Follow these steps to create an Instagram Ad through the Ad Manager. The process is straightforward, letting you manage ads across Facebook and Instagram as part of a joined-up marketing approach.
Creating an Instagram Ad Campaign
On the Ad Manager home page, click 'Create Campaign' to start setting up your Meta Ad campaign.
Select Meta as your platform, then click next.
Choose whether to create the campaign from scratch or use an existing template. This guide covers starting from scratch.
Give your campaign a clear, descriptive name.
Objective
The first step in building a Facebook and Instagram Ads campaign is selecting a goal that matches your business objectives. Whether you're aiming for lead generation or website traffic, Ad Manager has you covered. For lead generation, you can integrate Facebook forms, either creating new ones or using existing ones. If you want website traffic, you can send visitors directly to your landing page.
📌 Note: Special considerations apply for campaigns related to employment, housing, credit, politics, and online gaming or gambling.
If your ad falls under a special category, select the appropriate category from the list to comply with local laws and regulations and ensure a smooth review.
Switch to the Ad Set tab.
Setting An Ad Set
Select Your Facebook Page
Choose the Facebook page you want to use for the campaign. Your default Facebook page will be pre-selected, but you can change it if needed.
Choose Your Instagram Account
If your Facebook page is already connected to an Instagram account, that account will be automatically selected for your ad campaign.
Conversion Location
Choose where you want people to submit their details, which determines how and where leads are collected.
Placements
Placements determine where your ads will appear. Choose automatic placements to maximise results across default locations based on your budget, or manual placements to pick specific locations yourself for greater brand safety and control. In the manual placement section, you can see all available placements and choose the ones you want to use. If you select Auto placements, all Instagram options will be selected automatically.
Budget
Set the average amount you want to spend on this campaign by choosing either a daily or lifetime budget. Charges will be billed to the card linked to your Meta Ad account.
Audience
Narrow down your target audience with these controls:
- Geography: Tailor your campaign to specific locations or exclude certain areas within a country or state. Broader targeting can improve performance; for example, targeting an entire country rather than several specific cities can help optimise your reach and results.
- Optional Settings: Further refine your campaign with specific options for interest, gender, language, and age group within the Target Interests section.
You can also select up to 15 lookalike audiences from the dropdown to use as your target audience.
Alternatively, select up to 15 retargeting audiences from the Retargeting dropdown to use as your target audience.
Creating The Ad
Select the form or enter the destination URL you want leads to engage with
Content
Build your ad by adding primary text (recommended 125 characters) and rich media such as images (up to 30MB) or videos (up to 1GB). You can also enable Multi-Advertiser Ads, a format that lets multiple advertisers display their products or services within a single ad space.
Add a CTA Button, such as "Buy Now" from the Select Button dropdown.
Upload a single image or video by selecting the "Single" option within the Media Type section.
The carousel option lets you upload a mix of images and videos to create a more engaging experience for your audience. A headline is required for each piece of media; you'll be alerted if one is missing. Each item has its own separate headline and description.
You can also add a description for each piece of media in the provided field. Keep it to 30 characters or fewer so it stays concise and readable.
When using the carousel, you can reorder uploaded images to match the sequence you want, ensuring they appear in the intended order for your audience.
Each image's details appear on the preview screen. Select an image on the left and it will update in the preview on the right, so you can check and adjust everything before you finalise the ad.
Once everything is set up, click 'Publish' to launch your ad across both Facebook and Instagram.
✍️Important Notes
- Only one Instagram account can be linked to a Facebook page at any one time. To connect a different Instagram account, you'll first need to disconnect the existing one on the Meta platform.
- Connecting or disconnecting an Instagram account from a Facebook page is done directly on the Meta platform. Once that's sorted, come back to Ad Manager to continue your campaign setup with the newly connected Instagram account.