How to Boost an Instagram Post, Step by Step

Boosting turns a post you have already published into an ad without opening Ads Manager. You pick what you want people to do, who should see it, how much to spend each day and how long to run it, and Meta handles the rest. The post keeps its creative, and once approved it runs as an ad across several Instagram surfaces.

What do you need before you boost?

• A professional (business or creator) account. Meta’s troubleshooting page also says you must be over 16 years old.
• An ad account choice. The first time you boost, Instagram asks you to connect an existing Meta ad account or keep your Facebook and Instagram accounts separate.
• For boosting with a Meta ad account in the mobile app, a personal Facebook account connected through Accounts Center. Meta says only one Instagram account can be connected to a personal Facebook account at a time for this.

If your ads relate to credit, employment, housing, social issues or politics and you are in, or target, the US, Meta says you must choose the matching special ad category.

How do you boost a post in the Instagram app?

1. Go to your profile.
2. Tap the post you want to boost.
3. Tap Boost below the post’s image.
4. Set the goal, audience, daily budget and duration, then tap Next.
5. Tap Preview ad to review placements and control Advantage+ creative.
6. Tap Boost post to submit it.

How do you boost a post on instagram.com?

1. Click Profile or your profile picture.
2. Select the post, then click Boost.
3. Choose a goal, audience, daily budget and duration.
4. Select Boost post to submit it.

Meta says boosting on instagram.com has the same features as the app.

How do you avoid the Apple service fee?

When you boost in the Instagram iOS app, payment goes through the Apple App Store and Apple adds a service fee that Apple keeps. Meta says boosting on instagram.com instead saves 30% of your total ad payment, before taxes and local fees. Boosting from Meta Business Suite or Ads Manager also avoids the fee, and Meta says the ad is delivered the same way.

Where do boosted posts appear?

Meta’s boosting article, read on 2 October 2026, says boosted Instagram posts appear in Explore, Home Feed, Explore feed, profile feed and Stories; its Explore article says the separate Explore feed placement left Ads Manager in January 2026. Feed posts with product tags can also be boosted. If your ad runs in the feed placement, it will also appear in profile feed.

What happens after you tap Boost post?

Meta reviews the ad against its advertising policies. You get notifications when it is submitted, while it is reviewed, when it is approved or disapproved, and when it ends. It starts running only after approval. Reels have their own rules: Meta says a reel must be 90 seconds or less and 9:16 to be boosted.

FAQ

Can I boost without a Facebook account?

The first time, yes. Meta says businesses boosting an Instagram post for the first time can do so without connecting a Meta ad account or Facebook Page. You enter payment details on Instagram and lose features such as saved audiences. Meta recommends boosting with a Meta ad account, which requires logging in to Facebook.

Is a boosted post a real ad?

Yes. Meta says boosted posts are still considered ads because they need a budget to reach a wider audience, and they are identified as ads on your bill. They offer fewer customisation and detailed targeting options than ads created in Ads Manager, where campaign creation and budget settings live.

Why is the Boost button not working?

Meta’s troubleshooting page lists common causes, including not having a professional account, being under 16, a policy or billing issue on the ad account, and an App Store currency or country that differs from your ad account. For some technical errors it suggests boosting from instagram.com, Business Suite or Ads Manager instead.