For brands, Instacart can feel like an uphill battle.  And we hear the same feedback from so many brands about what they aren't getting on the platform, including:

• No true account or customer team to drive volume
• No organizational goals except media metrics
• No ability to determine sales origins or target specific retailers
• No visibility into sales being defensive or truly incremental

But the fact is, Instacart stands out as a critical platform for grocery-related brands and beyond. With 95% household penetration, 85,000 retail locations, and the ability to reach new customers, Instacart offers unique growth opportunities for brands.

Navigating this platform requires strategic approaches to maximize growth and attract new customers. Here are five key strategies to expand your brand on Instacart.

1. Structure Campaigns for Growth

The foundation of a successful Instacart strategy lies in structuring your campaigns for growth. This involves dedicating dollars to various campaign types based on your goals. While search campaigns are lower funnel, they are essential for capturing immediate purchase intent. To attract new customers, you must move beyond just Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) metrics and incorporate keywords that target new-to-brand (NTB) growth. 

Pro Tip: Instacart will add keywords to your campaigns that you may or may not want or that don’t fit your set-up. Leverage automated rules within Skai to flag when new keywords are added and reduce bids until you can review and adjust manually. Read more about BOLD's keyword strategy.

2. Look Beyond ROAS for Growth KPIs

Focusing solely on the highest ROAS can be counterproductive. Incrementality, while not available in real-time, is a crucial growth indicator. Instacart’s NTB metrics can help gauge your campaign’s effectiveness in attracting new customers. Monitor diagnostic metrics like click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and impressions to ensure your campaigns perform as expected.

Pro Tip: New to brand metrics only means NTB on the Instacart platform and not across all retailers. When pushing for growth, look at Market Share within your category to ensure dollars are effectively winning market share.

3. Utilize Optimized Bidding When Needed

If you lack the resources for detailed manual campaign setups, Instacart’s optimized bidding options can be a valuable tool. You can target new customers effectively by selecting "Acquire" as your goal. This approach is particularly beneficial when launching new products or if you're new to Instacart advertising.

Pro Tip: The Optimize Bidding option gives control to machines, so use with caution. If resources are available to build, maintain, and optimize strategic manual campaigns, this gives you the most insight and control. 

4. Combine Media Tactics for Compounded Growth

Stacking different media tactics ensures a comprehensive approach to reaching customers. Using both search and display ads lets you capture immediate purchase intent while building brand awareness. Combining these tactics can significantly increase conversions and overall campaign effectiveness.

Pro Tip: Use shoppable display to reinforce conversion with behavioral traditional display for awareness. To increase awareness, use Shoppable Video to stop thumbs from scrolling and tell a brand/product story.

5. Accelerate Trial with Coupons

Coupons are a powerful tool for driving trial and attracting new customers. Promotions like "Buy X units, get $X off" or "Spend $X and get $X off" can incentivize purchases and encourage customers to try your products.

Pro Tip: To drive awareness of coupons, increase search bids to win sponsored product auctions, and leverage behavioral targeting in display in the category and high-affinity adjacent categories. Use shoppable display to drive frictionless purchase and take up more real estate on highly competitive keywords. 

Bonus Tip: Reach at Scale via Offsite Advertising

Once you have maximized your onsite advertising efforts, consider expanding your reach with offsite advertising. Leveraging Instacart’s first-party data, you can target relevant audiences on platforms like The Trade Desk, Roku, Meta, and Google. This approach helps drive awareness and brings shoppers back to Instacart to complete their purchases.

Pro Tip: Don’t expect the same results from offsite as from onsite. Offsite drives awareness, so have on-site advertising running to capture the shopper when they come back to the site, search, or are ready to buy. 

Expanding your brand on Instacart requires a strategic approach that goes beyond traditional metrics like ROAS. By structuring your campaigns for growth, focusing on NTB metrics, utilizing optimized bidding, combining media tactics, and leveraging coupons, you can effectively attract new customers and grow your brand on this dynamic platform. Remember to continuously test, learn, and adapt your strategies to stay ahead in the competitive e-commerce landscape.

Ready to get growing on Instacart?  Request a free audit of your current ad strategy.