While most event marketers have already seen great success while advertising on Facebook, many have yet to fully seize the benefits of promoting their events on Instagram as well. Instagram offers the opportunity to reach huge numbers of highly-engaged event goers, giving marketers unparalleled potential to drive brand awareness and engagement by utilizing several interactive ad formats to ensure engagement with their targeted audience.
Read on for our event marketing experts’ breakdown of the three best Instagram ad types to increase awareness of your event and grow your following!
Carousel Feed Ads
One of the most tried and true event-awareness-driven Instagram ads is the carousel feed ad, an interactive ad that allows the user to swipe through a slideshow of photos that promote your event. This ad type is a great way to include more content, enabling you to share the most exciting aspects of your event such as your special guest or performer lineup, behind the scenes previews, or exclusive event merch. Not to mention, you can also set the carousel ad to automatically rotate which photo is shown first according to your users’ behavior profile, so they are more likely to first see the image that appeals to them most!
Video Feed Ads
Videos are the most highly-engaged-with content on Instagram, making video feed ads another powerful tool in driving event awareness. Similarly to your carousel ads, a video feed ad will appear in targeted users’ Instagram feeds in the same format as content from the accounts they are following. When creating your video feed ad, be sure to feature your event name within the first few seconds to ensure viewers are aware of your brand. Remember to keep your video around 20 seconds long to keep your audience’s attention and ensure maximum engagement, and use this time to highlight the most exciting parts of your event, including your lineup, special guests, or exclusive panel sessions. Be sure to end your video with a request to follow your account for the latest updates and announcements, and watch the new followers roll in!
Carousel Story Ads
The carousel Story ad type, shown in the Stories section, offers an in-depth look at your brand with the possibility to include multiple forms of media, maximizing your exposure and more effectively piquing your audience’s interest level. Each carousel Story ad can contain up to three photos or videos, so event marketers should use as many pieces of media as possible to encourage engagement. And since Story ads take up the viewer’s entire screen, they give you the perfect opportunity to utilize the maximum amount of space to include important information about your event.
Use this ad type to give users a look into what goes on behind the scenes as you’re setting up, show videos of the beginning of the event to help create FOMO, or highlight candid interactions with performers or special guests! Include a swipe-up CTA for your event awareness goal to link viewers back to your Instagram page to follow your account, or to send them to your event website, which will give them the ability to learn more about your event.