What do time tracking, invoicing, and Instagram marketing have in common? You can manage these business processes from the palm of your hand using your smartphone without sacrificing any time in the field. Our clients tell us that Instagram has helped to transform their lead generation campaign, maximize their ROI, and reach new leads that they wouldn’t have found on Facebook.
Instagram is a powerful, visually-based social network that countless homeowners use when they’re planning their landscaping and home improvement projects. Plus, when you consider that 80 percent of Instagram users follow businesses on Instagram—and over 200 million users visit business profiles daily—you could be missing out on some serious business if you’re not using Instagram to your advantage.
Ready to grow your social presence, get noticed by your target audience, and start generating new leads? Here’s how to ignite your digital marketing strategy with strategic, attention-grabbing Instagram ads.
Landscapers—and other home services business owners—have often struggled to use Instagram to grow their business. It can be frustrating to see a platform with endless potential, but have no clue how to use it to your advantage.
Maybe you’ve tried using Instagram before and you’ve not been able to find the right content to keep your business in front of potential leads. Problems with engagement and consistency are major reasons why home service businesses stray away from Instagram altogether. So, why should you sacrifice your precious time to grow your Instagram account?
Landscaping is a visual business. Instagram is a visual platform. That makes Instagram the perfect platform to showcase your work, connect with potential leads, and set yourself apart from other landscaping businesses. Instagram is ideal for demonstrating your skill, sharing behind-the-scenes projects and tips, and posting valuable content. And if your local competitors aren’t using Instagram, that gives you a major advantage.
Fun fact: Instagram celebrated its 1 billion global user mark in 2018. This massive milestone—which was seemingly only reserved for Facebook—highlights Instagram’s staying power. Instagram’s user growth has been consistent over the last few years, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down.
Instagram offers four different types of ads: Stories ads, Explore ads, Shopping ads, and Collection ads, with the latter two geared toward eCommerce businesses. Because you’re not selling products through an eCommerce store, we’re going to focus on Stories ads and Explore ads. Here’s what you need to know about both.
Stories ads provide a valuable opportunity to connect with more people. When you post stories ads regularly, you’re building your visibility and encouraging engagement.
In addition, Stories ads feature a call-to-action, which encourages users to click on a link sticker (recently replacing the “swipe up” feature) to visit your website and learn more about your services. This way, you can share a picture or video of your work and link to the relevant landing page on your website. Stories also allow you to utilize various capabilities, from attention-grabbing stickers to video effects, to get your users’ attention.
Instagram has an “Explore” section that allows users to discover content that’s relevant to their interests. However, Instagram Explore ads don’t appear in the “Explore” section. Instead, they only show up when a user opens an image or video from the “Explore” page.
Even though that might make it a little bit more difficult for your ads to get noticed, you can run your Explore ads alongside post ads by choosing Explore as an additional ad placement (more on that later). This can help you maximize your ROI, reach more people, and make the most of your Instagram marketing efforts.
Instagram doesn’t have an ad creation tool of its own, but there are two simple ways to start placing ads on Instagram. You can either boost an existing post within the Instagram app or create ads using Facebook Ads Manager.
If you’re looking for a quick, easy, beginner-friendly way to start marketing on Instagram, try promoting a few posts that you’ve already created. Using your Instagram business insights, figure out which post has generated the most engagement. Then, tap “promote” in the lower right corner to run it as an ad. Plus, you can do all of this from your smartphone.
Instagram pro-tip: If you’re just getting started with Instagram, make sure you’re using an Instagram Business account instead of a personal account. This way, you’ll be able to access insights (What kind of Instagram users are looking at your ads? How is each ad performing?) and provide more information about your landscaping services. And, of course, you can’t run ads without an Instagram business profile. If you’re an Instagram newbie, it doesn’t hurt to check out Instagram’s business blog, either.
Since Facebook and Instagram are tightly interwoven, you can also use Facebook Ads Manager to create Instagram ads. If you haven’t used Ads Manager before, it’s a great tool that lets you customize and pinpoint your target audience. The best part? You can use it to define your campaign objectives and track the performance of your ads.
To use Facebook Ads Manager, you’ll need a Facebook account with access to a business page. Then, you’ll need to link your Instagram account to your Facebook Business Page. To do this, you just need to open Facebook, navigate to page settings, and connect your Instagram account.
Once you’re done connecting your Facebook and Instagram accounts, Facebook will let you create and run ads using Ads Manager. If you’re not a Facebook marketing pro yet, here’s how to get started.
To set your objective, click the green “+ Create” button under the Campaigns tab. If you’re creating your first ad campaign, choose Guided Creation for a step-by-step tutorial. Then, Ads Manager will show you a list of objectives across three categories: awareness, consideration, and conversion.
Before choosing an objective, take some time to really think about what you want to get out of your Instagram ads. Do you want to spend less time finding new leads? Are you interested in gathering customer data? Are you looking to expand your online presence? Identify your primary goal, and then choose the objective that best matches that goal.
To create the best Instagram ads, it’s essential to choose the right objective. Facebook uses your objective to determine the ad objectives, bidding types, and ad placements best suited for that specific objective. When it comes to landscaping, your biggest challenge is finding new leads. In this case, “Conversions” would be the best objective for your Instagram ad campaign.
