One of the fastest growing and smartest ways to use Facebook ads is through retargeting - focusing on people who've already visited your website, thereby reaching users who've expressed a level of interest in what your company provides. Facebook's seen big growth in this offering since making 'Dynamic Products Ads' (as they call them) available last February, with more than 2.5 billion unique products uploaded to Facebook for cross-referencing through their retargeting system. And now they're extending the offering to Instagram, with all the same functionality advertisers already see on The Social Network.
Here's how they work.
Widening the Net
As described by Instagram:
"Dynamic ads on Instagram let you promote the right products to the right person at the right time. When someone visits your website or mobile app, then later looks at Instagram, they'll be served an ad featuring multiple, related products from ones they were browsing on your site or app."
You've no doubt experienced this yourself many times, you visit a website and look at shoes, then you're hit with ads for that exact pair in your Facebook sidebar for the next three weeks. Instagram's Dynamic Ads will function in much the same way, with sponsored posts showing up in your feed, prompting you by highlighting items you've recently viewed.
As shown in the image, you can focus on one specific product, or you can use the carousel format to highlight similar items to help nudge consumers in the right direction. The ads are automatically triggered based on the products viewed on your site (tracked via Facebook pixel) and the product images you've uploaded to Facebook, with Facebook's back-end system detecting the most relevant content based on how you've categorized your items.
According to Instagram, 60% of users learn about products and services on the platform, while 75% take action after being inspired by an Instagram post. This data, combined with the rise in mobile shopping, points to dynamic ads being a solid option for Instagram advertisers.
Retargeting in Action
To highlight the value of the new option, Instagram has detailed how two brands have already seen success using the new option in testing phase. Canadian jewelry company Jewlr used Instagram's Dynamic Ads after seeing success with the option on Facebook.
Thus far, Jewlr says they're seeing strong results, with "return on ad spend exceeding 3X".
South East Asian eCommerce platform Lazada, meanwhile, has used Instagram's Dynamic Ads to retarget website visitors with a view to driving installs of its mobile app.
Through its Dynamic campaign, Lazada saw a 60% improvement in cost per install compared to static app install ads on Instagram.
They're both interesting case studies, no doubt, but it's hard to get a true guage on the potential of the offering - results will be relative to your business and how well you're able to construct your Dynamic Ads to ensure the most relevant products are highlighted to potential customers. For this reason, it may make sense to work with a Facebook Partner to ensure you're able to get the most out of the offering.
The rise of retargeting works in line with the increased use of personalization and consumer insight to better target and refine marketing messages. As more consumer data flows in, our capacity to reach audiences based on that data rises with it, and with a growing number of brands listening and delivering content based on personal preferences, consumer expectation is evolving. While to some retargeting can seem intrusive, it'll eventually become a necessary element. People turn to social to share their voice - those brands that are hearing it are best placed to win out.
To use the new Dynamic Ads, you first need to upload your entire product catalog into Business Manager. Once that's done, you can manage your ads through Power Editor as normal, with Instagram now available as a Dynamic Ads option. Once your offerings and tracking pixel details are set up, products will automatically populate based on a person's action on your website or mobile app. Advertisers can also control the products they want advertised to make sure the ads pull in products that are in stock, and are listed with their latest pricing.
Instagram Dynamic Ads are available from today for all regions.