Creative that sells.
Senior-led Instagram advertising across Reels, Stories, Feed and Explore, bought through Meta Ads Manager and measured on what it sells rather than what it reaches.
One ad, stretched to fit.
Instagram is bought through the same Meta account as Facebook, and that is where many accounts go wrong: one square image or landscape video is pushed into every placement, then cropped, letterboxed or scrolled past. Reels and Stories fill a vertical phone screen, and an ad made for a desktop news feed looks like it was made for somewhere else.
The work is creative built for each placement and tested deliberately, on the same Conversions API measurement that sits under Facebook. Where it suits the brand, Partnership ads run through a creator's own handle, with the content, usage rights and paid partnership label agreed before anything runs.
What an Instagram advertising engagement covers.
- Reels, Stories, Feed and Explore placements
- Threads placement, kept or switched off on its own results
- Vertical video and static creative for each placement
- Creative testing and a refresh plan
- Partnership ads with creators
- Shopping and catalogue ads
- Meta Pixel and Conversions API
- Instagram and Facebook planned as one budget
One plan across Meta.
Instagram and Facebook share an auction, a pixel and a budget, so they are run as one plan, with results read by placement to decide where each pound and each piece of creative works hardest.
Creative is briefed for the placement it will run in and retired when its results fade, on a schedule rather than when someone happens to notice. Results are reconciled against your own sales data, not taken from Meta's dashboard alone.
Meta Certified Media Buying Professional and Meta Discovery Commerce certified.
Instagram Ads questions.
Can we advertise on Instagram without Facebook?
Yes. Placements can be limited to Instagram inside Meta Ads Manager. It is usually tested both ways first, because letting Meta choose across both can find cheaper results, and the test shows which holds for your account.
Do we need video?
For Reels and Stories, vertical video usually earns its place, but it does not have to be expensive. Simple, well-made phone footage can perform as well as a polished edit, and the test decides.
Can you work with influencers?
Yes, through Partnership ads, which run a creator's content from their own handle with your targeting and budget. The content, the usage rights and the paid partnership label are agreed before anything runs.
One budget, every platform.
Each platform is run inside one paid media plan, held by the same senior practitioner, so budget moves to wherever a customer is won most profitably. How the paid media practice works.
Start with a conversation.
A proper conversation with the person who would do the work. Tell me what you run on Instagram Ads today, or are thinking of starting, and you will get an honest read on what I would change, what I would leave alone, and where the real upside is.
Speak with NicThe senior read,
once a week.
Most marketing newsletters are noise on a schedule. This is not that. Once a week I send a short, considered read on the shifts that actually change what you should do, across the AI shift, PPC, technical SEO and analytics. Filtered, weighted and signed off by me before it goes out. The judgement is mine, and now you can hear every edition in my own voice.
Nic CraneFounder, The Crane Consultancy
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