# Instagram Ads Management for UK Businesses

Source: https://dijitulmarketing.co.uk/instagram-ads/
Updated: 2026-10-18

> dijitul marketing plans and runs Instagram ads for UK businesses: Reels, Stories, feed and Explore placements, creative made to Meta's specifications, partnership ads with creators, and proper conversion tracking. Management starts from £150 a month + VAT, and your ad spend is paid directly to Meta. You keep ownership of the ad account.

Price: From £150 a month + VAT

## Problems this solves

- Your Instagram ads are just cropped Facebook ads with text cut off
- Your logo and offer sit under the caption and buttons on Reels
- Boosted posts get likes but no visits to your site or shop
- You have creator content but do not know how to run it as an ad legally
- You cannot tell Instagram results apart from Facebook results
- Your feed and your ads look like two different brands

## Key facts

- Instagram ads management from £150 a month + VAT, plus ad spend paid directly to Meta
- Instagram ads are bought through Meta Ads Manager, the same system as Facebook ads
- Meta's Ads Guide specifies Reels ads at 9:16, 1440 x 2560 px, up to 15 minutes and 4 GB
- Meta recommends keeping the top 14%, bottom 35% and 6% each side of Reels ads clear of text and logos
- DataReportal's Digital 2026 UK report lists Instagram's UK advertising reach at 35.5 million
- Partnership ads let you run a creator's post with their handle, labelled as paid
- Monthly, cancel with notice

## Instagram ads are Meta ads with different rules for creative

There is no separate Instagram ad platform. Instagram ads are built in Meta Ads Manager alongside Facebook ads, using the same objectives, audiences, Pixel and budget. What changes is the creative. Instagram is full-screen, vertical, mostly video and mostly watched on a phone. An ad made for a Facebook desktop feed often looks out of place.

We can run Instagram-only campaigns where that makes sense, for example a fashion brand whose customers are on Instagram rather than Facebook. Instagram also has placements Facebook does not, such as Explore, where people browse content from accounts they do not yet follow. More often we run Meta campaigns with all placements open and supply creative designed for Instagram first, then check placement-level results so you can see what Instagram actually delivered.

## Formats and sizes

Meta's Ads Guide sets out the current specifications. The ones that matter most:

| Placement | Shape | Size | Notes |

| Reels | 9:16 | 1440 x 2560 px | MP4 or MOV, up to 15 minutes and 4 GB; keep top 14%, bottom 35% and 6% each side clear |
| Stories | 9:16 | 1440 x 2560 px | Same safe zones as Reels |
| Feed image | 4:5 | 1440 x 1800 px | JPG or PNG, up to 30 MB |

Meta suggests primary text on Reels of about 44 characters, because longer captions are cut off on screen. Sound is optional but strongly recommended. We burn captions into video anyway, because many people watch with sound off. Meta also advises against licensed music in Reels ads; we use original audio or tracks from Meta's Sound Collection.

## Partnership ads and creator content

Partnership ads run a creator's post, or your own post made with a creator, as an ad that shows both handles and a "Paid partnership" label. They often perform well because they look like normal Instagram content. The creator must approve the partnership in the app before you can use their content in Ads Manager.

In the UK this is advertising, and both the brand and the creator are responsible for making it obvious. The ASA's advice on recognising ads says the platform's paid partnership label may help but may not be enough on its own, and suggests adding a clear "Ad" label upfront if in doubt. Our influencer marketing page covers the rules in detail.

## Shopping and catalogue ads

For online shops, Instagram ads can pull products straight from a Meta catalogue, fed from Shopify, WooCommerce or a product feed. Catalogue ads show the right product to the right person: someone who viewed a jacket sees that jacket, and someone new sees your best sellers. The catalogue needs clean titles, prices, availability and images, and your Pixel or Conversions API must send ViewContent, AddToCart and Purchase events with matching product IDs.

If the feed and the events do not match, catalogue ads quietly fail. We check both before spending a pound. We also set up product sets, such as best sellers, new arrivals or items with healthy margins, so budget goes where it makes most sense for the business, and we exclude products that are out of stock or too cheap to advertise profitably. For shops also running Google Shopping, the same product data work helps both. See ecommerce marketing for the wider picture.

## Pricing and what you can expect

Instagram ads management is from £150 a month + VAT. Your ad spend is paid directly to Meta, which since 1 July 2026 adds a 2% location fee on ads delivered to UK audiences, as reported by Reuters. If we are also running organic Instagram for you, that is a separate social media management package from £125 a month + VAT, and the two are planned together so your ads and feed look like the same business.

We do not promise a return on ad spend, follower numbers or sales figures. We promise sensible structure, creative built for the placement, accurate tracking and monthly reporting in plain English, with clear next steps.

## What you get

- Placement plan: Reels, Stories, feed and Explore
- Creative in 9:16 and 4:5, built inside Meta's safe zones
- Short video edits with captions burned in for sound-off viewing
- Partnership ad set-up with creators, with clear disclosure
- Catalogue and shopping ads for ecommerce stores
- Placement-level reporting so you can see what Instagram delivered

## FAQs

### How much does Instagram advertising cost?

dijitul marketing manages Instagram ads from £150 a month + VAT. Ad spend is separate and paid to Meta, which also adds a 2% location fee on UK-delivered ads since July 2026. You set the budget; we advise on what is realistic for your goal and audience size.

### What size should Instagram Reels ads be?

Meta's Ads Guide specifies 9:16 at 1440 x 2560 px, in MP4 or MOV up to 4 GB. Keep the top 14%, bottom 35% and 6% at each side free of text and logos, because the caption, buttons and profile name cover those areas.

### Can I run Instagram ads without a Facebook page?

Instagram ads are created in Meta Ads Manager, which uses a Meta business portfolio. Your Instagram professional account is connected to it. We set this up in your name so you own the accounts, and you do not need to post on Facebook if you do not want to.

### Is boosting a post the same as running an ad?

Boosting is a simplified ad with limited objectives and targeting. It can help a post reach more people, but for sales or leads, a proper Ads Manager campaign gives better control of the objective, audience, placements and tracking.

### Do I need to label creator content I run as an ad?

Yes. If you paid or gave something to the creator, or controlled the content, it is an ad under UK rules. The ASA says the paid partnership label may not be enough on its own, so we add a clear "Ad" label upfront.

## Prices and contact

Prices (all from, + VAT; ad spend separate): Google Ads management £150 a month; Paid social (Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok) £150 a month; Social media management £125 a month; Email marketing £95 a month; Marketing automation set-up £195; SMS marketing £75 a month; GA4 set-up £95; Conversion tracking £145; Data Studio (Looker Studio) dashboard £145; Conversion rate optimisation £195 a month; Content marketing £195 a month; Consultancy, audits and strategy £45 an hour. All prices are "from" and exclude VAT. Ad spend is separate and paid directly to Google, Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn or TikTok. Paid media management is from £150 a month or 10 to 15% of ad spend, whichever is higher. You own every ad account, pixel, audience and email list we set up. Contact: https://dijitulmarketing.co.uk/contact/ · 01623 650333 · info@dijitul.uk