Next, it’s time to name your campaign. While it might be tempting to give your campaign a generic name like “Campaign 1,” it’s best to add some detail to your campaign name. This way, you’ll make it easier for yourself later on when you’re navigating a few different campaigns.
Now, you’ll have to choose how much you want to spend on Instagram ads and how long you want your campaign to run. Facebook Ads Manager offers a new feature—Campaign Budget Optimization—that identifies ads that perform better and allocates your budget to those. It also aligns your spending limits and bid caps for every ad.
If you’re new to social media advertising, we recommend using Campaign Budget Optimization to make the most of your marketing budget. Of course, you can always make adjustments later on if needed.
With audience targeting, you can customize your ads to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. For example, you might be advertising gardening services for backyards. In audience targeting, you can enter your service area as the location, and enter “home improvement” and “gardening” as interests under Desired Targeting.
You can also target custom audiences, which might include website visitors, past customers, or people on your contact list.
With Ads Manager, you’ll have two options for ad placements: automatic and manual. While automatic placements display your ads across multiple properties based on their chances for success, manual placements allow you to handpick exactly where your ads appear.
For the most successful Instagram ads, choose manual placements. Then, check the boxes for Instagram-only properties.
Finally, it’s time to choose the ad format, upload your image/video, and write your ad copy. Choose the ad format that makes the most sense for your specific campaign. Then, top it off with a captivating visual, and write a compelling description to go with it.
If you chose “Conversions” as your objective, you’ll also be able to choose from a few different call-to-action options. Choose the one that’s most suitable for your campaign and target audience. Once you’re satisfied, hit “Publish” to start running your landscaping ads.
If you’re on Facebook, you’re probably already familiar with social media marketing. Just like Facebook, Instagram offers the option to create ads to drive business. Instagram makes it easy for business owners to cater ads to their choice of demographics. All you need to do is choose your target location, age, gender, and interests, and market your landscaping services.
Along with creating Instagram ad campaigns, you also have the option to boost your Instagram posts. Sure, boosting a post is a great way to quickly get your content in front of more people, but placing an ad is typically the better option. Your boosted posts have a more general appeal, while your Instagram ads specifically target your desired audience.
Even though ads are the more sophisticated option, it’s still important to build up your Instagram page with valuable, informative, and engaging content. When users find your Instagram page organically or they’re scoping out local landscaping companies before deciding who to hire, you want your posts to position your business as a local authority.
Along with strategic, effective Instagram ads, make sure to supplement your Instagram marketing strategy with regular posts. From writing compelling copy to planning a mix of content, here are some tips and tricks to take your marketing strategy to the next level.
Your Instagram posts should be short, sweet, and straight to the point. You want to capture your audience’s attention with an attention-grabbing image or video. Then, you want to provide some valuable information. If you’re writing long, boring captions, users are just going to scroll away without checking out what your business has to offer.
For the best results, make the most of your first sentence. The first line should be compelling or ask a question. Avoid placing your CTA at the end, as Instagram might shorten your caption if it’s longer than three or four lines. Your captions should be less than 200 characters, written like a human, and provide some kind of value to your followers. Here are some actions you might encourage users to take:
To hashtag or not to hashtag? Most of our clients have a love or hate relationship with hashtags. Regardless of your feelings, using relevant hashtags is non-negotiable to grow your business account. Hashtags can help you grow your followers, get noticed by your target audience, and attract the right crowd to your Instagram page. Do you want to learn more about expanding your reach with hashtags? Check out this helpful Instagram hashtag guide from Hootsuite.
Instagram is all about creating connections. You want to help your customers, add value to their lives, and present your brand story in a way that encourages the right people to trust you, engage with you, and hire you.
To achieve these goals, you’re going to need to tell a story with every piece of content. You should post consistent, engaging content, and keep it fresh with different types of posts. Planning out a variety of content helps you establish a good relationship with your followers. It also helps them get to know your business, instead of simply pushing your services at them.
Struggling to come up with ideas for Instagram posts? Here are some ideas to help you get your Instagram page off the ground:
Instagram stories aren’t just great for ads. They’re also an authentic way to connect with your customers, even if you’re not selling anything. Some useful tools to boost engagement with Stories include:
When you post helpful content consistently, you’re connecting with users and giving your followers a way to learn more about your business. When you share behind-the-scenes content in your Stories, you give customers an insider look at your business. And when you respond to your followers’ comments, you’re building powerful relationships.
Find a schedule you can maintain and post regularly—whether that’s three times a week or once every Friday morning. Similarly, interact with your followers as often as possible. Ideally, you should be checking your direct messages (DMs) and responding to comments daily.
Of course, putting the time and effort into creating powerful Instagram ads isn’t easy, but going that extra mile can make all the difference for your landscaping business. So, don’t shy away from Instagram. There are countless opportunities for lead generation, business growth, and customer engagement that you’ll only find once you grow your following.
Even if you can’t fit Instagram marketing into your hectic schedule, working with a reliable marketing partner can help you grow your business without sacrificing time away from your family or business. Let us know if you have any questions as you finetune your Instagram marketing strategy and start running different types of ads.
