Boosting a post is the simplest option to increase followers. You can boost any feed post to reach more people. Just follow these steps:

  1. Go to your profile and tap the post you want to boost.
  2. Below the post’s image, tap Boost.
  3. Fill in the details for your ad. Set your goal, audience, budget, and ad duration. Tap on Next.
  4. Link your Facebook page when prompted. Choose an existing account or tap Skip. If you skip this step, it won’t appear again when you boost future posts. You can link your account to a Facebook page at any time.
  5. Tap Boost post under Review.

Instagram reviews your post to make sure it meets the platform’s ad policies. You’ll receive a notification in your Activity Feed to tell you if the ad was approved or not and after the campaign ends.

You can also boost a new post before you publish it on Instagram. Just toggle on the Create Ad option before you share the new post. Instagram recommends using images with less than 8 MB for boosted posts.

2: Boost a Story

You can create ads to increase followers when you boost an active story, a story in your Highlights, or an archived story. Boosted stories will run for the whole duration of your ad. Follow these steps:

  1. Go to your profile.
  2. Tap your profile picture to access your Instagram story, open your Highlights to select a story or tap Menu > Your activity > Archived > Stories archive.
  3. At the bottom of the story’s image or video, tap More, and tap Boost story.
  4. Fill in the details of your ad. Set your goal, audience, budget, and duration. Tap on Next.
  5. Tap Boost post to submit it for review.

3: Boost an Instagram Reel

Boosting an Instagram reel is another way to create an Instagram ad that drives engagement. When you boost a reel, it will appear in the Reels tab, Explore, Stories, and feed.

You can’t boost a Reel if:

  • It uses copyrighted music, GIFs, interactive stickers, or camera filters from a third party.
  • It’s already been shared on Facebook.
  • It’s more than 60 seconds long.

Your reel must be less than 60 seconds and have a full-screen (9:16) vertical aspect ratio. These are the steps to boost a reel:

  1. Go to your profile.
  2. Tap the reel you want to boost.
  3. Below the reel, tap Boost.
  4. Fill in the details of your ad. Set your goal, audience, budget, and duration. Tap on Next.
  5. Tap Boost reel to submit it for review.

Creating Ads With Product Tags

You don’t need to set up an Instagram Shop to add product tags to your posts. If you want to know how to get a sponsored ad on Instagram to maximize impact, here’s how to create product tags with new ads, existing posts and branded contents ads.

1. Create a New Ad With Product Tags

Creating an ad with product tags drives shoppers straight to the product detail page. There are two ways to explore this option. The first option uses Ads Manager and is only for professional accounts. The second option lets any user add product tags to their post. To create an ad with product tags via Ads Manager, just follow these steps:

  1. Go to Ads Manager and select +Create.
  2. Choose your goal: Awareness, Traffic, Engagement, Leads, or Sales.
  3. Set conversion location and optimization for delivery. Some optimization options vary based on your objective.
  4. Choose your target audience.
  5. Select Manual placements, then set Instagram Feed, Instagram Explore, and/or Instagram Stories as the placement. The Advantage+ placements indicate that your ad will run without product tags on all other placements.
  6. Upload the creative/content you’ll use to add product tags at the ad level. If you’re using a Carousel format, you need to add a product tag to every image.
  7. Select Edit Media, then select Product Tags under Creative Tools.
  8. Select Catalog and search within Tagged Products to select products.
  9. Drag and drop product tags to the correct location on the ad preview to the right.
  10.  Select Save, then click Share to publish your post.

The post must be public to tag products in a regular post. Make sure you have the brand’s permission to tag their products. Here’s how to get permission:

  1. Start creating your post.
  2. Tap Tag people.
  3. Search and tag the brand first. You’ll see 2 options at the bottom labeled People & Products.
  4. Tap Products.
  5. Tap on the photo to start tagging products. Use descriptors to find the product. Once you find the product, specify any styles and/or colors, then tap to add the tag.
  6. Hit Share to publish your post.

