Did you know that ads on Instagram can reach a staggering 1.65 billion people globally?
This represents a 25.3% year-over-year increase, making Instagram one of the most powerful advertising platforms available today. Surprisingly, despite this massive reach, Instagram ads can be remarkably affordable – starting at just $5 per day, well within budget for most local businesses.
For local business owners like us, learning how to run Instagram ads without hiring expensive agencies makes perfect sense. In fact, Instagram’s robust targeting options allow you to select specific geographic regions and interests, significantly reducing wasted advertising spend. Additionally, the platform’s 2 billion monthly active users include a financially robust audience – 47% of Instagram users report household incomes exceeding $75,000.
Whether you’re wondering how to advertise on Instagram for the first time or looking to improve your existing campaigns, this guide will walk you through the entire process. We’ll cover everything from setting up your instagram ads manager account to selecting the right types of instagram ads for your specific goals. Furthermore, we’ll explain how to create ads on Instagram that resonate with your local audience and deliver measurable results.
But we won’t stop there – we’ll also show you how to implement the same cost-effective approach on Google, giving you a complete toolkit for running successful local advertising campaigns without agency fees.
How to Set Up Local Ads on Instagram Without an Agency
Running local ads on Instagram without external help is more straightforward than you might think. Let me walk you through the essential steps to get your first campaign up and running.
1. Switch to a business account
Before running any ads on Instagram, you must convert your regular profile to a professional account. This unlocks access to Instagram’s advertising features and analytics tools. Fortunately, you can either create a new Instagram account specifically for business purposes or convert your existing personal account to a business one. This conversion process takes just a few minutes and immediately gives you access to valuable advertising tools.
2. Choose between boosting and Ads Manager
Once your business account is set up, you’ll have two primary options for creating ads on Instagram:
Boosting posts: This is the simplest approach, allowing you to promote existing content directly from your profile with just a few taps. While easier, boosted posts have fewer customization options and primarily focus on engagement, awareness, or website clicks.
Meta Ads Manager: For more advanced campaigns, this tool offers comprehensive control over your advertising. Unlike boosting, Ads Manager lets you optimize for specific objectives like app installs, video views, shop orders, and website conversions. Moreover, it provides additional placement options beyond just Instagram feeds and stories.
3. Set your local targeting manually
Instagram’s targeting capabilities are particularly powerful for local businesses. When setting up your campaign, navigate to the location targeting section where you can specify:
- Geographic areas (country, state, city, postal code, or even specific addresses)
- Demographics (age, gender)
- Interests and behaviors relevant to your business
For local campaigns, combine precise location targeting with interest-based targeting to reach potential customers in your service area who are likely to be interested in your offerings.
Image Source: Facebook.com
4. Pick the right ad format for your goal
Instagram offers several ad formats, each suited to different business objectives:
- Image ads: Simple single-image format, ideal for showcasing products clearly
- Video ads: Generate up to 612% more engagement than image ads
- Story ads: Full-screen vertical format that appears between users’ stories
- Carousel ads: Allow users to swipe through multiple images or videos
- Collection ads: Combine primary image/video with smaller product images below
Choose your format based on what you’re promoting and your specific campaign goals.
How to Run Local Ads on Google Without an Agency
Image Source: eWay Corp
Google Ads offers powerful tools for local businesses seeking to connect with nearby customers. Setting up these ads yourself is straightforward if you follow these key steps.
1. Create a Google Ads account
Getting started with Google Ads requires a simple three-step process. First, visit the Google Ads website and click “Start Now.” Subsequently, you’ll need to provide your business information including name and website URL. This pre-filling helps Google tailor the signup process to your specific needs. Finally, set up your billing information by selecting your country, entering payment details, and confirming your account type (organization or individual). Google occasionally offers promotional credits for new advertisers to help offset your initial advertising costs.
2. Set up a local campaign type
Once your account is active, you’ll need to choose the right campaign type. For local businesses, Google’s Local Services Ads or Performance Max campaigns with local objectives work best. These specialized formats allow your business to appear prominently when users search for nearby services. Local ads can display across Google Search and Maps, making them ideal for driving foot traffic or local calls. Essentially, these campaigns connect your business with customers already searching for your services in your area.
3. Define your service area and audience
Precise targeting is crucial for local advertising success. When configuring your campaign, you’ll need to specify:
- Your business locations or service areas
- Operating hours
- Services offered
- Geographic targeting parameters
Google automatically creates targeting radiuses based on your location settings. This ensures your ads appear only to relevant local audiences searching for your services, ultimately maximizing your advertising budget efficiency.
4. Write compelling local ad copy
Effective ad copy makes the difference between wasted clicks and valuable leads. Rather than using generic sales language, focus on specific benefits relevant to local customers. Include location-specific keywords and highlight what makes your local business unique. Your headlines should clearly state what your business offers, while descriptions should provide supporting details about your services. Consequently, your call-to-action should be clear and benefit-oriented – such as “Book Today” or “Get a Free Quote” instead of vague phrases. Remember that mobile optimization is particularly important for local searches.
Tips to Optimize Your Local Ads for Better Results
Once you’ve established your local ads on both platforms, optimizing them is where you’ll see real performance gains. Let me share proven strategies to maximize your ad effectiveness.
1. Use location-specific keywords
Incorporating location-specific terms dramatically improves your ad relevance. More than half of Google searches have local intent, making geographic keywords crucial for visibility. When creating ads, include city names, neighborhoods, or regional terms alongside your service keywords. For Google Ads, try using location insertion which automatically customizes headlines like “San Francisco Hotels” or “Palo Alto Plumbers On Demand” based on user location. This approach provides two benefits: targeting the right search intent and filtering invalid clicks which helps save costs.
