Instagram Will Enable New Advertisers To Create Ads Without Linking To A Facebook Page

Are you one of those advertisers who haven’t linked their Instagram account to Facebook yet and only wish to run ad campaigns on Instagram? Are you looking for ways to promote your post from your Instagram Business account without linking it to Facebook Ads Manager? If yes, then welcome to this comprehensive guide! 

Instagram has enabled the  new advertisers to create ads without linking to a Facebook page. But the plot twist is that this new feature is only accessible to brands that haven’t linked their accounts to Facebook and are promoting their post for the first time through an Instagram business account. 

Therefore, if you have already promoted your post, you must have linked your Facebook and Instagram account, and you will not have any option of disconnecting your Instagram profile from Facebook. Yet you will be able to run ads.

Instagram informs the creators and brands, “You can now create Instagram ads without having a presence on Facebook. If you are promoting a post from your Instagram business account for the first time, you won’t have to connect to a Facebook ad account or Facebook page ” 

If you wish to run ad campaigns on Instagram and track their progress without linking your profile to Facebook Ad Manager, then what are you waiting for? Go ahead and explore this article!

Steps To Run Instagram Ad Campaigns Without Linking the Account to Facebook:

The brands and creators who want to promote their posts only on Instagram will not be able to manage the campaigns via Facebook Ads Manager. Instead, they can monitor the campaign and its performance directly through Instagram. 

The option to run campaigns solely on Instagram is accessible to advertisers from the United States and Turkey. If you want to promote your post on Instagram without having a presence on Facebook, then follow the steps given below:

Step 1: Go to your profile.

Step 2:  Click on the post that you wish to promote.

Step 3: Click on the “Promote” option present below “Post Image.”

Step 4 – Fill in the promotion details such as “Budget” (the amount you will spend daily), “audience” (the type of people you want to engage), “duration” (for how long you want to run the ad campaign) and the “destination” (where to send the people).

Step 5 – Once you have filled in all the promotion related details, tap on “Next.”

Step 6 – To complete the process, click on “Create Promotion” under “Review.”

6 Mind-Blowing Instagram Ad Formats

Now that you have already followed steps to promote your products and services without linking your Instagram with your Facebook account, it is time to explore the impressive ad formats that will assist you in enhancing your engagement.

Image Feed Ads

Image feed ads are the most standard ad formats, and you might notice them frequently while scrolling down your Instagram feed. These are single images that appear in the feed of your target audience. For an image feed ad, the file type should be either jpg or png. 

The maximum file size is 30MB, along with an image width of 600 pixels. The image ratio of an image feed ad ranges from 4:5 to 16:9. The maximum text length is 2,200. However, Instagram advises the brands and creators to not go for more than 90 words if one desires optimal delivery. 

The maximum number of hashtags can be 30, while you can add more in the comments. The following are the supported objectives of Image feed ads:

• Conversions
• App installs
• Store visits
• Reach
• Traffic
• Lead generation
• Brand awareness
• Product catalogue sales
• Post engagement

The Call-to-Action buttons supported by Image feed ads are:

• Book now
• Apply now
• Call now
• Contact us
• Get showtimes
• Get directions
• Learn more
• Download

Image Story Ads

The image story ads are the single images that are displayed in your Instagram stories. Wordstream reports, “Around 70% of Instagram users watch content in the form of stories daily.” Instagram stories are indeed a fantastic way of interacting with your audience.

Moreover, you can evaluate the performance of your Instagram stories in the “Insights” section that appears in the business profile on the app. The image ratio recommended for an Image story ad is 9:16 with a minimum image width of 600 pixels.

The objectives supported by image story ads are mentioned below:

• Conversions
• App installs
• Traffic
• Reach
• Lead generations

The Call-to-Actions supported by Image story ads are:

• Download
• Book now
• Contact us
• Apply now

Video Feed Ads

According to the latest statistics, “Instagram video ads receive If your video file format does not meet the platform’s requirements, then Handbrake3x more engagement than image ads, by means of comments.” Videos make your promotion more appealing and blow life in your ad campaign. An impressive video is one of the finest tools to boost your online presence on Instagram. 

You will be happy to know that Instagram supports almost all video files. However, the platform recommends using H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan, and stereo AAC audio compression at 128kbps+. The minimum video resolution for a video feed ad is 1080 x 1080 pixels, and the maximum file size is 4GB. 

