Looking for new and better ways to reach a younger market? On September 30th, Instagram announced that it has opened its platform to all marketers. Instagram has over 400 million users and half of them use the website daily. The number of young users alone is one of the many reasons to dive into advertising on this social network. In addition to that, new advertising channels are often more cost effective, as it takes time for agencies and marketers to “catch on”. According to Pew Research Center, “56% of online adults ages 18-29 use Instagram.”

If you’re trying to get in front of a younger market, Instagram advertising would make for a great test. If you are thinking about advertising on Instagram, consider the three different ad formats available: image, video, and carousel. Each platform has its own advantages and if used correctly and creatively, this media builds your brand and in the case of an immediate interest or need, your website is just a click away. With Instagram’s video advertising, you can show a 30 second video of your product or service. Carousel marketing enables users to swipe through multiple pictures, which is particularly useful for marketing products where images are important.

What interactive marketing effort would be complete without good click through performance? Up until recently, Instagram only had the option for the user to “Like” and “Comment” on a post. Along with these new advertising options, Instagram has enabled “call to action” buttons which when clicked, send users to your website.

Instagram has come up to speed with other social media networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn who also offer paid advertising with profile-based targeting. Instagram offers advertisers the ability to target based on information in user profiles including: connections, interests, gender, age and location. If your target consumer is a 20-year-old male in Connecticut who likes sports, you can utilize Instagram targeting to reach those users with an ad. Overall, Instagram’s new ad features give your business the ability to reach hundreds of consumers in a very specific way. As with any new campaign, make sure to use analytics to test performance by instagram channel and campaign and refine your results accordingly to increase performance and cost-effectiveness over time.