Instagram Ads No Longer Require a Facebook Page (How to Included)

Instagram and Facebook’s advertising options have been somewhat conjoined at the hip since the latter was acquired by the former. It seemed like the two platforms were destined for continued integration, but a recent and significant change proves otherwise.

Those looking to advertise and promote content via an Instagram page will no longer require an accompanying Facebook page. Instagram’s advertising features will now function independently.

This offers you a little more freedom if you’re someone who promotes campaigns with social traffic, however, there are a couple of catches at the moment.

1. For now, the ability to promote ads on Instagram sans Facebook is only available to page owners in Turkey and the United States.

Eventually, this will likely apply to those in other countries as well. However, having this feature being only available in two countries will allow the company to work out any issues before opening the feature up to users in other countries.

2. You won’t have access to this ability if you have already integrated a Facebook page with your Instagram page.

If you’ve already been actively advertising on Instagram then you’ll essentially be grandfathered in and still be required to keep your Facebook page connected.

Facebook/Instagram explain this works in more detail within their Help Center:

The ability to create Instagram ads without a Facebook ad account connection is limited to businesses who are promoting their Instagram posts for the first time. If you’ve already promoted posts on Instagram, you’ve likely already linked your Instagram and Facebook accounts. You won’t experience any changes when promoting your Instagram posts or stories.

Basically, it is status quo if you’re an experienced Instagram advertiser.

You can read the full help center article here.

For those that fit the criteria, here’s how to promote an Instagram post without a Facebook page:

1. Go to your profile.
2. Tap the post you’d like to promote.
3. Below the post’s image, tap Promote.
4. Fill in the details of your promotion by setting the Destination (where to send people), Audience (who you want to reach), Budget (how much you want to spend daily) and Duration (how long you want your promotion to run). Tap Next once you’ve completed these details.
5. To complete your promotion, tap Create Promotion under Review.

It’s not exactly clear why the company decided to remove integration from their social ad platforms going forward.

With a number of companies boycotting Facebook ads this month, it’s a possibility that this change is a reactionary move that aims to distance the two brands from each other. The company could be trying to salvage advertising dollars any way possible.

Whatever the reason, the removal of Facebook page integration should increase the number of new advertisers on Instagram.

For some affiliate marketers, this may open up an untapped traffic source.

If you have an Instagram following OR have considered trying to build one to later monetize, you’ll no longer need to also have an accompanying Facebook page.

If that’s held you back in the past, the reigns are now off for you utilize the photo-sharing app as part of your promotion strategy, IF you’re a US or Turkey citizen.

For now, everyone else will have to be patient until this feature goes global.