How to Target Audience on Instagram Ads: A Musician's Guide

Kristian Gorenc Z

Oct 17, 2023

In today's hyper-digital age, musicians have a plethora of platforms at their disposal to reach their fans. One such potent platform is Instagram, renowned for its visual appeal and massive user base. If you're a musician looking to make the most of your online presence, it's crucial to understand how to target audience on Instagram ads and to analyze the results for effective decision-making.

In this article, we'll guide you through the nuances of Instagram targeting and demonstrate the power of Viberate's Instagram analytics for artists. Buckle up!

📌 Viberate Analytics: Professional music analytics suite at an unbeatable price: $9.90/mo. Charts, talent discovery tools, plus Spotify, TikTok, and other channel-specific analytics of every artist out there.

The Foundation: Understanding Instagram Targeting

It might come as a surprise to some, but advertising on Instagram operates through the Facebook/Meta Advertising platform. This integration means that while you're advertising on Instagram, you have the extensive tools and targeting options that Facebook provides at your fingertips.

Efficiently Targeting Your Audience

Every musician's ultimate aim is to reach those who appreciate and connect with their music. However, it's not uncommon to find yourself trapped in the endless loop of generic ads that neither you nor your potential fan cares about. Here's where Instagram’s magic happens at the Ad Set level.

When setting up your ad, you're not just deciding on its look and feel but also on who gets to see it. If you've ever found yourself being persistently bombarded with irrelevant ads, you'll understand the importance of efficient targeting. The goal? Ensure your ads reach existing fans and potential fans who might be genuinely interested in your music. In other words, your target audience.

Fine-tuning Your Target Audience

To make your advertising spend more efficient:

·         Demographics: Start by defining the age, gender, language, and interests of your target audience.

·         Specificity: Limit your ads to distinct locations and even specific times of the day.

·         Ad Placements: Decide where you want your ad to appear, be it the newsfeed, right column, stories, etc.

·         Custom Audiences: This is a gem! Target those who've already shown interest in your music or brand.

·         Lookalike Audiences: Based on your custom audience, Instagram can find and target users with similar interests in different markets.

However, a word of caution: Instagram strives to minimize your expenses, but ad location targeting plays a critical role. Due to varied buying power in different countries, most of your budget may be consumed in countries with a lower cost per click, which doesn't always equate to lower cost per conversion. Hence, if you're targeting fans from both Germany and Croatia in the same Ad Set, chances are higher that your German fans might not even see the ad.

Leveraging Viberate's Analytics for Precision Targeting

Understanding your audience is essential. One of the best ways to gain this insight is by analyzing the crowd at your live gigs. But why rely solely on gut feelings when you have data?

With Viberate’s Audience analytics, you can:

➡️ Determine Your Core Audience: By identifying the predominant age bracket, you can narrow down your targeting. For instance, if your primary audience falls between 18–44 years, you might want to focus more on the 20- to 34-year-olds. 

➡️ Gender Specifics: Even if your base leans towards one gender, consider choosing both unless your ad is gender-specific. Delve deeper into interests for refined targeting.

Analyzing Ad Performance with Viberate's Instagram Analytics

The journey doesn't end once your ad is live. As fans start connecting with your music and your fanbase grows, it's essential to understand the impact of your campaign.

With Viberate's analytics, you can:

·         Track the growth of your followers over time.

·         Compare your metrics to the preceding 3 months to gauge the success of your campaign.

·         Monitor engagement growth.

·         Identify which posts resonate most with your target audience.

·         Engage with influential artists who mention you in their posts for increased fanbase and engagement.

And remember, leveraging the demographic insights (city, country, age, gender) of your followers can be invaluable for refining your targeting strategy.

Conclusion

For musicians in this digital age, mastering the art of Instagram advertising and leveraging tools like Facebook ads for musicians is non-negotiable. By understanding your audience, tailoring your ads to their preferences, and continuously analyzing and refining your approach, you can ensure that your music reaches the ears that yearn for it. And with Viberate's Instagram analytics for artists, you have a formidable tool in your arsenal to make this journey smoother and more effective. Happy targeting!