Connect a Facebook Page and Instagram account
Half of all ad-setup headaches are really ownership-chain problems wearing a costume. Before you can run a single ad, your Facebook Page and Instagram Professional Account have to sit inside your Portfolio with the links pointing the right way: the Portfolio owns the Page, the Page is linked to the Instagram account, and each ad account is granted access to both. Get the chain right once and the errors stop.
Connect a Page
Three options: Add a Page (you already own it; transfers ownership to the Portfolio), Request Access (you are an agency working on a client Page; the client's admin must approve), or Create a New Page from scratch inside the Portfolio.
Add a Page makes the Portfolio the owner of record. Request Access gives the Portfolio working access without transferring ownership.
A Page can have only one primary owner. If a previous agency claimed it, they have to release ownership before your Portfolio can claim it.
Switch Instagram to Professional
Instagram must be a Professional Account (Business or Creator) to run ads, use Shopping, see advanced insights, and route inbox messages through Business Suite.
Converting from Personal to Professional is reversible, free, and takes under 5 minutes in the mobile app. The profile becomes public.
Link them together
Add the Instagram Professional Account to the Portfolio under Accounts → Instagram Accounts.
Add the relevant ad accounts to the Instagram account's Connected Assets list. Without this, ads will run but the 'Instagram account not connected' error appears in Ads Manager.
Link the Page and Instagram account under the Page's Linked Accounts settings (or in the Instagram app's Settings → Account Center). Without the link, you cannot cross-post, share an inbox, or run Instagram-side ads from Ads Manager.
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