Understanding Instagram Demographics by Industry: Know How to Target Users the Right Way

Instagram is one of the most potentially profitable and effective marketing platforms any brand can use to expand brand awareness quickly. In all likelihood, there are millions of people on Instagram right now who might be perfect users for your product or service.But the trick lies in targeting those users out of the over 1 million monthly active users on Instagram. After all, a generic ad campaign won’t draw attention to your brand and won’t get the people closest to converting into paying customers into your sales funnel at all.With all this in mind, let’s take a closer look at how you can understand Instagram demographics in detail, as well as how you can leverage that information to target your ideal consumers with your ads most efficiently.

The Differing Demographics of Instagram

Instagram has over 1 billion mobile users worldwide. Instagram’s user base can be categorized into several valuable demographics. The trouble for businesses looking to create converting ads for their Instagram marketing efforts is determining which demographics to target.In terms of age demographics, users between the ages of 25 and 34 are the largest potential advertising audience on this platform. Additionally, men outnumber women in the 24-35 age bracket, whereas women outnumber men in every other age bracket.However, 67% of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. It’s important to dive deep into the demographic data available to determine and develop your target audience as accurately as possible.

Key Demographics You May or May Not Target

For most companies, the demographics you’ll want to focus most on are age, gender, and interest. Most people use social media platforms like Instagram specifically to develop their interests and find products relating to those interests.Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular interests on Instagram include travel, music, and food and drink at 45%, 44%, and 43%, respectively. The next most popular interests include technology, film, fashion, beauty, and parenting.Therefore, one of the best ways to start developing your marketing campaign is to determine which demographic interest group your company or products fall into. For example, if your company offers a software solution for people who work from their home offices, the technology interest demographic is right up your alley.On the flip side, if you sell makeup to women between the ages of 45 and 56, then you can simply target users whose primary interest is in fashion or cosmetics and who fall within the appropriate age group.Sex is the same way. Even with today's more egalitarian society, many interests and activities are still heavily sex-segregated. Additionally, your marketing efforts might be more successful with one gender or the other, depending on how segregated your industry normally is. A good example is car maintenance or accessories, which is usually a male-coded industry. On the other hand, makeup, as in the earlier example, is usually female-coded.The bottom line is this: look into the available demographics Instagram has to offer carefully and determine which demographics most align with your company’s hypothetical target audience. You can then start specifically targeting users on a histogram.

Targeting Users on Instagram

How exactly do you target your ideal audience using the Instagram platform? There are two primary methods: using specific Instagram controls or tailoring your profile and ads to draw your target audience to your company naturally.

General Strategies/Ad-Based Methods

Let’s take a closer look at some of the more general methods you can use before diving into Instagram’s controls.Create a Business Page Tailored to Your Target UsersFor starters, make sure you have a high-quality business page that is specifically tailored to your target audiences’ interests or needs. This is common sense to some extent.For example, if you have a company selling gadgets to tech-savvy college students, your business profile should be aesthetically linked to that idea. You should have a slick, cool landing page, excellent photos of your business or its products, and concise but explanatory text that can help explain what your brand is about and how you can help anyone who lands on your landing page with their needs.Create Relevant ContentYour business page, and the rest of your Instagram content, should be relevant to your target audience’s interests. This holds true no matter which type of content you plan to create on Instagram, including image-based ads, video ads, or lengthier marketing stories.Video advertisements can be particularly helpful for brands looking to convert lots of their target audience members on Instagram in the near future. The right video advertisement, crafted with attention to detail, excellent imagery, and charismatic messaging can show your brand in the best light can do wonders for your Instagram marketing campaign.Since all the content you create has to be high-quality and relevant, you’ll likely want to partner with advertising firms or companies that can help create the content necessary for success. VisCap Media is one example: we’re a company that can craft video ads for Instagram, Facebook, or any other platform exactly as you need them.If you create relevant content for your ads, your target audience will see the ads and be drawn to your business page. Research Competitors and AdaptAt the same time, you should regularly research any direct competitors in your niche or industry and see how they are trying to draw your shared target audience to their landing pages or conversion funnels.By researching your competitors, you can take the best ideas from their marketing campaigns and integrate them into your own. In this way, you’ll adapt to shifting market challenges and be able to retain your core audience after drawing them in for the first time.Remember, it’s usually cheaper in the long run to retain an existing customer than it is to get a new customer from scratch.

Instagram Controls

You will also be able to target certain users on Instagram through dedicated controls in addition to making your Instagram profile as attractive as possible.Core TargetingInstagram’s core targeting options are generalized but easy to use. They allow you to target specific people based on attributes like their demographic information, behaviors, interest, and location. As a result, these tools are best used before your demographic research is complete and you can’t narrow down your target audience to a more specific template quite yet.These controls can be used whenever you create an ad campaign for Instagram through the Facebook Ad Manager. In a nutshell, it just informs the Instagram algorithm to show your ads more often to people in the demographics you select.Custom Audience TargetingThings are more complex and more effective with custom audience targeting options. These let you specifically target people for your ads if you already have their details.Simply upload a list of cell phone numbers or emails to Facebook’s Ad Manager. This information will be matched against the platforms’ user databases. You can then target specific users over and over, helping to make sure that your ads reach the people most likely to convert into paying customers time and time again.Lookalike TargetingInstagram also has a third targeting option called lookalike audience targeting. These help you target customers that are similar to those you have already loaded on Facebook’s database. They can help you expand your target audience and paying customer list, drawing in new users or buyers based on similar interests or other demographic information.These controls, along with the other two sets of controls, can all be managed through the Facebook Ad Manager. Combined, these specific Instagram targeting controls will help you to reach the people most likely to convert into paying customers.

Summary

Ultimately, you should use both approaches – the controls on Facebook Ad Manager and crafting your profile/content to be as attractive and relevant as possible – in order to effectively target your ideal audience or customers. Both approaches are necessary for you to reach as many people as possible and make as much of a profit as you can.Fortunately, you can contact video marketing experts like VisCap Media for more information, both for planning an effective Instagram video ad marketing campaign and creating high-quality, relevant video ads. Check out our portfolio to see what we’ve already done and to get an idea of what we might be able to do for you!SourcesInstagram monthly active users | StatisaInstagram Demographics in 2021: Important User Stats for Marketers | HootsuiteWhy Demographics Matter to Small Business Marketing | businessnewsdaily.com