How to set up Instagram Shop ads

Quick Answer

To set up Instagram Shop ads, you must first create a product catalogue in Meta Commerce Manager and set up an Instagram Shop. Then in Ads Manager pick the Sales objective and choose Catalogue sales so Meta dynamically pulls products from your catalogue into Instagram placements.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create your Meta product catalogue

Visit business.facebook.com/commerce and click Add catalogue. Choose Ecommerce, name it, and connect it to your Business Manager. You can upload products via CSV, Shopify, WooCommerce, or a manual feed.

2. Set up your Instagram Shop

Inside Commerce Manager click Add shop, link the catalogue, and select your Instagram business account. Submit for review — approval usually takes 24 to 48 hours. Your Page must comply with Meta's commerce policies.

3. Tag products in organic posts (optional but helpful)

Tagging products in organic posts before launching ads warms up Meta's signals and improves dynamic ad performance.

4. Create a Catalogue Sales campaign

Open adsmanager.facebook.com, click Create, choose Sales, then under Catalogue select your catalogue. Set the campaign name and budget.

5. Build your ad set

At the ad set level pick the product set you want to advertise (or All products). Configure budget, schedule, and audience. For a top-of-funnel push use a broad audience plus Advantage+ targeting. For retargeting cart abandoners use Custom audiences > Catalogue events > Added to cart but not purchased.

6. Choose a creative format

At the ad level pick:

Carousel to show multiple products
Single image or video with a product overlay
Collection for a full-screen instant experience

Meta will dynamically pull product images, prices, names, and links from your catalogue.

7. Publish and verify

Click Publish. After approval, double-check that the products and prices in the live ad match your catalogue.

FAQs

Do I need Instagram Shop to run product ads? Yes if you want shoppable tags. Otherwise you can still run regular ads pointing to your website.

How long does Shop approval take? Usually 24–48 hours, but new accounts can take a week.

Can I sell on Instagram Shop without a website? No, you need a checkout URL on your own site (UK and EU sellers must use their own checkout).

Why are my products not showing in the catalogue? Check Commerce Manager for diagnostics — most issues are missing prices or invalid image URLs.

Can I retarget shop browsers? Yes — create a custom audience based on the ViewContent or AddToCart pixel events.

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