How To Become an Advertiser on Instagram: A Detailed Guide

Gone are the days of 90-second TV commercials and black-and-white newspaper ads. Today, modern advertising is all about attention-grabbing, eye-catching, uber-creative social media ads. After all, there’s no better place to advertise than the thing everyone looks at daily—their phone screens. That’s why today, we’re teaching you how to become an advertiser on Instagram.

Setting up Instagram ads might sound intimidating, especially if you’re a newbie biz owner or fledgling creator. But don’t worry; the process may be tedious, but it’s quite easy to digest, understand, and implement yourself. Want to learn the ins and outs of how to advertise on Instagram? Keep scrolling to jump into our comprehensive ad guide and IG ads best practices.

Why You Should Run Ads on Instagram

Instagram is becoming increasingly fiercely competitive, with millions of brands vying for people’s attention. So, it’s no secret that the platform is largely pay-to-play. That means in order to stand out and reach your target audience successfully, you must invest in paid content.

And that’s not news to brands that have been on Instagram for a while. In fact, according to Hootsuite, 9.8% of digital ad spending in the U.S. in 2024 was poured into the platform. So, to play with the big boys and beat out your competition, investing in ads is a must.

Posting organic content only allows you to reach a small chunk of your followers. However, when you pay to run ads on Instagram, the algorithm pushes out your content to your target market. People who don’t follow you will see those ads, allowing you to reach more potential customers and followers.

Ads are also vital for meeting your business goals, whether it’s boosting brand awareness online or driving e-commerce sales. And with Instagram’s advanced, super accurate targeting features, you get all that from your intended audience.

How To Become an Advertiser on Instagram: 8 Steps to Success

Convinced that running ads on Instagram is the best next step for your brand? Here are step-by-step instructions on how to set up your first advertising campaign on the platform.

1. Switch to a Professional Account

Only professional accounts—aka business and creator accounts—can run Instagram ads. If you have a personal page, you must switch to a professional one first before you can set up ads. Here’s how:

1. On your Instagram profile, tap the three horizontal lines at the top-right of the page.

2. Select Account type and tools.

3. Click Switch to professional account.

4. Read the reminders about switching your account type and tap Continue.

5. Choose a category that best describes your page, then click Done.

6. Pick between Creator and Business, whichever your brand falls under, and tap Done.

2. Link Your Instagram Account to Your Facebook Business Page

All Instagram ads are run on Meta’s Ads Manager, which you can access through Facebook. That means you need to link a Facebook business page to your Instagram account to run ads on the platform. You can do that in your Facebook account’s settings.

Linking these accounts lets you see all your ad campaigns across the Meta network. It also allows you to run cross-platform materials that show up not just on Instagram but on Facebook as well.

3. Choose Between Boosting an Existing Post or Building Ads From Scratch

There are two ways to run an ad on Instagram. The first is by boosting an existing post on your feed. This lets you transform a regular, organic post into a paid ad running across the platform. This method allows you to maximize existing materials without needing to produce new ones. All you have to do is tap the “Boost post” button below your content to turn it into an ad.

The second method is by creating an ad campaign from scratch through the Meta Ads Manager. This tool is your one-stop shop for creating and tracking your Instagram ads. It’s a more advanced tool that allows you to customize your ads however you see fit. It’s also where you can—surprise, surprise—manage your Instagram ads after they’ve started running.

Unlike boosting a post, it also allows you to control multiple ad assets on a campaign level. To set up a campaign that way, just go to Meta’s Ads Manager dashboard and tap the “Create” button.

4. Select Your Ad Campaign Objective

Regardless of which method you choose, you will next be asked what your campaign objective is. Choosing an objective allows Instagram to optimize its ad distribution strategy to drive the specific results you want to see.

This step is crucial to the success of your campaign, so make sure you choose an objective aligned with your business goals. The options include goals like brand awareness, reach, website traffic, engagement, conversions, catalog sales, and in-store foot traffic.

Telling Instagram your goals makes it easier for them to serve your ads to the right people. For example, if you choose Reach, they’ll simply promote the ad to as many people as possible. If you choose conversions, they’ll push out your content to those most likely to make a purchase.

