Guide to Boosting Instagram Posts in 2024 

Instagram’s “Boost” feature allows Business and Creator accounts to transfer any content into an advertisement in seconds. Whether it’s a catchy reel, product posts, carousels, or single-image posts, select a goal for your content, define your audience, and set a budget and duration for the ad. 

How can you boost Instagram posts? This guide will walk you through three ways: within the Instagram app, using Meta Business Suite, and with Metricool’s boost post feature. 

What Does it Mean to “Boost” an Instagram Post?

Instagram added this feature in 2016 as a way to turn regular content into an ad in seconds, with minimal investment costs. As Facebook and Instagram are under Meta, users can boost content on both platforms. This allows users to add a one-time budget and turn their content into an advertisement, expanding its reach and visibility. Instead of going through the campaign setup process, this option allows users to create quick and easy ads. 

To access this feature, you must have a business or creator account. This option is not available for personal accounts. If you currently have a personal account but want to switch to a business account, you can easily do so. Learn more about Instagram business accounts here:

Why is my post not eligible for boosting?

While all Instagram and Facebook content is eligible for boosting, some content is blocked from boosting. This could be due to several reasons, in which the most common are: 

• You have a personal Instagram account. Only Instagram Business and Creator accounts have access to boost posts. 
• You’re not a Facebook page admin. You can gain Facebook Page admin access with your Instagram account. 
• Copyright issues. This is usually due to music added to the content. 
• The video resolution is wrong. Instagram Reels must be 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. 
• GIFs are not supported. Convert GIFs into video content (MP4 or MOV). 
• Content contains tappable elements: The only tappable elements available on boosted Reels are the polling sticker and a swipe-up CTA. 
• The account hasn’t existed for 30 days. If this is a new account, you must wait 30 days until boosting is activated. 
• Your ad has been rejected. If Meta has rejected your ad, you can view the Account Quality page to view the status of your ads. 
• Your account has been restricted. You can also check the Account Quality page to see if your account has any restrictions. 

How to Boost Instagram Posts 

Find three ways to boost your Instagram and Facebook posts below. The first two are with Meta’s tools, the Instagram app and Meta Business Suite, and the latter is with Metricool, an all-in-one social media marketing and advertising platform. Metricool’s platform allows social media managers and creators to manage their socials beyond Instagram and Facebook. 

Boost Instagram posts through the app 

The first way you can do this is directly through the app. After publishing a feed post, Story, or Reel, you will see the option to “Boost Post”. This option is available in feed posts and Reels just above the caption. In Stories, this option is available at the bottom of the screen.

Advertising on social media can be overwhelming, especially when navigating platforms like Meta Business Suite and Ads Manager, which aren’t the most intuitive for advertising newbies. 

Is there an advertising platform for dummies? Unfortunately no, but thanks to features like Boost Posts on Instagram, you can turn your content into an ad and receive more views and interactions with just a click. 

After clicking on Boost post, the network will prompt you with a series of screens. The first is to select a main objective, whether that’s more profile visits, more website visits, or more messages. 

The next option is to define your audience. You can either have Instagram target users they think would be interested, or you can build your own audience. As you can see in the image, you can save your ideal audiences and use them multiple times. 

The next screen will have you choose your budget and the duration of the ad. Then lastly, you will review your ad and if everything looks good, you can click Boost post. 

You will then see that the post will have the Sponsored tag next to it. 

After your ad is submitted, it will be reviewed by the network to ensure it meets Instagram’s ad policies. You can boost Instagram posts from both the mobile and desktop versions. 

Boost Instagram posts with Meta Business Suite 

Meta Business Suite is a free marketing and advertising tool for Instagram and Facebook users. This offers a variety of features to centralize your marketing efforts on the networks. Again, you must have a Business or Creator account to access this tool. 

Inside Meta Business Suite, access the left-hand menu and find the “Content” section. This will display all of your posted and scheduled Instagram and Facebook content. 

Next to your eligible posts, find the “Boost” option. This will take you to the next page, to define your goal, audience, budget, and duration. 

On the right-hand side, view the ad preview and estimated daily results. Results are measured in the number of accounts reached and the total link clicks. View a payment summary with the total amount of your ad. 

When your ad details are finished, press Publish for Meta to review the ad. In the drop-down menu next to the publish option, you can also Schedule a boosted post. Most ads are reviewed within 24 hours, and you will receive a notification when your ad has been approved or rejected. 

Boost Instagram Posts from Metricool 

Another option to boost an Instagram post in seconds is from Metricool. With this, you can schedule and auto-publish your Instagram posts, view in-depth analytics, manage social media messages, and more. Want to know how to connect your Instagram account with Metricool? 

Now that you have connected your Instagram account with Metricool, head to the Analytics section in Metricool. Find the Instagram section, and here you can view all your analytical data including your community growth, demographics, lists of posts, Reels, Stories, hashtags, and competitors. 

In the list of posts, Reels, and Stories, you will see the +Boost option next to posts that are eligible to be boosted. Simply click this option, select your budget, and then press Accept. From here your post will be automatically boosted. 

If you click on View, you will taken directly to the post on Instagram. 

After boosting a post, you will also be able to view the analytics of the ad inside Metricool including paid reach, paid interactions, paid post clicks, and the overall money invested. 

Is Boosting Instagram Posts Worth It?

Can boosting an Instagram post really help your content? Overall, yes. First, there needs to be a clear goal, and boosting a post just to boost it won’t necessarily help improve the post. 

This feature generally works best on content that is already performing well. Boosting a post doesn’t automatically mean viewers will go crazy over the content, but that it simply reaches a larger audience. Therefore, when you’re choosing which post to boost, make sure this content is still of high quality and aligns with the main objective of the ad. 

Another thing to note is that after boosting a post, Instagram doesn’t tell you if the accounts reached were followers or non-followers. 

Boosting Instagram posts is a great option for turning a high-performing post into an ad in seconds. However, if you’re looking to create more specific, long-term, in-depth ads, you may want to consider using Meta Business Suite or Ads Manager. 

How to view boosted post results 

After you have boosted your Instagram posts, how can you view the results? Each of the three methods mentioned above has native analytics, showing the performance of your ad. 

• Instagram app: View the results of your boosted posts within the Insights section. 
• Meta Business Suite: Under the Insights tab, view your organic and paid results. 
• Metricool: The Instagram Analytics section will show your profile, demographic, and content results within the selected period. 

For a full guide to advertising on Instagram, check out this post:

Anniston Ward , 17 September 2024