How to Set Up Instagram Ads

Setting up your first Instagram ad can feel intimidating, but you don't need a massive budget or a marketing degree to get real results. This guide will walk you through setting up high-performing Instagram ads step-by-step, from connecting your accounts to creating ad creative that stops the scroll. We’ll show you exactly how to find your target audience and get your brand in front of the people who matter most.

Before You Begin: The Foundational Setup

There are two non-negotiable prerequisites before you can run ads on Instagram. Getting these sorted out first will save you a lot of headaches later.

1. Connect Your Instagram Account to a Facebook Page

Since Meta owns both Facebook and Instagram, its advertising platform is unified. You must have an Instagram professional account (either Business or Creator) and connect it to a Facebook Business Page. Do not skip this step thinking you can manage everything from the Instagram app, you need this connection to unlock the full power of Ads Manager.

• Log in to your Facebook profile and navigate to the Facebook Page you want to connect.
• Go to Settings >, Linked Accounts.
• Select Instagram and click Connect Account.
• Follow the on-screen prompts to log in to your Instagram account and authorize the connection.

2. Set Up a Meta Business Account (or Business Manager)

Think of Meta Business Suite (formerly Facebook Business Manager) as your mission control for all things advertising and business-related. It's a central hub where you manage your ad accounts, pages, pixels, and payment methods. If you’re serious about advertising, you need one.

You can set one up for free at business.facebook.com. The process is straightforward and involves creating your Business Account, adding your Facebook Page and Instagram Account, and creating (or adding) an ad account to manage your campaigns and billing.

Option 1: Promoting a Post from the Instagram App

The simplest way to start advertising is by tapping the “Promote” (or "Boost Post") button on an existing Instagram post. This method is fast and accessible, making it great for beginners who want to dip their toes in the water without getting overwhelmed by options.

When to Use the "Promote" Button

The "Promote" button is best for straightforward goals. You’ve posted a Reel that’s getting great organic traction, and you want to show it to more people like your followers. Or you have a beautiful photo of your product and want to send people to your profile or website. It’s perfect for these goals:

• Driving Profile Visits: Great for growing your follower base with people who are interested in your content.
• Increasing Website Clicks: Good for sending traffic to a blog post, a landing page, or your homepage.
• Generating More Messages: Useful for service-based businesses who want to start conversations directly in their DMs.

The Limitations of Promoting a Post

While easy, this method lacks the detailed targeting and optimization features of the full Ads Manager. Your targeting options are limited to some basic interests and demographic filters, and you can’t fully customize ad placements or campaign objectives. It's a great starting point, but eventually, you'll want more control.

Option 2: Creating a Campaign in Meta Ads Manager

Meta Ads Manager is the professional-grade tool where serious advertising happens. It gives you complete control over every aspect of your campaign, from sophisticated audience targeting to creative formats and optimization strategies. While it looks complex at first, it follows a logical three-level structure: Campaigns, Ad Sets, and Ads.

Step 1: Choose Your Campaign Objective

The first thing you'll do is create a new campaign and choose its objective. This is you telling Meta what you want to achieve. Don't gloss over this step, choosing the right objective trains Meta's algorithm to find people most likely to take your desired action.

Here are the primary objectives relevant to most businesses:

• Awareness: The goal here is to show your ad to the maximum number of people in your target audience. Use this when you want to build brand recognition or announce something new. Your success metric is Reach or Impressions.
• Traffic: You want to send people off of Instagram to a specific destination, like your website, blog, or online store. Success is measured in Link Clicks.
• Engagement: This objective aims to get more people to see and interact with your post or page. Meta will show your ad to people who are likely to like, comment, share, or watch your video for longer periods.
• Leads: Perfect for collecting customer information. You can use formats like Instant Forms (which auto-populate a user's contact info) or send them to a landing page to sign up.
• Sales: This is a powerful, conversion-focused objective. Meta uses its user data to find people who are most likely to make a purchase on your website. This is what most e-commerce brands use. This requires you have the Meta Pixel installed on your website to track purchases.

Step 2: Define Your Audience and Placements (Ad Set Level)

At the Ad Set level, you decide who sees your ad, where they see it, and how much you want to spend. This is arguably the most important stage.

