Ads that Click to Instagram

This guide explains how to create and publish ads that click to Instagram using the Marketing API.

Ads that click to Instagram Direct send people that click on your ads directly into conversations with your business in Instagram Direct. Use these ads to reach people at scale and deliver standout, individualized service.

Ads that click to Instagram support ads with an image, a video, a carousel, or a slideshow. You can also include call prompts in your ad.

If you’re interested in creating ads that send people to Messenger or WhatsApp chats, see Ads that Click to Messenger and Ads that Click to WhatsApp for guidance. You can also create ads that pick the destination the user is most likely to respond from, see Ads that Click to Multidestination for more information.

Ad Creation Overview

This document outlines the steps you need to follow to set up your integration for click to Instagram ads. You will need to:

1. Create an ad campaign
2. Create an ad set that links your ads to your ad campaign
3. Create an ad creative for the Instagram ad type you want to serve
4. Create an ad by linking your ad creative to your ad set
5. Publish your ad

Before you begin

This guide assumes you have:

• An ad account with Meta
• An Instagram account
• Uploaded any assets, such as images or videos, to be used in your ads to Meta servers

To make successful calls to all endpoints in this guide, you will need:

• A Page access token requested by a person who can perform the ADVERTISE task on the Page
• The following permissions must be granted a person using your app:
  • ads_management
  • pages_manage_ads
  • pages_read_engagement
  • pages_show_list

Step 1: Create an ad campaign

Start by creating your ad campaign. To do this, make a POST request to the /act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/campaigns endpoint where <AD_ACCOUNT_ID> is the ID for your Meta ad account. Your request must include:

Parameters

Request

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Click to Instagram Campaign' \
  -F 'objective=OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT' \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'special_ad_categories=[]' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/campaigns

Response

On success, your app receives a JSON response with the ID of your newly created campaign.

{
  "id": "<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>"
}

Updating

You can update a campaign by making a POST request to /<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>.

Reading

To verify that you have successfully created a click to Instagram campaign, you can make a GET request to /<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>. See the Ad Campaign reference for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'fields=name,status,objective' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>

Response

{
  "name": "Click to Instagram Campaign",
  "status": "ACTIVE",
  "objective": "OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT",
  "id": "<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>"
}

Step 2: Create an ad set

Once you have an ad campaign, create your ad set. To create an ad set, make a POST request to the /act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets endpoint where <AD_ACCOUNT_ID> is the ID for your Meta ad account. Your request must include:

Parameters

Visit the Ad Account Ad Set reference for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X POST \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  -F 'bid_strategy=LOWEST_COST_WITHOUT_CAP' \
  -F 'billing_event=IMPRESSIONS' \
  -F 'campaign_id=<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>' \
  -F 'daily_budget=<DAILY_BUDGET>' \
  -F 'destination_type=INSTAGRAM_DIRECT' \
  -F 'name=Click to Instagram Ad Set' \
  -F 'optimization_goal=CONVERSATIONS' \
  -F 'promoted_object={
    "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>"
  }' \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'start_time=<START_TIME>' \
  -F 'targeting={ 
    "geo_locations": { "countries":["US","CA"] },
    "device_platforms": ["mobile", "desktop"]
  }' \
https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adsets

Response

{
  "id": "<AD_SET_ID>"
}

Updating

You can update an ad set by making a POST request to /<AD_SET_ID>.

Reading

To verify that you have successfully created a click to Instagram ad set, you can make a GET request to /<AD_SET_ID>. See the Ad Set reference for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'fields=name,destination_type,optimization_goal,bid_strategy,status' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/<AD_SET_ID>

Response

{
  "name": "Click to Instagram Ad Set",
  "destination_type": "INSTAGRAM_DIRECT",
  "optimization_goal": "CONVERSATIONS",
  "bid_strategy": "LOWEST_COST_WITHOUT_CAP",
  "status": "ACTIVE",
  "id": "<AD_SET_ID>"
}

Step 3: Create an ad creative

The ad creative allows you to add assets to your ads. To create an ad creative, make a POST request to the /act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives endpoint where <AD_ACCOUNT_ID> is the ID for your Meta ad account. Your request must include:

Parameters

Visit th Ad Creative reference for the complete list of available parameters.

If you see the error “Creative Must Provide enroll_status for Standard Enhancements” on v17.0+, refer to Standard Enhancements for Advantage+ Creative and fix it.

Filling out a Page welcome message

The default message that a customer sees is "Hello! Can I get more info on this?". You can create more tailored user experiences for your ads that click to Instagram by customizing your ads' greeting message in the page_welcome_message field under object_story_spec.

Example

Adding text icebreakers with an optional automated response. String interpolation {{user_first_name}}, {{user_last_name}}, {{user_full_name}}, and {{page_name}} can be used in the greeting message and automated response. For example, “Hi {{user_first_name}}. Welcome to {{page_name}}!”

