Follow these steps to create an Instagram Ad through the Ad Manager interface. The process is streamlined to ensure you can effectively manage your ads across Facebook and Instagram, achieving a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Creating an Instagram Ad Campaign

On the Ad Manager home page, click on the 'Create Campaign' button to begin the process of setting up your Meta Ad campaign. 

Select whether you want to create the campaign from scratch or use an existing template. In this guide, we will focus on starting a campaign from scratch.

Begin by assigning a unique and descriptive name for your campaign.

Select Your Facebook Page

Choose the Facebook page you want to use for the ad campaign. By default, your Facebook page will be selected, though you have the option to change it.

Choose Your Instagram Account

If your Facebook page is already connected to an Instagram account, that Instagram account will be automatically selected to publish your ad campaign.

Ad Manager simplifies the ad creation process with three straightforward steps:

Step 1: Ad Content

• Objective: The first step in building a Facebook and Instagram Ads campaign is selecting a goal that aligns with your business or brand objectives. Whether your goal is lead generation or website traffic, Ad Manager provides the tools to achieve it. For lead generation, you can integrate Facebook forms, either creating new ones or utilizing existing forms. If your objective is website traffic, you can drive visitors directly to your landing page.

📌 Note: Special considerations apply for campaigns related to employment, housing, credit, politics, and online gaming or gambling.

Select a CTA Button such as “Buy Now” from the Select Button dropdown. 

• Placements: Placements determine where your ads will appear. You can opt for automatic placements, which maximize results across default placements based on your budget, or manual placements, where you select the specific locations for your ads, ensuring brand safety and optimization.
  In the manual placement section, you will see all available placements. You can select the specific placements you wish to use for your campaign. If you choose Auto placements, all Instagram options will be automatically selected.

• Content: Craft compelling ads by adding primary text (recommended 125 characters), and rich media such as images (up to 30MB) or videos (up to 1GB). Furthermore, you can opt to enable Multi-Advertiser Ads.  This is an advertising format that enables multiple advertisers to display their products or services within a single ad space.

Upload a single image or video by selecting the “Single” option, or multiple media by selecting the “Carousel” option, within the Media Type section. The carousel option enables you to upload a combination of an image or video to create a more dynamic and engaging experience for your audience.

A headline for each image is a required field, with appropriate validations in place to alert you if a headline is missing. Each media added will have a separate headline and description specific to that image/video.

Additionally, you have the option to add a description for the media in the provided field. The recommended length for the description is up to 30 characters, ensuring that it is concise and easily readable while providing additional context for the image or video.

If the carousel option is selected, each uploaded image can be reordered to match the desired display sequence in the ad. This allows for flexible arrangement, ensuring that the images appear in the intended order for optimal viewer engagement.

The details of each image are visible on the preview screen, and as an image is selected on the left, it is reflected in the preview screen on the right, allowing you to easily review and adjust your selections before finalizing the ad.

Click the Next button to proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Budget and Audience

• Budget: Specify the average amount you wish to spend on this ad campaign by choosing either a daily or lifetime budget. The charges will be billed to the card associated with your Meta Ad account.

• Geography: Tailor your campaign to specific locations or exclude certain areas within a country or state. Selecting a broader geographic area for your ads can enhance campaign performance. For instance, targeting an entire country rather than multiple specific cities can help optimize 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. 

Furthermore, select up to 15 lookalike audiences from the dropdown to be used in a campaign as the target audience.

Otherwise, you can select up to 15 retargeting audiences from the Retargeting dropdown to be used in a campaign as the target audience. 

Click the next button to proceed to step 3.

Step 3: Review and Publish

After configuring your campaign, review all details, including aesthetics, media, content, budget, and other options. You can click the Instagram tab to specifically view the ad as it will appear on that platform.

Once all configurations are complete, click 'Publish' to launch your ad across both Facebook and Instagram. By following these steps, you will effectively manage Instagram ads alongside your Facebook campaign, ensuring a seamless experience for your audience.

✍️Important Notes

• Only one Instagram account can be linked to a Facebook page at any given time. If you wish to connect a different Instagram account to your Facebook page, you will need to first disconnect the existing Instagram account from the Meta platform.
• The process of connecting or disconnecting an Instagram account from a Facebook page must be completed directly on the Meta platform. Once this is done, you can return to Ad Manager to proceed with your campaign setup using the newly connected Instagram account.