Since launching performance-based solutions eight months ago—like mobile app installs and website conversion link ads—advertisers are seeing success driving action with ads. In fact, 58% of online sales campaigns like USTRAA saw a significant lift in online conversions, 78% of mobile app install campaigns like Fablic saw a significant lift in installs, and 71% of Instagram performance campaigns like Too Faced saw a significant lift in action.¹ The success businesses are seeing with these objectives is exciting. To help businesses drive even more action from consumers, we researched best practices for performance-based ads on Instagram. And here’s what we found.

While Instagram is a leader in mobile reach and time spent, people behave differently on mobile. Consumers shop across multiple devices, often discovering products on one and making a purchase on another. In this mobile world, Instagram is a key place for discovery. But more than discovery, in a survey of Instagram users, we found that 75% of people take action after being inspired by a post on Instagram.² Because of Instagram’s mobile-only advertising experience, it’s crucial to set up your direct response campaigns in the right way.

When setting up a campaign to drive action on Instagram—like app installs, clicks or conversions to a website or new dynamic ads—it’s important to target your ads more broadly, bid the true value of your ads, think mobile, track consumers’ paths to conversion and use creative that inspires action.

1. Target broadly: To make sure your ad is reaching the right people, start targeting your campaigns to a broader audience. Then, as you get a better sense of who’s responding best, you can refine your targeting approach over time.

2. Bid for conversion: If your goal is to drive action on a website, bid for website conversions instead of website clicks. Since people shop and convert across a variety of devices, the website conversion objective delivers ads to people who may convert on mobile or on other devices.

3. Think mobile: When running a performance-based campaign on Instagram, adding the Pixel on your landing page or the SDK on your app is critical in maximizing the benefits of the campaign. With the Pixel and SDK, you can automatically track how many customers access and convert on your website or app from your ad. And remember, if you’re taking people to another site from Instagram, make sure your landing page is optimized for mobile.

4. Track the path to purchase: Since Instagram ads are mobile only, and people shop and ultimately convert across multiple devices, visibility into conversions on other devices is important. Make sure you review cross device actions in ads reporting to see the value Instagram is creating.

5. Inspire action: When creating your ads, provide information about your products or services. Your photos and videos should also represent your brand, so add in a nod or visual link to your business’ personality. You can encourage people to take the action you want by adding in a specific call to action button that aligns to your objective.

6. Keep placement in mind: If you want to run a campaign across both Instagram and Facebook, it’s best for advertisers who care about efficiency over delivery. If you’re trying to get predictable delivery on Instagram, then you should run the campaigns separately.

Whether you’re running mobile app installs, clicks or conversions to a website or new dynamic ads, keep these best practices in mind to drive even more action with your campaigns.