Social media marketing
Instagram advertising runs through Meta Business Manager (the same as Facebook), but the creative is different: more visual, younger, more video-weighted. Let us go through what a small business should know.
In brief
- Instagram advertising is bought through Meta.
- Reels is the most important format.
- The audience is younger than on Facebook.
- Visual quality decides.
Ad formats
- Feed — a traditional post (1:1 or 4:5). Suits everything.
- Stories — 9:16 vertical, 15 s. Reaches broadly.
- Reels: 9:16 vertical, 15–60 s. The trending format.
- Explore: very good for discovery.
- Carousel — 2–10 images. Suits products and instruction.
Which businesses does it suit?
- Fashion and beauty: excellent
- Food and restaurants: excellent
- Travel and wellbeing — good
- Online stores (B2C): good
- B2B services: weak
The creative
Instagram favours genuine, authentic content. Studio-style, over-polished content performs worse.
- UGC style (a user-generated feel) works best
- Human faces stop the eye
- Music plus a text overlay in Reels
- Trending sounds increase organic visibility
A realistic budget
- Test budget — €400–800/month of media
- Established advertising — €1,000–2,500/month of media
- A large brand: €3,000+/month of media
Frequently asked questions
Instagram only or Facebook too?
Meta’s algorithm splits the budget automatically. In practice choose “Advantage+ Placements” and let it decide.
Does Instagram work for B2B?
Only to a limited extent. LinkedIn is better for B2B advertising.
How much Reels versus Feed?
80 % Reels-focused content, 20 % traditional. Reels is where the emphasis sits.
Related reading
External sources:
Happy to help
Book a free 30-minute assessment. We work out what your business should do next.
Related articles
Social media marketing
Meta ad creative: making ads that stop the scroll
The most important variable in Meta advertising is not the targeting but the creative. Same audience, two different images: one makes 4× the sales.…
2 min
Social media marketing
Meta Advantage+ Shopping: Meta’s answer to Performance Max
Meta Advantage+ Shopping is Meta’s answer to Google’s Performance Max. In practice it is one “campaign” that decides for itself which audiences see the…
2 min
Social media marketing
X advertising (formerly Twitter) for business: does it still make sense?
X (formerly Twitter) has lost a lot of users since 2023. Does advertising there still make sense? Let us go through the realistic state…
2 min
Get in touch
Shall we take the first step together?
Tell us briefly where you stand. We reply the same working day, usually within a couple of hours.
- A free 30-minute call, no strings attached
- You get a concrete view of where you stand
- We say plainly if we are not the right fit
- Phone+358 50 469 0039
- Emailmisa@purodigital.fi