There are two ways of creating Instagram ads: in Ads Manager and the Instagram mobile app.

Creating Instagram ads in Ads Manager:

Go to Ads Manager and click on Create +:

Choose the objective of your campaign and click Continue:

In the New Campaign tab, you can edit the name of the campaign, add a Special ad category, set up an A/B test and choose Campaign budget optimization. Once you’re done setting up of your campaign, click Next.

In the New Ad Set tab, specify your ad budget and the duration of the campaign, then select the audience you want to target. If Conversions are the objective of your campaign, choose where the desired actions (purchase, app install, etc.) will be happening — website, app, Messenger, WhatsApp. You may need to create Meta Pixel to track conversions.

At the bottom of the page, select Manual Placement. You will see the platforms available — tick Instagram together with other platforms you want your ad to be delivered on.

In the New Ad tab, choose Single Image or Video, if you want to create an ad with one visual creative. For two and more, select Carousel.

Below, add copy for your ads.

Set up tracking events that take place after people see your ads (Website events, App events, Offline events). Then click Publish.

Creating Instagram photo ads in the Instagram mobile app:

1a. One of the ways to promote a photo on Instagram is by going to your page and tapping the Promotions button at the top.

1b. Another way is to create such an ad by opening your post and tapping the Promote button.

2. Next, Select a Goal:

3. Choose/create the Target audience:

4. Set up the budget and duration:

5. Review your promotion and tap Create Promotion:

No, there is no separate ds manager for Instagram, as it is one of the placements that Facebook Ads offer. However, Facebook Ads manager is not the only place where you can create and manage your ad campaigns. Also, you can run them from your Instagram app on your phone provided that you have a business account.

Having said that, Facebook Ads Manager offers the fullest targeting and tracking capabilities, therefore it would make more sense to set up your campaigns there.

The difference between Instagram Feed and Instagram Stories campaigns lies in where your ads appear, as well as some design specifications.

Instagram Feed ads appear in the Instagram Feed. This is the first thing users see when they open the app. By scrolling down they see updates from the accounts they follow. There’s no time limit as to how long such content is available. Followers can easily find posts from the Feed by visiting the publisher’s profile. Users can like posts and Instagram Feed ads, share them, and comment on them (including tagging their friends in the comments).

Instagram Stories ads appear among other stories above Instagram Feed. Each story lasts 15 seconds and then the user is taken to the next one. By tapping or sliding left, people can review a photo or video. The content here is available only for 24 hours and then is deleted automatically. However, a publisher can always add an “expired” story to their Highlights that will be visible on their profile above the posts. Users can share a story they see via Direct Messages or externally by copying a link. Also, they can react with an emoji and respond with a comment, but only a publisher sees such reactions.

Most of the design requirements are the same for Instagram Feed and Story ads, however, there are a few differences to keep in mind.

Since Instagram Ads are part of Facebook Ads, the same optimization tools work equally well for both social media platforms.

For example, Adwisely delivers retargeting ads (for reaching out to website visitors that haven’t made a purchase), and prospecting ads (for targeting new people that have common interests with your current customers) on Facebook and Instagram. The tool enables merchants to fully automate their ads for a high return on ad spend.

To take ad optimization on Facebook and Instagram even further, customers with an ad spend on Adwisely-powered ads over $400 can use the services of a dedicated personal advertising manager. With their help, business owners update ads whenever needed, get tips on improving the campaigns, and run customized campaigns.

You can run Facebook and Instagram ads with different objectives (brand awareness, reach, engagement, etc) without having a Meta Pixel (previously known as Facebook Pixel) installed. However, to track how people engage with the content on your website and target them based on their behavior, as well as to track conversions, you need Meta Pixel.

You do not need a separate Pixel for Instagram — the same Meta Pixel works for all your placements in Ads Manager.

New Adwisely users do not need to go through the trouble of installing the Pixel. The app will automatically create a new one and connect it to all the relevant pages.

Yes, you can target the same audiences on Facebook and Instagram. For example, one of the audiences that Adwisely targets for prospecting — reaching out to new potential customers — is the lookalike audience. It comprises people that have common interests with those who have added a product to their cart or bought it.

Learn more about Prospecting with Adwisely here.