Solved: Advice on Creating Instagram Reels for a SaaS Product

Hi there,

Really happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on improving your Instagram ads for your SaaS product. It's great you're seeing some traction - boosting content with paid ads is a cracking way to scale that up. I’ll give you a rundown of my thoughts and some actionable strategies you can apply straight away.

We'll need to look at what Content Works...

You’re right about Reels - they're absolutely massive on Instagram at the minute, especially for visually-driven platforms. For SaaS, it might seem a bit tricky to make engaging Reel content, but with a bit of creativity, it can be a real goldmine. The key is to avoid just regurgitating your website content. People on Instagram are looking for entertainment and quick value, not a sales pitch. What I'd say you should focus on is identifying the pain points that your SaaS solves. Think about the everyday struggles your users face, and then create short, relatable, and ideally funny skits around those problems. Think less 'here's what our software does' and more 'we understand your frustrations'.

For example, consider focusing on relatable scenarios within your Reels. Instead of directly showcasing features, try highlighting common frustrations your target audience experiences and subtly position your SaaS as the solution. The trick is making it natural and not too 'salesy'.

I'd say you probably should test your CTA's

Another thing you can test out is your calls to action. "Sign up now!" can feel a bit too aggressive on Instagram, especially for a cold audience. We've found that softer CTAs like "Learn More" or "See How It Works" often perform better initially. They invite curiosity without demanding commitment straight away. Once people are on your landing page, you can then gently guide them towards signing up. It's about building trust and interest first.

This is something we have to carefully consider for all the different ad campaigns we are running for our clients. I remember one client, a B2B software company, where we managed to get 4,622 registrations at a $2.38 cost per registration using Meta Ads.

You probably should look at your targeting

Make sure you are targeting the correct audience. Start off by thinking who your ideal customer is. If you are able to reach them organically on Instagram, then it is most likely the place to advertise your product. But it is still important to analyse the results you are getting and what is working and what isn't.

I recommend to target a wide audience as well as a narrow one to compare. It is important not to be to narrow on your targeting as you may risk missing out on potential customers who wouldn't normally look for your product. I usually recommend testing a broad audience and then compare with a very specific one to see which one works better for your product.

You'll need to test your ads

The key here is to create multiple different ads to test at the same time. Test multiple different angles, CTA's and targeting to see which ones work. Make sure you only test one thing at a time as you need to know what is working and what isn't. E.g. if you test an ad which has a new angle and a new CTA you wont know which one is working. This will improve your ads greatly when you know what is working, and you can then scale.

Here I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

Paid advertising is a proper tricky beast to master, though, and what works for one SaaS company might not work for another. If you're finding it a bit overwhelming or you want to make sure you're not wasting your ad budget on strategies that won't deliver, it might be worth getting some expert eyes on your campaigns. We offer a free initial consultation where we review your current strategy and account together. It's a good chance to get a feel for our expertise and whether we'd be a good fit to help you scale things up properly.

Hope this gives you a few ideas to get started. Good luck!