The video ratio and image ratio ranges from 4:5 to 16:9. The platform also recommends a maximum video duration of 60 seconds and a maximum text length of 125 characters. 

You can add a maximum of 30 hashtags, while the other hashtags can be added in the comments. And if you wish to add captions, then feel free to do so! The objectives supported by Video feed ads are:

• Traffic
• Conversions
• Lead generations
• Brand awareness
• Post engagement
• Store visits

The Video feed ads support the following Call-to-Action buttons:

• Contact us
• Call now
• Download
• Book now
• Apply now

Pro-Tip – If your video file format does not meet the platform’s requirements, then Handbrake is here to help you out! You can consider running your ad using this video transcoder and make the adjustments.

Video Story Ads

Instagram stories are another fantastic place to display video ads. The minimum video resolution for these ads is 1080 x 1920 pixels, and the maximum file size is 4GB. The maximum video ratio recommended by the platform is 9:16, and the maximum video duration is 15 seconds. 

However, the option to display the captions is not available in video story ads. Yet, they can support your ad campaign with their high engaging potential. The video story ads support the following objectives:

• Reach
• Conversions
• Lead generations
• App installs
• Traffic 

The video story ads support the following Call-to-Action buttons:

• Apply now
• Contact us
• Call now
• Book now
• Download

Carousel Feed Ads

Do you wish to present a series of incredible images? Are you looking for ways to make your post more visually appealing? If yes, then carousel feed ads are the perfect ad format for you! These ads allow you to display a series of scrollable images rather than a single image. 

Brands and businesses like the food industry, vacation destinations, car dealers, clothing options, etc., can leverage carousel ads to boost their engagement and drive more traffic. You can choose up to 10 images in a single ad, and you can consider including videos as well. The carousel feed ads have the upper hand in making your ad campaign more attractive and effective. 

The file type for the images is jpg or png with a maximum file size of 30 MB. The minimum image width is 600 pixels, and the image ratio ranges from 4:5 to 16:9. The maximum text length is 2,200, and the maximum video duration is 60 seconds. 

You are allowed to add a maximum of 30 hashtags, although you can add more in the comments. The carousel feed ads support the following objectives:

• Traffic
• Reach
• Conversions
• Brand awareness
• Product catalogue sales
• Lead generation

The supported Call-to-Action buttons are:

• Book now
• Apply now
• Download
• Call now
• Contact us

Canvas Story Ads

Are you looking for a brand new member of the ad format family? Well, canvas story ads are the answer to your quest! These ads are highly engaging and assist you in creating a 360-degree virtual experience within your story. 

These ads are very flexible to work with and are highly customizable. However, these ads are supported only via mobile, and you might need some technical chops for it. These ads can work with videos, carousels, and even images. 

The minimum image width required to run these ads is 400 pixels, and the minimum image height is 150 pixels. The Canvas story ads support the following objectives:

• Traffic
• Brand awareness
• Conversions
• Lead generations
• Post engagement
• Video views
• Store views
• Reach

The Canvas story ads support the following Call-to-action buttons:

• Contact us
• Apply now
• Book now

What Is The Reason For Launching The New Feature?

According to the New York Times, an inflammatory post and hate speech are the speculated reasons for launching the new feature. AdWeek reports that the coalition of civil rights groups asked the brands and creators to suspend their Facebook ad spend in July to signify that Facebook’s lack of action is not well-received. 

That is why it is speculated that Facebook decided to launch this feature to secure Instagram’s position if the advertisers take any stance on Facebook’s policies.

Concluding Remark

The brands and advertisers can enjoy promoting their posts and running their ad campaigns on Instagram without linking their business account to Facebook. However, this feature is only accessible to advertisers from Turkey and the United States. 

On Instagram, you have several options of ad formats like image feed ads, image story ads, video feed ads, video story ads, carousel feed ads, and canvas story ads.

Over 1 billion people use Instagram every month, and running an ad campaign on a platform with such a fantastic engagement would not be less than a boon for your business. 

Moreover, the ad formats are specifically designed to meet objectives like driving traffic and conversions. We hope this article helps you start your ad campaign on Instagram without linking your account to Facebook. Also, don’t forget to share your thoughts or queries in the comment section below.