"page_welcome_message": {
  "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
  "version": 2,
  "landing_screen_type": "welcome_message",
  "media_type": "text",
  "text_format": {
    "customer_action_type": "ice_breakers",
    "message": {
      "text": "<GREETING_MESSAGE>",
      "ice_breakers": [
        {
          "title": "<ICEBREAKER>",
          "response": "<AUTO_RESPONSE>"
        },
        {
          "title": "<ICEBREAKER>",
          "response": "<AUTO_RESPONSE>"
        },
        {
          "title": "<ICEBREAKER>",
          "response": "<AUTO_RESPONSE>"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Ad creative create examples

Image Creative

Refer to Ad, Image for more details.

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Sample ad creative' \
  -F 'object_story_spec={
       "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>",
       "instagram_actor_id": "<INSTAGRAM_ACCOUNT_ID>",
       "link_data": {
         "message": "<AD_PRIMARY_TEXT>",
         "image_hash": "<IMAGE_HASH>"
         "page_welcome_message": "<PAGE_WELCOME_MESSAGE>",
         "call_to_action": {
           "type": "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE",
           "value": {
             "app_destination": "INSTAGRAM_DIRECT"
           }
         }
       }
     }' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives

Video Creative

Refer to Video and Carousel Ads for more details.

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Sample ad creative' \
  -F 'object_story_spec={
       "message": "<AD_PRIMARY_TEXT>",
       "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>",
       "instagram_actor_id": "<INSTAGRAM_ACCOUNT_ID>",
       "video_data": {
         "video_id": "<VIDEO_ID>",
         "image_url": "<THUMBNAIL_URL>"
         "page_welcome_message": "<PAGE_WELCOME_MESSAGE>",
         "call_to_action": {
           "type": "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE",
           "value": {
             "app_destination": "INSTAGRAM_DIRECT"
           }
         }
       }
     }' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives

Ad that uses a messaging flow configured on a partner app

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Sample ad creative' \
  -F 'object_story_spec={
       "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>",
       "instagram_actor_id": "<INSTAGRAM_ACCOUNT_ID>",
       "link_data": {
         "message": "<AD_PRIMARY_TEXT>",
         "image_hash": "<IMAGE_HASH>"
           "call_to_action": {
           "type": "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE",
           "value": {
             "app_destination": "INSTAGRAM_DIRECT"
           }
         }
       }
     }' \
  -F 'asset_feed_spec={
       "additional_data": {
         "partner_app_welcome_message_flow_id": "<FLOW_ID>",
       }
     }' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives
    

For more information about messaging app flows, refer to Welcome message flows in the Messenger Platform documentation.

Carousel Creative

Refer to Video and Carousel Ads for more details.

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Sample ad creative' \
  -F 'object_story_spec={
       "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>",
       "instagram_actor_id": "<INSTAGRAM_ACCOUNT_ID>",
       "link_data": {
         "message": "<AD_PRIMARY_TEXT>",
         "page_welcome_message": "<PAGE_WELCOME_MESSAGE>",
         "call_to_action": {
           "type": "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE",
           "value": {
             "app_destination": "INSTAGRAM_DIRECT"
           }
         },
         "child_attachments": [
              {
                "image_hash": "<IMAGE_HASH>",
                "call_to_action": {
                  "type": "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE",
                  "value": {
                    "app_destination": "INSTAGRAM_DIRECT"
                  }
                },
                "name": "<AD_HEADLINE>"
              },
              {
                "video_id": "<VIDEO_ID>",
                "picture": "<THUMBNAIL_URL>",
                "call_to_action": {
                  "type": "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE",
                  "value": {
                    "app_destination": "INSTAGRAM_DIRECT"
                  }
                },
                "name": "<AD_HEADLINE>"
              }
         ],
       }
     }' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives

Response

On success, your app receives a JSON response with the ID of your newly created ad creative.

{
  "id": "<AD_CREATIVE_ID>"
}

Creating ad creatives using Instagram content

Instagram Posts

Refer Use Posts as Instagram Ads for more details.

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Sample ad creative from Instagram post' \
  -F 'object_id=<PAGE_ID>' \
  -F 'instagram_user_id=<INSTAGRAM_USER_ID>' \
  -F 'source_instagram_media_id=<INSTAGRAM_POST_ID>' \
  -F 'call_to_action={
       "type": "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE",
       "value": {
         "link": "https://www.instagram.com"
       }
     }' \ 
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives

Instagram Images

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Sample ad creative from Instagram image' \
  -F 'object_story_spec={
       "page_id": "<PAGE_ID>",
       "instagram_actor_id": "<INSTAGRAM_ACTOR_ID>",
       "link_data": {
         "message": "<AD_PRIMARY_TEXT>",
         "picture": "<IMAGE_URL>"
         "page_welcome_message": "<PAGE_WELCOME_MESSAGE>",
         "call_to_action": {
           "type": "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE",
           "value": {
             "app_destination": "INSTAGRAM_DIRECT"
           }
         }
       }
     }' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/adcreatives