5. Define Your Target Audience

Next, thoroughly define your ad campaign’s target audience. Make it as specific as possible. This ensures that Instagram serves your ad to people who will surely find your content relevant. That way, you don’t waste ads on users that you know won’t be interested in your brand anyway.

You can define your ad audience using basic demographics like age, sex, and location. But you can go even more in-depth with psychographic details, such as their interests and shopping behaviors. Instagram can even push your ads to “lookalike audiences,” aka users with a similar profile to your existing customers.

6. Choose Your Ad Formats and Placements

Then, it’s time to choose your ad placements or where you want your assets to appear. These include the main feed, the Explore page, Instagram Stories, and Reels. You can also select “Automatic Placements,” which allows Instagram to put your ads in optimal parts of the platform.

This stage also lets you choose your ads’ creative formats. You can run single image ads, video ads, and even carousel ads. For a more dynamic, mobile-optimized approach, consider adding Instagram Story ads into the mix as well.

7. Set Your Preferred Cost To Advertise on Instagram

Many brands get nervous about what they assume to be a hefty cost to advertise on Instagram. But on the contrary, it can be as affordable as you’d like. You can choose your own budget for campaigns, so you only spend what you’re willing to pay.

You can either set a daily budget or a lifetime budget. The former is your spending limit for each day of the campaign. Meanwhile, the latter is the cost you’re willing to pay for the entire duration of the campaign.

The budgets you set determine how many users see your ad. The more money you spend, the more people you can reach. So, it’s never a bad idea to invest a big chunk of your marketing budget into these ads.

Not sure how much to spend for your first ad campaign? The Meta Business Help Center recommends to start with at least $5 for a one-week campaign.

8. Upload Your Creative Material and Add Call-to-Action Buttons

At this point, you can finally upload your creative assets into the Ads Manager. Remember to choose photos and videos that fit the specs of the formats and placements you selected earlier. This ensures that your ads run smoothly and pair well with those placements.

Looking to drive conversions from your ad? Add a call-to-action button to your asset. Available options include “Shop now,” “Sign up,” and “Learn more,” among many others. These buttons can help immensely with driving conversions, clicks, and sales.

When you’re happy with your creative assets, hit “Publish” to finally run that ad campaign!

Tips for Running an Advertising Campaign on Instagram

Gearing up to run your first ad on Instagram? Here are some extra tips to keep top of mind to ensure the success of your campaign:

• Use captivating, eye-catching, intriguing visuals and compelling captions with excellent storytelling. On social media, you only have a few seconds to grab someone’s attention. So, do everything in your power to pique their interest as soon as they lay eyes on your ad.
• Optimize your ad content for mobile viewing. An overwhelming majority of users access Instagram on their mobile devices. Your ad materials should align with that. Produce vertical photos and videos with close-up shots and big text overlays that are easier to see on small screens.
• Set up your ads at least a few days before you plan to launch. Meta reviews every single ad submitted to the Instagram platform to ensure they comply with their stringent Advertising Standards. It’s usually done in 24 hours, but sometimes, the process can take a few days. Keep this buffer period in mind when creating ads to ensure they run on the day you want.
• The best way to advertise on Instagram is to have a test-and-learn mindset. Experiment with different creative formats and placements and see which ones your audience responds to best. Take note of these insights and use them to optimize your future campaigns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ads Are Great, But You Need Organic Brand Promotion, Too!

Ads are terrific for boosting brand awareness, encouraging online engagement, and driving sales and conversions. But it’s not sustainable to rely on paid ads forever to grow your Instagram account. You need to put in the same work to promote your brand in more organic ways to see steady, consistent growth.

Path Social can help with that. We implement strategies like influencer shout-outs and email newsletter features to help brands push their content to their target audience. That leads to more reach and, in turn, a higher, steadily growing follower count.

Yes, learning how to become an advertiser on Instagram is important. But these promotional strategies are what will make your page shine brighter and longer. We helped brands like Modern Fit gain 41,000 followers and almost 4,000 new paying customers. And you can see the same results for your brand, too! Accelerate your growth on Instagram with Path Social today.