In this post we are presenting the latest news of IG Ads: how to create an app installs campaign in Instagram Stories Ads in 5 easy steps. We have already tried it and now explaining how to do it step by step. Don’t miss out 🙂

Instagram Stories Ads: How to create an app installs campaign in 5 easy steps

We have already published a few articles in PickASO blog about the importance of embracing Instagram Ads in our User Acquisition strategy for mobile apps or games: “Why Instagram Ads campaigns is a must”. Keeping in mind that 90% of its 700 million users are less than 35 years old, Instagram is just a perfect channel to bring in those elusive Millenials. We have also explained how to create a campaign with an objective “Installs in Instagram Ads”, but now we will take a look at the new placement that IG Ads is offering: Instagram Stories Ads.



Less than a year ago, in August 2016, Facebook decided to confront Snapchat, who had previously rejected an acquisition offer from Facebook a few years ago, and create their own product – Instagram Stories. Facebook wanted to copy Snapchat’s most glamorous features that managed to attract users, above all Millennials. It started first through IG and then expanded to WhatsApp and Facebook itself.

Facebook knew that one of the big reasons Snapchat had managed to snatch a large share of the market was the ephemeral shared content and that Look & Feel in which Emoji and Augmented Reality filters were playing the key part. Just a few months later, Instagram Stories have already surpassed Snapchat in the number of active users:



Source: Statista

Once this has been achieved, Mark Zuckerberg has decided to monetize this new channel, and we already can launch campaigns in Instagram Stories Ads. The campaign objectives that this new placement allows are:

Traffic to a website

Video Views

Reach

Mobile App Installs

The specifications for creatives can be found in this official Instagram Stories Ads Guide.

To choose this new placement we have to create a campaign from Business Manager or Power Editor. The steps to follow are very simple:

1. Select a campaign objective

From the different options offered by Business Manager, choose the marketing objective for our campaign: brand awareness, user engagement, traffic, video views, lead generation, conversions, app installs, etc.

2. Define Target Audience

Now you have to decide to whom you want your ads to be shown. Who is your target audience? Who do you want to reach? Business Manager offers different options of segmentation and you can include different targeting options, like: operating system, geographical location, age, gender, languages, interests, behaviors and connections. Once the segmentation is created, set a daily budget that you are ready to spend for this target group, and create a name for this segment.

NOTE: It is important not to select a very specific segmentation for this type of ads, because the audience that Instagram Stories Ads can reach is still not very clear. In many ways, this data is much more ephemeral compared to other placements, since an active user doesn’t have to enter in Stories section every day.

3. Select Ad Placement

Following the previous steps, now is the time when you should choose the placement for your ad. In the Instagram drop-down menu you can select the Stories option:

4. Pay for Views or Installs

Next thing you have to do it to select the form of payment for your ad: per impression or per app install. We always recommend to choose the payment per impression, even in these new formats, since in the Facebook Ads panel the optimization is always based on installs and the CPI cost. So we are choosing the payments per impression (off course yo can track your installs with our app downloads tracker), and once filled in all the fields of your Facebook Ads campaign for installs, go to the next step.

5. Ad format: image or video

Finally, add the ad format that you want to try: image or video:



After adding it, you have to connect with your Instagram account and it’s ready! When the user swipes up on the Ad, he or she will be redirected to the corresponding app store.

Read more: How to create great Instagram video ads for your app install campaigns by Apptamin

Conclusions: Instagram Stories Ads for app installs

With these 5 easy steps you can create your first Instagram Stories Ads campaign… Easy, right? We have already done our first tests and soon we will share some data!

Are you already doing IG Stories Ads for your app installs? Tell us more about it in the comments!