A large part of digital marketing today covers social media marketing. According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, out of 7 billion people on the planet, 3.78 billion are social media users. Each day, the average time spent by a user on social media is 145 minutes. It is how they connect with the world, do online transactions, shop, and even work. Among the top four social media platforms for marketing are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. With 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram is the best choice among product-based brands. Yet a social media agency Hong Kong notes the importance of targeting high-value audiences to succeed in Instagram marketing. Here’s how!

The best way to target high-value audiences on Instagram is to determine the group’s awareness level. These can be categorized into three:

  • Top of the Funnel (TOFU) for audiences who are not yet aware of the brand.
  • Middle of Funnel (MOFU) for audiences who know the brand but need more information.
  • Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU) for audiences who already know the brand well and are ready to make a purchase.

From these three groups, brands and businesses can set the right goals according to the segmentation of the target audiences. 

Account-Based Custom Audiences

These high-value audiences are those who have engaged in a brand’s IG post, sent a message through Instagram Direct, or visited a brand’s profile on Instagram. Account-based custom audiences who engage on a brand’s IG post can be a good target for booking a demo ad. An account-based custom audience who sent a message through Instagram Direct can be a good target for brand awareness campaigns. While account-based custom audiences who visited a brand’s profile on Instagram can be a good target for conversion ads.

Events-Based Custom Audiences

Online events have boomed since the outbreak of COVID-19. Brands and businesses commonly host product launches and promotions through live broadcasts and virtual presentations. From the participants of these online events, you can build high-value audiences that can be targeted for conversion and engagement. These prospects have higher buying intent and can increase conversion. They can also offer a lot of values among brands and businesses like loyalty and recommendations.

Lead Form-Based Custom Audiences

These high-value audiences include people who subscribe to a marketing newsletter or updates. Brands can extract the said list and integrate them on an Instagram retargeting list. Through a “Consideration” objective, brands can start messaging these prospects via email, Instagram Direct, or phone to boost brand awareness.

Lookalike Audiences

This group is people who match a brand’s target persona. Brands can tap into the power of lookalike audiences by going to the “Custom Audiences” tab when creating an ad and creating a lookalike audience group. These groups can be based on any of the brand’s existing customer groups. Advertising to Instagram’s lookalike audiences is a great way to increase brand reach and retargeting campaigns. 

Saved Audiences

Most social media brands saved a list of their customers and loyal followers. These are data coming from a previous conversion or purchase. Brands and businesses can use the persona of these customers to retarget them through demographics. These include age, gender, language, and location. They can also be retargeted based on their interests, online behaviors, professional associations, etc. Saved audiences are the perfect group to achieve any goal of a brand via Instagram but can be high-value audiences on reach campaigns

Video-Based Custom Audiences

According to a video marketing agency Hong Kong, even though Instagram is popular as a photo-sharing app, it is also one of the top 3 social media platforms for video marketing. Instagram’s video-based custom audiences are very extensive. Those who have watched at least 25% of an Instagram video can be a good target for informational blog posts. Those who have watched at least 50% of an Instagram video can be paired with ads aiming to boost conversion and website traffic. 

Website Visitor-Based Custom Audiences

Brands and businesses can also leverage their website data to boost the success of Instagram ads. By offering small value to your website visitors via engaging Instagram content, you can turn them into high-value audiences through Instagram blog links, events, and specific offerings. 

THE BOTTOM LINE

Instagram offers a lot of ways for brands to expand and segment their audiences based on a brand’s marketing goal. The rule of thumb is for a brand to create the right buying persona for its Instagram ads and campaigns. By using Instagram insights from your previous ads and campaign, you can create high-value audiences that can boost awareness, consideration, conversion, engagement, and traffic. 

Reference: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/instagram-ad-targeting-8-valuable-audiences/