Creating ad creatives using Facebook content

Refer to Use Posts as Instagram Ads: Facebook Posts for more details.

curl -i -X POST \
  "https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT>/adcreatives
  ?object_story_id=<postOwnerID_postID>
  &instagram_actor_id=<IG_USER_ID>
  &call_to_action="{'type':MESSAGE_PAGE,'value':{'app_destination':'MESSENGER'}}"
  &access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>"

Where object_story_id is the post ID in the format of postOwnerID_postID and instagram_actor_id is either a Page-connected Instagram account ID or the Page-backed Instagram account ID. See more details in Set Up Instagram Accounts With Pages.

Updating

You can update an ad creative by making a POST request to /<AD_CREATIVE_ID>.

Reading

To verify that you have successfully created a click to Instagram ad creative, you can make a GET request to /<AD_CREATIVE_ID>. See Ad Creative for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'fields=name,object_story_spec{link_data{call_to_action,page_welcome_message}}' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
  https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/<AD_CREATIVE_ID>

Response

{
  "name": "Sample ad creative",
  "object_story_spec": {
    "link_data": {
      "call_to_action": {
        "type": "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE",
        "value": {
          "app_destination": "INSTAGRAM_DIRECT"
        }
      },
      "page_welcome_message": {
        "type": "VISUAL_EDITOR",
        "version": 2,
        "landing_screen_type": "welcome_message",
        "media_type": "text",
        "text_format": {
          "customer_action_type": "ice_breakers",
          "message": {
            "text": "Sample greeting message",
            "ice_breakers": [
              {
                "title": "Sample icebreaker 1"
              },
              {
                "title": "Sample icebreaker 2"
              },
              {
                "title": "Sample icebreaker 3"
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "id": "<AD_CREATIVE_ID>"
}

Alternative objective ID in creating an ad creative

Use this API to get connected Instagram accounts with the Instagram Account Backed Page ID (IABP ID).

curl -X GET \
  -F 'fields="iabp_id"' \
  -F 'business_id=<BUSINESS_ID>' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/connected_instagram_accounts_with_iabp

Then when you use post as ads, you can use the IABP ID as the value of object_id.

curl -i -X POST \
  "https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT>/adcreatives
  ?object_id=<IABP_ID> // iabp_id instead of page_id
  &instagram_user_id=<IG_USER_ID>
  &source_instagram_media_id=<IG_ORGANIC_MEDIA_ID>
  &access_token=<API_ACCESS_TOKEN>"

Step 4: Create an ad

Ads allow you to associate ad creative information with your ad sets. To create an ad, make a POST request to the /act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/ads endpoint where <AD_ACCOUNT_ID> is the ID for your Meta ad account. Your request must include:

Parameters

Request

curl -X POST \
  -F 'name=Click to Instagram Ad' \
  -F 'adset_id=<AD_SET_ID> \
  -F 'creative={
       "creative_id": "<AD_CREATIVE_ID>"
     }' \
  -F 'status=PAUSED \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/act_<AD_ACCOUNT_ID>/ads

Response

{
  "id": "<AD_ID>"
}

Call to action

You can also set a call to action when creating your ad.

"call_to_action": {
  "value": {"app_destination":"INSTAGRAM_DIRECT"},
  "type": "MESSAGE_PAGE"
}

Updating

You can update an ad by making a POST request to /<AD_ID>.

Reading

To verify that you have successfully created a click to Instagram ad, you can make a GET request to /<AD_ID>. See the ad reference for the complete list of available parameters.

Request

curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'fields=status,adset_id,campaign_id \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/<AD_ID>

Response

{
  "status": "PAUSED",
  "adset_id": "<AD_SET_ID>",
  "campaign_id": "<AD_CAMPAIGN_ID>",
  "id": "<AD_ID>"
}

Step 5: Publish your ad

Verify your ad exists in Ads Manager. When you are ready to publish your changes, select your campaign, the ad set for the campaign, and the ad, and click the Publish button.

You can also publish your ad using the API by sending a POST request to /<AD_ID> with the status parameter set to ACTIVE where <AD_ID> is the ad you want to publish.

Request

curl -X POST \
  -F 'status=ACTIVE' \
  -F 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/<AD_ID>

Response

{
  "success": true
}

Your ad will be reviewed by Meta, and the effective_status will be PENDING_REVIEW. Once approved, the status will automatically update to ACTIVE, and your ad will be delivered.

Request

curl -X GET -G \
  -d 'fields=status,effective_status' \
  -d 'access_token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>' \
https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/<AD_ID>

Response

{
  "status": "ACTIVE",
  "effective_status": "PENDING_REVIEW",
  "id": "<AD_ID>"
}