To create an ad on Instagram you have two routes: boost an existing post from the Instagram app, or build a proper campaign in Meta Ads Manager. Boosting takes about two minutes and is fine for a quick reach lift. Ads Manager takes longer but gives you real targeting, better objectives and much lower cost per result. For anything you actually want to sell from, use Ads Manager.
The short version: connect your Instagram account to a Facebook Page, open Ads Manager, pick your objective, choose your audience, set your budget and schedule, upload your image or video, then publish. Below we walk through each step in plain terms, and cover how to target the right people so you are not paying to reach the wrong crowd.
Key point: Boosting a post is the easy option, but Meta Ads Manager gives you the targeting and objectives that make an ad pay for itself.
Boost or Ads Manager: which should you use?
Both create an ad that shows on Instagram. The difference is control.
| Feature | Boost (in-app) | Ads Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Around 2 minutes | 15 to 30 minutes |
| Objectives | Limited (reach, profile visits, messages) | Full range (sales, leads, traffic, more) |
| Targeting | Basic | Detailed audiences and retargeting |
| Placements | Fixed | You choose (Feed, Stories, Reels, Explore) |
| Best for | Quick awareness | Real results from a budget |
What you need before you start
Get these sorted first and the rest is straightforward.
- An Instagram business or creator account (switch in your profile settings if you are on a personal account).
- A connected Facebook Page. Instagram ads run through Meta, so the two accounts need to be linked.
- A Meta Business account and access to Ads Manager.
- A payment method added.
- Your creative: a strong image or a short vertical video, plus a clear line of text and a link.
How to create an Instagram ad in Ads Manager, step by step
- Open Ads Manager and click Create. You will be asked to choose a campaign objective.
- Pick your objective. Be honest about what you want. Sales for online purchases, Leads for enquiries, Traffic for website visits, Engagement for awareness. The objective tells Meta who to show your ad to, so this choice matters more than any other.
- Name the campaign so you can find it later. Something like "Spring offer: Instagram" is fine.
- Set your budget. You can use a daily budget or a total lifetime budget. Start small and give it enough to gather data before you judge it.
- Build your audience (more on this below).
- Choose placements. If you only want Instagram, switch off Advantage+ placements and manually select Instagram Feed, Stories, Reels and Explore. For most small businesses, letting Meta optimise placements is fine once you have some results in.
- Upload your creative. Add your image or video, write your primary text and headline, set the call to action button and your link.
- Review and publish. Your ad goes into review, usually approved within a few hours.
How to target the right audience
This is where most small business ads win or lose. You can spend the same money and get very different results depending on who sees the ad.
Location and demographics
Set the area you actually serve. If you are a local trade or shop, keep the radius tight. Add age and gender only if your product genuinely skews that way.
Interests and behaviours
Layer in interests that match your customer, but do not stack too many. A broad, relevant audience often beats a narrow, over-filtered one.
Custom audiences
Upload your customer email list, or target people who visited your website or engaged with your Instagram. These warm audiences usually cost less per result.
Lookalike audiences
Once you have a custom audience, create a lookalike so Meta finds new people who resemble your existing customers.
A sensible starting point for a small business is a location plus one or two interests, kept fairly broad. Let the campaign run, see who responds, then tighten from there. If you already have website traffic or a customer list, retargeting those people first is often the quickest win. This is one area where paid social management earns its keep, because the targeting setup is where results are made or wasted.
Getting the creative right
The ad itself has to earn attention in a fast-scrolling feed. A few practical rules:
- Lead with the hook. The first second of video or the top of your image needs to stop the scroll.
- Design for vertical. Stories and Reels are full-screen and vertical. If you are unsure how to plan this, our guide on a vertical video strategy that actually works is a good place to start.
- One clear message. One offer, one call to action. Do not try to say everything.
- Match the landing page. If the ad promises a spring offer, the page they land on should show that offer straight away.
Key point: A good audience with a weak ad still fails. Spend as much thought on the creative as on the targeting.
Setting a budget that makes sense
There is no fixed right number. Start with an amount you are comfortable testing for a couple of weeks, then read the results before scaling. Judge the ad on cost per result (cost per lead or per sale), not on likes.
Give each ad set enough budget to exit the learning phase. Chopping and changing daily resets the learning and wastes money. Patience for the first week or two pays off.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Boosting everything. Fine for reach, poor for sales. Use Ads Manager when you want an outcome.
- Over-narrow targeting. Stacking ten interests shrinks your audience and pushes costs up.
- No clear objective. If you pick Engagement but want sales, Meta optimises for the wrong thing.
- Sending traffic to a weak page. A slow or confusing landing page undoes good ad work.
- Judging too early. Give the campaign time and data before you decide.
If ads are one part of a bigger plan, it helps to have your organic posting sorted too. Our thoughts on getting more engagement without paying for ads and building a proper posting rhythm through social media management for small businesses both support what your ads are trying to do.
Getting your Instagram ads off the ground
Creating an Instagram ad is simple enough: link your accounts, open Ads Manager, choose the right objective, target the people who actually buy from you, set a sensible budget and publish a strong piece of creative. The skill is in the targeting and the testing, and that is where most small business budgets get wasted. If you would rather have it set up and managed properly for a fixed monthly fee, DPOM has been helping small businesses for 15 years. Take a look at our Instagram ads management and we will handle the setup, targeting and optimisation for you.
Brett Dixon
Founder & Managing Director of DPOM. Brett founded DPOM nearly 15 years ago after a career in marketing working with Harvey Nichols, BBC Top Gear, Formula One circuits, and UK Trade and Investment. His passion became helping smaller businesses grow, with honest advice, no jargon, and realistic expectations.
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