When Instagram was the new kid on the social media block, it looked like it was going to start small and stay small. It quickly started to gain popularity and over the last five years has become one of the most popular social media outlets, with one of the most active and engaged user bases in the whole industry. In just five years’ time, it has managed to eclipse even Twitter, by more than 80 million users. If you’re a company that offers something visual or that offers something that can be made visual, Instagram is full of great marketing opportunities, especially because they have launched an advertising feature that allows you to put your ads in the feeds of anyone, not just those following your account.

But what does a great Instagram advertisement look like? Unlike Facebook that has made a comprehensive guide to how to create effective ads, Instagram (despite being owned by Facebook) is still murky territory for many marketers. Here are some tips to help you create the perfect Instagram advertisement:

1. Connect your Facebook account to your Instagram Account. You can do this by clicking into your settings on your Facebook page. In this menu, you will see a line that says “Instagram Ads.” Click on this line and it will prompt you to connect your Instagram to your Facebook account.

2. Log into your Ads Manager. Do this, again, with your Facebook account.

3. From Ads Manager, download Power Editor. This is a step that many people skip, but one that seriously limits their ability to make effective Instagram ads. You cannot set up an ad in ads manager, without first downloading Power Editor. You will find this download at the top of the ads manager page. Be sure that you are using Google Chrome to do this, as this is the only browser that supports Power Editor.

4. Begin working on your campaign. Once you have Power Editor downloaded, you will see a tab near the top that says Manage Ads. Under this tab, you will see a line that says “Create Campaign.” Click on this option.

5. Decide who you want to reach. Instagram has a number of features that make it easy to decide who you want to reach, what you want them to do, and how you want to do it. Be sure to choose an objective before you start creating your campaign, whether that objective is to attract more visitors to your website, to convince viewers to install your app, or to view a video. You will create a new campaign, and then create an ad set, and then create an ad.

6. Modify your Ad Sets. During this phase, you will decide how much you want to send, when you want your ads to be viewed, who you want to see your ads (who you want to target), and where those ads will be placed. During this phase, you need to select just “Instagram Advertising” and make sure that none of the other options are selected. You can also choose which type of device or devices to send your advertisement to. When deciding how you want to pay for your ads, it is best to choose either to pay per click or pay per impression, depending on what the ultimate goal of the advertisement is.

7. Choose how you want to serve the ads. Now that your ad is complete, you should click on the “Ads” menu and choose which business page you want to use. Be sure that you select the option to “Use the Instagram account connect to the selected Facebook page,” otherwise your ads will not be visible through your Instagram account.

8. Make your ad. Once you have started your campaign and set up the parameters for that campaign, it is time to actually make your ad. You choose an image and choose your caption, up to 300 characters. Make sure, during this process, that you select a picture that accurately reflects what you want to convey to your viewers. The more appropriate your picture is, the more likely your viewers are to actually click through and convert. You can also choose a call to action button for your post, so make sure that you choose one that is appropriate for your picture and for the action you want the viewers to take.

9. Finish up. Once you have uploaded your ad, the next step is to click “Upload Changes.” This will save your ad and send it off for review. After review, if your ad was constructed properly, it will be added into the feeds of Instagram users that are likely to be interested in your product or service.

Internet marketing is all about delivering the right message to the right user, and Instagram provides an excellent avenue for reaching targeted buyers looking for your services. I hope these tips will help get you started in the right direction for your Instagram marketing campaigns.