Defining Your Audience

This is where you can go from targeting everyone to targeting the exact people who need your product.

• Location: Target people by country, state, city, metropolitan area, or even a specific zip code.
• Demographics: Refine your audience by age, gender, and language. Be thoughtful here - don't just guess who your ideal customer is.
• Detailed Targeting (Interests &, Behaviors): This is the core of audience targeting. You can target people based on the pages they like, the hobbies they’ve expressed interest in (e.g., “Yoga,” “Vegan cooking,” “Hiking”), or their behaviors (e.g., “Engaged Shoppers,” “Small Business Owners,” “Frequent Travelers”). Get creative and think about what your ideal customer cares about.

Advanced Audience Options

Once you get comfortable, you can move onto even more powerful audience types:

• Custom Audiences: These are audiences made up of people who have already interacted with your business. You can create a custom audience from website visitors (requires the Meta Pixel), people who have engaged with your Instagram profile, or by uploading a customer email list. These are "warm" audiences and often convert very well.
• Lookalike Audiences: After creating a custom audience, you can ask Meta to build a "lookalike" audience. It analyzes the characteristics of your source audience (like your best customers) and finds new people who share similar traits. This is an incredible tool for scaling your ads and finding new customers.

Choosing Your Placements

Placements refer to where your ad will appear across Meta’s family of apps. This includes the Instagram Feed, Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, the Explore page, and more.

• Advantage+ Placements (Recommended for Beginners): This is the default setting where you let Meta automatically show your ads in the placements most likely to get you the best results for your objective. In most cases, this is the best option to start with.
• Manual Placements: If you have an ad creative designed *only* for one format (like a vertical video for Stories), you may want to manually select your placements here. This gives you more control but can limit your reach if your audience isn't active on the placements you choose.

Setting Your Budget &, Schedule

You have full control over how much you spend and when. You can choose between two main budget types:

• Daily Budget: You set an average amount you're willing to spend each day. Your actual daily spend may fluctuate slightly, but it will average out over time. This is great for ongoing campaigns that are always running.
• Lifetime Budget: You set a total amount to spend for the entire duration of the campaign (e.g., $150 over 10 days). Meta will then pace your spending accordingly. This is ideal for campaigns with a specific end date, like a promotion or a holiday sale.

Step 3: Build Your Ad (The Creative)

This is the fun part. Under the Ad level, you design the actual ad people will see. Your creative and copy are what will ultimately make someone stop scrolling and pay attention.

Here are some best practices for Instagram ad creative:

• Use high-quality media: Blurry photos or low-resolution videos look unprofessional and get ignored. Use crisp, clean visuals that catch the eye.
• Match the format to the placement: Use vertical video/images (9:16 aspect ratio) for Stories and Reels. Use square (1:1) or vertical (4:5) for the Feed. An ad that looks native to the placement performs best.
• Lead with a "hook" in videos: The first three seconds are everything. Grab a viewer's attention instantly with motion, an interesting question, or a surprising visual.
• Show, don't just tell: Instead of listing product features, show your product in action. User-generated content (UGC), testimonials, or lifestyle shots showing the benefit of your product are incredibly effective.
• Write clear and concise copy: Your headline and primary text should get straight to the point. What problem do you solve? What is the offer? Who is this for?
• Have a single, clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Don’t confuse your audience. Use a clear CTA button like "Shop Now," "Learn More," "Sign Up," or "Watch More" that directly matches your ad's goal.

After you’ve designed your ad, you'll preview it, hit the "Publish" button, and your campaign will go into review. Once Meta approves it, your ad will start running!

Final Thoughts

Setting up your first Instagram ad boils down to a clear goal, a well-defined audience, and compelling creative. Whether you start with the simple "Promote" button or go straight to the powerful Meta Ads Manager, the key is to get started. Don't be afraid to test different images, audiences, or captions to see what resonates. Treat every campaign as a learning opportunity, and you'll find what works for your brand.

As your advertising directs more attention to your content, keeping your organic social media organized becomes even more important. Personally, I use our tool, Postbase, to keep my content calendar in order across all platforms. Being able to visually plan and schedule our organic posts in one calendar helps me make sure our paid and organic efforts always feel consistent and work together seamlessly, telling one cohesive brand story.