2. Track performance with UTM and Pixel
UTM tracking is one of the most important aspects of a successful campaign. These parameters act like radar for your web traffic, helping you understand exactly where conversions come from. Implement UTM parameters using this format:
- utm_source=platform_name
- utm_medium=Discovery
- utm_campaign=your_campaign_name
- utm_content=ad_title
Check your UTMs regularly and minimize redirects as they can cause certain parameters to drop, affecting your attribution data. Combine this with tracking pixels to create a complete picture of your customer journey.
3. A/B test different creatives
A/B testing remains a powerful tool for optimizing ad creative. Test different elements like headlines, images, or calls-to-action with specific hypotheses about what will drive higher conversion. For instance, adding testimonials to a sales landing page increased conversions by 13% in one case study. Start with a personalized, branded ad and gradually alter variables from there to determine what resonates most with your audience.
4. Adjust budget based on ROI
Regularly review your advertising budget to ensure it aligns with performance. Identify underperforming campaigns by analyzing metrics like click-through rates and conversion rates, then swiftly adjust budgets away from less effective campaigns. Local Service Ads often achieve 10X the ROI compared to conventional lead flows, hence monitoring these metrics helps allocate resources more effectively.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Running Local Ads
Even savvy marketers make critical mistakes when setting up local advertising campaigns. Avoiding these common pitfalls will save you time and money while boosting your advertising effectiveness.
1. Using automatic targeting without review
Automatic targeting seems convenient but comes with significant drawbacks. Without manual review, your ads may appear in irrelevant locations, leading to wasted ad spend. Unfortunately, AI-driven audience targeting amplifies whatever strategy you feed into it—if your targeting lacks proper relevance or compelling messaging, automation will only magnify these weaknesses.
With automatic campaigns, you sacrifice control over your bids, meaning you’ll bid equally for high-converting and zero-converting keywords. This lack of oversight ultimately raises your advertising costs as the system cannot distinguish between valuable and worthless placements. Instead, take time to manually review targeting parameters and regularly analyze performance metrics.
2. Ignoring mobile optimization
Mobile optimization isn’t optional—it’s mandatory for local advertising success. Approximately 88% of consumers who conduct local searches on their smartphones visit or call a store within a day. Without mobile-friendly ads and landing pages, users quickly abandon your content and bounce to competitors.
For local businesses, mobile optimization coupled with local SEO makes your business visible when customers search for services in your area. To improve mobile performance, ensure you compress file sizes, optimize server response time, and create touch-friendly navigation elements that don’t interfere with scrolling.
3. Not setting a clear goal for each ad
Launching ads without measurable goals is like taking a road trip without a destination. Prior to creating any campaign, determine what success looks like by establishing clear, measurable objectives. Without well-structured goals, you can’t gage whether your campaigns perform as expected or optimize budget allocation.
Setting SMART goals ensures your advertising aligns with business objectives and provides a foundation for measuring success. Your goals should inspire action so your team knows exactly where to focus efforts. After setting objectives, implement proper tracking through Google Tag Manager and review performance metrics daily for all active campaigns.
Conclusion
Running local ads on Instagram and Google without hiring an agency is certainly achievable for any local business owner. Throughout this guide, we’ve explored essential strategies that can save you thousands in agency fees while still delivering impressive results.
First and foremost, the setup process on both platforms follows a logical progression – from creating business accounts to defining your local service areas and crafting compelling ad copy. Additionally, the targeting capabilities allow you to reach potential customers precisely where they are, whether through Instagram’s 2 billion monthly active users or Google’s powerful local search features.
Undoubtedly, the optimization techniques we discussed represent the difference between wasted ad spend and profitable campaigns. Location-specific keywords, proper tracking implementation, strategic A/B testing, and ROI-based budget adjustments form the foundation of successful local advertising. Meanwhile, avoiding common pitfalls like blind reliance on automatic targeting, neglecting mobile optimization, or running ads without clear goals will preserve your marketing budget.
Remember that effective local advertising isn’t about spending more – it’s about spending smarter. By taking control of your own advertising efforts, you gain valuable insights into what resonates with your local audience. This hands-on approach not only saves money but also builds your marketing expertise over time. Start small, test thoroughly, track meticulously, and adjust accordingly. Before long, you’ll be running sophisticated local ad campaigns that drive real business results without the agency price tag.
FAQs
Q1. Can I run local ads on Instagram and Google without hiring an agency?
Yes, you can run local ads on both platforms without an agency. By following step-by-step guides and best practices, small business owners can set up and manage their own ad campaigns effectively, saving on agency fees while still achieving good results.
Q2. What are the key steps to set up local ads on Instagram?
To set up local ads on Instagram, switch to a business account, choose between boosting posts or using Ads Manager, set your local targeting manually, and pick the right ad format for your goal. These steps will help you create targeted campaigns for your local audience.
Q3. How can I optimize my local Google Ads for better performance?
To optimize your local Google Ads, use location-specific keywords, implement proper tracking with UTM parameters and pixels, conduct A/B tests on different ad creatives, and adjust your budget based on ROI. These strategies will help improve your ad relevance and effectiveness.
Q4. What are some common mistakes to avoid when running local ads?
Common mistakes to avoid include relying too heavily on automatic targeting without review, ignoring mobile optimization, and not setting clear goals for each ad campaign. By being aware of these pitfalls, you can create more effective local advertising campaigns.
Q5. How much does it cost to start advertising on Instagram?
Instagram ads can be surprisingly affordable, with campaigns starting at just $5 per day. This low entry point makes it accessible for most local businesses to begin advertising on the platform, allowing them to reach a potentially large audience without a significant upfront investment.