2.  Boost an Existing Shoppable Post as an Ad With Product Tags

If you’ve set up an Instagram Shop, you can boost an existing shoppable post with product tags. You can reach more followers with this option via Ads Manager or directly through the Instagram app. When using Ads Manager, just follow these steps:

  1. Go to Ads Manager and select +Create.
  2. Select your goal: Awareness, Traffic, Engagement, Leads, or Sales.
  3. Set conversion location and optimization for delivery. Some optimization options vary according to your goal.
  4. Choose your target audience.
  5. Select Manual placements and select Instagram Feed, Instagram Explore, and/or Instagram Stories as the placement. The Advantage+ placements indicate that your ad will run without product tags on all other placements.
  6. Select Use existing post.
  7. Choose the shoppable post you want to run as an ad.
  8. Click Publish.

If you want to boost a shoppable post with product tags directly from the Instagram app, here’s how to do it:

  1. Go to your profile and tap the shoppable post you want to promote.
  2. Below the post’s image, tap Promote.
  3. Fill in the details of your promotion. Set your goal, audience, budget, and duration. Tap on Next.
  4. Tap Preview promotion under Review to see how your promotion will look in Instagram Feed and Explore.
  5. Tap on Create promotion.

3. Create a Branded Content Ad With Product Tags

Instagram branded content ads are for brands with creator partners. You can turn the creator’s content into an ad to increase awareness. When you run a branded content ad, you’ll use creator audience sharing to share the ads with their engaged audience. To do this, you need to meet the following requirements:

  • Set up branded content ad permissions with the creator or partner you are working with using Meta Business Suite.
  • Acquire a content ad code.
  • An existing post must have a paid partnership label before it can be turned into a branded content ad.

Here’s the basic process to create a branded content ad:

  1. Go to Ads Manager and create an ad.
  2. Pick an objective that is available for branded content.
  3. Continue creating your ad. You can use the creator’s engaged audience at the audience step. If you choose manual placements for your ad, you can select Instagram and choose either Feed, Stories, Reels, or both.
  4. Under the Identity section, click the branded content ad toggle at the ad level.
  5. Under Primary identity, click Select Identity and choose the account you want viewers to see.
  6. Tap Done. If you have a branded content ad code from a creator, click Enter branded content ad code instead.
  7. Under Partner Identity, click Select identity and repeat the process. Choose the account you would like to appear as the paid partner.
  8. Continue with the next steps if you use an existing post on your feed or upload a new creative.

Creating Ads Using Advanced Features

Make sure to check out these advanced features when creating your ads to boost your overall Instagram growth.

1. Customize Images in Your Catalog With Creative Tools

You can use the following creative tools in Meta Ads Manager to edit or create your ads to increase followers:

  • Crop your product set images
  • Add a frame (not available with Instagram placement)
  • Add catalog info (not available with Instagram placement)
  • Add product tags (only available on Instagram feed and Explore placements)

Below are the steps to access these creative tools:

  1. Go to Ads Manager and edit an existing ad or create a new Advantage+ catalog ad.
  2. Ensure that Advantage+ creative for catalog is turned off in the Ad setup section.
  3. In the Ad creative section, click Edit creative under Creative tools.
  4. Select an option from the drop-down to open Creative tools.

2. Create an Ad With Advantage+ Creative for Catalog

Use Meta Advantage+ creative to show people different formats, creatives, and destinations based on what they’re most likely to respond to. The basic steps are below:

  1. Go to Meta Ads Manager and click +Create.
  2. Choose an objective and click Continue.
  3. Add your campaign details, then click Next.
  4. In the Dynamic creative section, toggle the switch to Off.
  5. Choose your budget, audience, placements, and optimization, then click Continue.
  6. In the Identity section, select your Facebook page and attach your Instagram account.
  7. In the Ad setup, toggle the Advantage+ creative for catalog to enable it.
  8. In the Ad creative section, select the catalog and product set you want to use.
  9. Add the copy/text to complete your ad, such as headline, description, etc.
  10.  In the Ad preview section, click See variations to explore different options for how your ad will appear.
  11. Complete your ad and then click Publish.

