Step 2 of 3 in Level 4: Run it as an ad

Turn an Instagram post into a Meta ad

Run a Studio post as a Meta ad from one screen: every slide as one swipeable ad, a goal read from the post, your budget — paused until you start it.

About 4 minutes 7 steps Updated

Short answer

To turn an Instagram post into a Meta ad with Blackbox (blackbox.plus), you need the post in Studio with its slides drawn and a Meta ad account connected to the same brand; the post does not have to be published. Open the post, go to step 3, Post, and click Launch as ad in the Paid card. Run it as an ad opens with a preview: every slide runs as one swipeable ad, and you can tap a slide to leave it out. The goal is read from the post's ask and the button's link from your brand, and you can change either. Check who it reaches, the Instagram account it runs as and the ad account, then set an amount a day and a number of days. Click Create the ad (paused); nothing spends until you click Start the ad. This is not boosting: it builds a new ad from the post, so it starts without the post's likes and comments.

Before you start

A post in Studio

Made from an idea or uploaded, with its slides drawn. It does not have to be published. See Make an Instagram carousel with AI.

Meta Ads connected

An ad account for the same brand. See Connect your Meta ad account to Blackbox.

How to turn an Instagram post into a Meta ad in Blackbox

  1. 01

    Open the Paid card

    Open the post from the Library tab in Studio and go to step 3, Post. Below the Organic card is the Paid card: "Run it as a Meta ad. Check it and choose a budget — nothing spends until you start it." Click Launch as ad. Once the post is live on Instagram, the card offers Boost this post first; click Make a new ad from it instead.

  2. 02

    Check the preview

    Run it as an ad opens with the ad as people will see it: your Instagram account, the slides, your caption and the button. Every slide runs as one swipeable ad. To leave a slide out, tap it in the row under the preview; tap it again to put it back.

  3. 03

    Check the goal and who sees it

    Goal says in plain words what the ad is for, read from your post’s ask — for example Get orders, Get sign-ups or bookings or Get people to the website. Click Change to pick another. Under Who, click Edit audience to adjust it; it stays inside your country, and Meta may widen it to people likely to respond.

  4. 04

    Check the account and the link

    Runs as shows the Instagram account the ad appears from. Under Ad account, pick one if the brand has more than one. The button goes to shows where people land — your post’s ask or your website; click Change to use another page.

  5. 05

    Choose how much, for how long

    Under How much, for how long, enter an amount a day, in your ad account’s currency, and a number of Days, from 1 to 90. The line underneath shows the most it can spend in total. If the amount is below Meta’s daily minimum, it says so.

  6. 06

    Answer any questions

    If the review asks how a sale is measured or which Facebook Page the ad runs from, pick one. The Page is chosen for you when Blackbox can match it to the post’s Instagram account.

  7. 07

    Create it, then start it

    Click Create the ad (paused). When it says The ad is made and paused. Nothing is spending yet., click Start the ad. It then says Your ad is running, and See it on Meta opens it in Meta. Back on the post, the Paid card says Running as an ad on Meta.

Good to know

  • Create the ad (paused) makes the campaign, ad set and ad in one go, all paused. Only Start the ad spends.
  • Meta reviews new ads before they show, usually within a day.
  • Up to 10 slides run, Meta’s limit for one swipeable ad. On a longer post the rest are left out, and the review says so.
  • Want to set the campaign name, ad text or dates yourself? Use the full brief instead opens the campaign brief; that campaign is then approved in the Inbox.
  • On TikTok, Snapchat or LinkedIn, Launch as ad opens the campaign brief instead, the ad uses slide 1, and you approve it in the Inbox.
  • Run another version on the Paid card makes a further ad from the same post.

Questions people ask

Is this the same as boosting a post?
No. Boosting runs the post already on your profile as the ad and keeps its likes and comments, but it has no button, so it can only bring likes, comments and reach. Launch as ad builds a new ad from the same slides and words, with a button and a link — it starts with no likes or comments, and it works for a post you have not published. For a post that is live on Instagram, the Paid card offers Boost this post: see How to boost an Instagram post.
Does it spend straight away?
No. Create the ad (paused) makes the ad with nothing spending. Money is only spent after you click Start the ad, up to the amount a day you set, for the days you set.
Do I have to publish the post first?
No. You can run it as an ad, post it, or both, in any order. They are separate: the ad does not appear on your profile as a post.
Can I choose which slides run?
Yes. All of them run by default. Tap a slide in the row under the preview to leave it out, and tap it again to put it back. At least one slide always stays.
How do I stop the ad?
It stops on its own after the days you set. To stop it sooner, open it with See it on Meta and pause it in Meta Ads Manager.
The Launch as ad button is greyed out
Either the slides are not drawn yet — draw them and the button wakes up — or the brand has no Meta ad account, in which case the card says Connect Meta Ads to run this as an ad, with a Go to Data button.

Stuck at any step? Send us a message and we'll do it with you on a call. All of Level 4: Run it as an ad