How It Works

Learning a new platform is never easy. This is especially true when it comes to Instagram — an app that seems to be constantly changing and growing. It can be hard to keep up! Thankfully, we here at MuteSix are well-versed in this platform and keep up with all its updates. 

At its most basic level, Instagram is a photo-sharing social media application that allows users to post photos, and now videos for their followers to see and “like.” That being said, there’s so much more to this expansive platform. For instance, there are Instagram Stories that allow users to post content for all of their followers to see for 24 hours before being archived. 

Instagram’s “Explore” feature shows curated content based on a user’s follows, likes, hashtags, etc. There’s also Instagram Live and Instagram TV that allow users to stream live videos and post long-form video content, respectively. Finally, there’s Instagram’s relatively new shopping feature where users can shop for products as shown in Instagram photos. Instagram offers photo editing tools to make your photos more aesthetically-appealing. It also offers filters and interactive effects for more creative and interesting content. 

When it comes to Instagram users, this social media platform features a relatively young demographic. Overall, the app’s age breakdown consists of 22.8% of users being between the ages of 18 and 24, 32.3% of users being between the ages of 25 and 34, 18.4% of users being between the ages of 35 and 44, and 11.4% of users being between the ages of 45 and 54. Those over the age of 55 make up 10.7% of app users. 

Why It Works

With all the different social media platforms out there, why should you advertise on Instagram specifically? Here are some factors you need to know about when considering advertising on Instagram:

• Instagram offers an enormous reach as the fourth most popular social media platform in the world with more than one billion active monthly users — 140 million of them in the United States alone. 
• Instagram offers cost-effective advertising options that are accessible for newer and smaller brands looking to get the most bang for their buck. For example, Instagram allows you to set a daily or lifetime campaign budget to help manage your spending. Costs per click on Instagram start at just $0.20 and the cost per thousand impressions, or CPM, average around $6.70. 
• Instagram is integrated with Facebook for easy and powerful advertising. Facebook is, after all, the world’s largest social media platform. As a result, you can get a 2-for-1 deal when you advertise on Instagram. 

How to Do It Right

While advertising on Instagram can be extremely effective and help you grow your business to new heights, success isn’t guaranteed. Instead, you have to do it right. Perhaps the best thing you can do to advertise effectively on Instagram is to work with an Instagram marketing service like MuteSix. MuteSix does all the heavy lifting for you and makes the process seamless and effective. We are able to develop and grow your Instagram marketing strategy so that you can reach the right people with the right content in the right places. 

At MuteSix, the partnership between creative and data is at the core of our approach. Through constant creative iterative testing, we learn what works and what doesn’t at scale. We are well versed in the nuances between Instagram stories and the newsfeed and create native content to suit each placement.

The MuteSix Difference

MuteSix is a best-in-class performance marketing agency that scales brands with cross-channel, data-driven creative. We specifically cater to direct-to-consumer brands and have achieved incredible successes for our clients both large and small. For instance, we have generated over $1 billion in trackable revenue for our clients. Furthermore, our clients have seen an average of a 359% increase in revenue after working with us for only six months. We have helped smaller and newer brands get their name out there while helping larger and more established brands scale, including big names like Disney, Adidas, Morphe, PetCo, Theragun, Fender, NutriBullet, and Zumba. 

Our full funnel approach starts with compelling advertising designed to sell. We pair that with targeted audiences and media buying strategies based on data and signals we have on our potential customers, but our work doesn’t stop there. Our full funnel approach includes landing page testing and optimizations to complete the consumer journey.

One of our best services comes in the form our our content studio — StudioSix — wherein we offer a variety of different content creation services to meet your needs. We offer graphic design services to impress your Instagram viewers with eye-catching images that stand out in a platform filled with highly curated images. We also offer basic video essentials to create cost-effective yet compelling video content that can help you stand out on Instagram. Finally, we offer our bespoke creative package that features broadcast-level productions to take your Instagram advertising game to the next level. 

Our Process

Our full funnel approach starts with compelling advertising designed to sell. We pair that with targeted audiences and media buying strategies based on data and signals we have on our potential customers, but our work doesn’t stop there. Our full funnel approach includes landing page testing and optimizations to complete the consumer journey. Here are the additional details you need to know about what it means to partner with us: 

1. Audit and analysis: We begin the process with a comprehensive audit and analysis of your industry, brand, and current advertising strategy. This process allows us to get a good idea of what we’re working with and where we need to go. It also allows us to see what types of content you have used in the past so that we can develop similar and complementary content for a cohesive approach across all platforms.  
2. Robust creative development: After completing the audit, we move on to creative development within our StudioSix content studio. As you now know, Instagram is a highly tailored platform filled with filtered and photoshopped content. In order to stand out, you need an authentic yet professional and eye-catching approach. We help you balance all three of these aspects through our creative development process.  
3. Targeting testing: Once we develop the content, we work on placement and targeting. After all, it doesn’t matter how amazing your content is — if it isn’t placed in front of the right people, it isn’t going to be effective. This involves undergoing audience research to learn more about your target audience and how to properly reach them with your new and appealing content.  
4. Optimize: The work isn’t done after targeting testing — afterwards, we focus on optimization. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much work you put in on the front end, adjustments are still needed on the back end. Thankfully, we are here to monitor that and figure it out for you so that you can achieve the best possible results.  
5. Scale: Once we have it all figured out, it’s time to do it all over again! The process gets easier once we figure out what works for your specific brand and audience. 

This process has achieved the following results for our clients:

• 164% increase in overall revenue lift
• 361% increase in incremental Instagram advertising revenue
• 44% return on ad spend improvement
• 24% decrease in customer acquisition cost

Case Study

MuteSix was tasked with scaling MantraBand’s media buying for Facebook and Instagram. Mantraband is a jewelry company that offers pieces with inspiring and empowering messages. These aesthetically-appealing yet simple pieces are practically made for Instagram! We helped MantraBrand reach their target audience of young women on one of their preferred platforms — Instagram. 

The Strategy

We scaled media buying on Instagram around getting new users into the funnel, which included building new audiences, optimizing call-to-actions, and A/B testing new banners and ads we created. We also implemented organic Instagram story creative.

We achieved incredible results for MantraBand while employing this strategy. As a result, MantraBand enjoyed more than $1 million in revenue generated, an increased scale on media buying of 27.8x, and a 2.95x increase in return on ad spend. 

While these results are incredible, they aren’t uncommon here at MuteSix. In fact, MantraBand is one of dozens of clients that we have worked with to grow their presence on social media platforms like Instagram. Additionally, we recommend an omnichannel approach to marketing that allows you to cover all of your social bases — ranging from Facebook, to Instagram, to TikTok and everything in between.

No matter what channels you’re currently using or want to expand to in the future, MuteSix can help you achieve your advertising goals and grow your brand to amazing new heights. 

MuteSix as Your Instagram Marketing Service

With our help, you can make your brand stand out on Instagram alongside highly tailored and aesthetically-pleasing content. At the same time, you can maintain your brand image and authenticity through custom creative content made for your specific brand and this unique platform. Finally, we can help you reach the right people — tapping into your existing marketing and discovering new markets. So before you waste any more time on inefficient advertising spending that just isn’t working — schedule a complimentary consultation with MuteSix. We can discuss goals and ideas before taking concrete steps to achieving them. 

Sources:

1. A beginner’s guide to Instagram, the wildly popular photo-sharing app with over a billion users | Business Insider
2. Distribution of Instagram users in the United States as of January 2021, by age group | Statista
3. Most popular social networks worldwide as of January 2021, ranked by number of active users | Statista