3. Find an Instagram Partner

You can get help creating ads on Instagram with a vetted Instagram Partner. Your Instagram Partner, now referred to as Meta Business Partner, is a recognized expert that helps businesses grow. These are the services you can get from a partner:

  • Campaign management
  • Creative services
  • Create product catalogs
  • Track marketing performance
  • Conversion data management
  • Sales expertise
  • Community management
  • Messaging and customer service

How To Get More Followers Instagram Business: Best Ad Campaigns 

Let’s look at examples of the best Instagram ads that can show you how to gain followers on business Instagram accounts. Use these as inspiration when creating your own ads.

  • Basic photo ad from @Elementor. The image below uses a consistent but eye-catching color neatly broken into circles. The copy goes straight to the point.
  • Video ad from @Netflix. The video ad uses glowing reviews superimposed on the video as social proof to invite users to watch the show. The ad also offers viewers an exciting sneak peek into the upcoming season.
  • Carousel ad from the clothing brand @Cider. Each Carousel image shows a full image and a close-up of the product. The background for each slide is also carefully chosen to perfectly complement the featured garment.
  • Story ad from education specialist @Kaplanpathways. The Stories ad begins with a thoughtful question, which is also asked in each succeeding story. The individual stories feature various degree offers from the partner university.
  • Sponsored post from @Masterclass. The direct caption immediately contradicts the notion that a master class is long and boring. The video also offers an enticing look at what’s on offer and features a genuine expert in the field.

Maximize Your Instagram Ads to Boost Follower Growth

Instagram ads are a powerful tool for increasing your followers. The algorithm ensures your ads reach the right people, but what if you could push those ads even further, maximizing their potential to attract more of your target audience?

Elevate your Instagram ad strategy to new heights with Path Social. Their AI technology takes precision targeting to the next level, ensuring your ads are seen by those most likely to engage with your brand. In-house social media specialists bring expert marketing strategies to the table, helping you promote your content effectively and organically. 

With Path Social, you’re not just gaining followers – you’re building a community of real people who are genuinely interested in your services. Trusted by over 20,000 brands across various niches, Path Social is your go-to partner for Instagram growth. Start growing your Instagram followers today with Path Social!

FAQs

Is it worth buying ads on Instagram?

Yes, Instagram ads are a worthwhile investment for promoting your business or brand. Instagram is one of the most popular platforms in the world and is used by billions every day, so knowing how to leverage ads on the site can help you reach your target audience, achieve brand awareness and increase engagement rate.

How do you do sponsored ads on Instagram?

To run instagram ads for followers, follow these basic steps:

  1. Set up an Instagram business account.
  2. Connect your Instagram account to Facebook Ads Manager.
  3. Create a campaign in Ads Manager.
  4. Choose your objective (brand awareness, website traffic, conversions).
  5. Fill in details for your ad set.
  6. In the Placements section, choose Manual placements and select Instagram.
  7. Complete your ad and publish.

How much should I spend when running ads on Instagram?

The amount you should spend on ads depends on your budget, as well as the ad format and pricing models you choose. We recommend starting with a small budget of $5 per day or $150 a month for each campaign so you can test the waters and see how your ads perform. Then you can scale-up as needed to reach more followers.

Are Instagram ads better than TikTok?

When it comes to TikTok vs. Instagram, ads on Instagram are better for increasing brand awareness than TikTok. This is because even though TikTok gives you the potential to go viral and has lower costs than an Instagram or Facebook ad, Instagram’s algorithm can lead to a higher ROI. It offers a more diverse user base, better visuals, and more advanced targeting options.

How can I increase Instagram followers?

If you’re not sure how to gain followers on business Instagram there are several strategies you can use. You can run Instagram ads by boosting posts, stories, or reels. You can also create ads with product tags to drive traffic and sales, use advanced features to customize your ads, or find an Instagram Partner that can help you accelerate growth. Make sure to post high-quality content, relevant hashtags and choose an ad format that resonates with your target audience.