With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms today. Many businesses and influencers use Instagram to connect with their target audience and promote their products or services. However, running ads directly on Instagram can be expensive, especially when you’re just starting out.
This is where Facebook ads come in. Facebook owns Instagram, so you can target your Instagram followers and people similar to them using Facebook ads. Facebook ads tend to be more affordable and have powerful targeting options to help you connect with the right people.
In this article, we’ll explore how you can target your Instagram followers and similar audiences on Facebook ads to grow your business.
Benefits of Targeting Instagram Followers on Facebook
Here are some of the key benefits of targeting your Instagram followers with Facebook ads:
- Reach a bigger audience – Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users, much larger than Instagram’s audience. You can get your brand and products in front of many more potential customers.
- Lower cost per result – Facebook ads are generally more affordable than Instagram ads. You can get more conversions, leads, or sales for your budget.
- Powerful targeting options – Facebook offers detailed targeting parameters like interests, behaviors, demographics, and more to laser focus your ads.
- Retargeting capabilities – You can create custom audiences of people who have already engaged with your brand and retarget them on Facebook.
- Cross-promote between platforms – Amplify your Instagram presence by driving traffic back to your Instagram profile using Facebook ads.
Ways to Target Instagram Followers on Facebook
There are a couple effective ways to target your existing Instagram followers with Facebook ads:
1. Target an Instagram Business Profile’s Followers
If you have an Instagram business profile, you can target people who follow your Instagram profile directly within the Facebook ads platform.
Here’s how to do it:
- Go to the Audiences section in Facebook Ads Manager
- Click Create Audience at the top
- Select Custom Audience
- Choose Instagram Business Profile from the dropdown menu
- Enter your Instagram username and select the country your account is based in
- Facebook will pull and create an audience of all your current Instagram followers
- Use this audience to target your ad campaign
This is the easiest way to target your current Instagram followers at scale on Facebook. One limitation is that you can only target followers of Instagram business profiles, not personal accounts.
2. Create a Custom Audience from your Instagram followers
If you only have an Instagram personal profile, you can manually create a custom audience of your followers within Facebook Ads Manager:
- Export a list of your Instagram followers
- Go to the Audiences section in Facebook Ads Manager
- Click Create Audience > Custom Audience > Customer File
- Upload your follower list as a .txt or .csv file
- Facebook will match the list to user profiles on Facebook
- Use this audience to target your ad campaign
This takes more effort but lets you target followers from a personal Instagram account. You’ll need to regularly update the follower list as your Instagram grows.
Tips for Targeting Instagram Followers with Facebook Ads
Here are some tips to help you get the most out of targeting Instagram followers with Facebook ads:
Utilize Instagram’s Insights
Check out the Instagram Insights for your profile to better understand your followers. See when they are most active, their top locations, age range and gender demographics. Use this info to fine-tune your Facebook targeting.
Test Interest and Behavior Targeting
Beyond targeting your literal followers, try using Facebook’s interest and behavior targeting to find people similar to your followers. Test interests related to your brand, niche or industry.
Promote Your Instagram Profile
Make sure to link to your Instagram profile in your Facebook ads. Try sending traffic to a specific post, promoting a contest or encouraging follows. This helps cross-promote between platforms.
Create Lookalike Audiences
Use your follower custom audience as the source to create a lookalike audience on Facebook. This will help you find new potential customers with common qualities to your current audience.
Retarget Engaged Followers
Create additional custom audiences of followers who have engaged with your Instagram posts or visited your profile recently. Retarget them with special offers on Facebook.
Conclusion
Targeting your Instagram followers and similar audiences with Facebook ads is an excellent growth strategy for your business. With Facebook’s detailed targeting options and lower cost per result, you can reach more potential customers and drive measurable conversions.
Be sure to analyze your Instagram Insights to better understand your current followers. Create custom or lookalike audiences based on your followers to laser target your Facebook ads. And don’t forget to cross-promote your Instagram profile within your Facebook ad content.
With some strategic testing and optimization, Facebook ads can help turbocharge your Instagram marketing results and grow your business.