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Have you ever made a fire Instagram post with the potential for huge engagement and thought, “I wish I could get more eyes on this“? Well, Instagram’s “Boost” feature allows Business and Creator accounts to do exactly that by turning your content into ads in seconds. Whether it’s a catchy reel, product posts, carousels, or single-image posts, select a goal for your content, define your audience, and set a budget and duration for the ad.
How can you boost Instagram posts? This guide will walk you through three ways: within the Instagram app, using Meta Business Suite, and with Metricool’s boost post feature.
Instagram added this feature in 2016 as a way to turn regular content into an ad in seconds, with minimal investment costs. As Facebook and Instagram are under Meta, users can boost content on both platforms. This allows users to add a one-time budget and turn their content into an advertisement, expanding its reach and visibility. Instead of going through the campaign setup process, this option allows users to create quick and easy ads.
To access this feature, you must have a business or creator account. This option is not available for personal accounts. If you currently have a personal account but want to switch to a business account, you can easily do so. Learn more about Instagram business accounts here:
Let’s demystify what happens behind the scenes when you hit “Boost.”
While Instagram boost are essentially a form of ad, they differ from the other options offered by Meta’s Ads Manager in the following ways:
Our 2025 Social Media Study found that Instagram post reach increased by 22% last year, with many creators taking advantage of the “boost” feature. And now, you can too! Find three ways to boost your Instagram and Facebook posts below.
The first two are with Meta’s tools, the Instagram app and Meta Business Suite, and the latter is with Metricool, an all-in-one social media marketing and advertising platform. Metricool’s platform allows social media managers and creators to manage their socials beyond Instagram and Facebook.
The first way you can do this is directly through the app. After publishing a feed post, Story, or Reel, you will see the option to “Boost Post”. This option is available in feed posts and Reels just above the caption. In Stories, this option is available at the bottom of the screen.
After clicking on Boost post, the network will prompt you with a series of screens. The first is to select a main objective, whether that’s more profile visits, more website visits, or more messages.
The next option is to define your audience. You can either have Instagram target users they think would be interested, or you can build your own audience. As you can see in the image, you can save your ideal audiences and use them multiple times.
The next screen will have you choose your budget and the duration of the ad. Then lastly, you will review your ad and if everything looks good, you can click Boost post.
You will then see that the post will have the Sponsored tag next to it.
After your ad is submitted, it will be reviewed by the network to ensure it meets Instagram’s ad policies. You can boost Instagram posts from both the mobile and desktop versions.
Meta Business Suite is a free marketing and advertising tool for Instagram and Facebook users. This offers a variety of features to centralize your marketing efforts on the networks. Again, you must have a Business or Creator account to access this tool.
Inside Meta Business Suite, access the left-hand menu and find the “Content” section. This will display all of your posted and scheduled Instagram and Facebook content.
Next to your eligible posts, find the “Boost” option. This will take you to the next page, to define your goal, audience, budget, and duration.
On the right-hand side, view the ad preview and estimated daily results. Results are measured in the number of accounts reached and the total link clicks. View a payment summary with the total amount of your ad.
When your ad details are finished, press Publish for Meta to review the ad. In the drop-down menu next to the publish option, you can also Schedule a boosted post. Most ads are reviewed within 24 hours, and you will receive a notification when your ad has been approved or rejected.
Another option to boost an Instagram post in seconds is from Metricool. With this, you can schedule and auto-publish your Instagram posts, view in-depth analytics, manage social media messages, and more. Want to know how to connect your Instagram account with Metricool?
Now that you have connected your Instagram account with Metricool, head to the Analytics section. Find the Instagram section, and here you can view all your analytical data including your community growth, demographics, lists of posts, Reels, Stories, hashtags, and competitors.
In the list of posts, Reels, and Stories, you will see the +Boost option next to posts that are eligible to be boosted. Simply click this option, select your budget, and then press Accept. From here your post will be automatically boosted.
If you click on View, you will taken directly to the post on Instagram.
After boosting a post, you will also be able to view the analytics of the ad inside Metricool including paid reach, paid interactions, paid post clicks, and the overall money invested.
These features are available right away with a FREE Metricool account, sign up for yours with the button below:
Can boosting an Instagram post really help your content? Overall, yes. First, there needs to be a clear goal, and boosting a post just to boost it won’t necessarily help improve the post.
This feature generally works best on content that is already performing well. Boosting a post doesn’t automatically mean viewers will go crazy over the content, but that it simply reaches a larger audience. Therefore, when you’re choosing which post to boost, make sure this content is still of high quality and aligns with the main objective of the ad.
Another thing to note is that after boosting a post, Instagram doesn’t tell you if the accounts reached were followers or non-followers.
Boosting Instagram posts is a great option for turning a high-performing post into an ad in seconds. However, if you’re looking to create more specific, long-term, in-depth ads, you may want to consider using Meta Business Suite or Ads Manager.
Boosting = quick, simple, post-level promotion.
Ads Manager = full-on campaign creation with deep targeting, placements, and formats.
Both are useful, but if you’re looking for a low-effort way to give a post more reach, boosting wins on simplicity.
After you have boosted your Instagram posts, how can you view the results? Each of the three methods mentioned above has native analytics, showing the performance of your ad.
The cost of boosting an Instagram post isn’t a fixed number; it’s dynamic and depends on many factors within Instagram’s ad auction system. These include your chosen objective (e.g., more profile visits, website clicks, messages), your target audience, the ad placement (Feed, Reels, Stories), the quality and relevance of your ad creative, and the level of competition for your chosen audience. For impressions, the average Cost Per Mille (CPM, or cost per thousand impressions) on Instagram can be around $8 to $14 globally, but this can fluctuate significantly based on industry, audience demand, and even the day of the week. For actions like link clicks, the average Cost Per Link Click (CPLC) might be around $0.70 to $1.20. While you can technically start with a minimum daily budget as low as $1 to $5, effective campaigns typically require a more substantial investment to gather meaningful data and optimize performance. Check out our complete Instagram Guide for more advice.
Yes, you absolutely can boost an Instagram Story. This is a valuable option for social media managers looking to extend the reach of their ephemeral content beyond their immediate followers. You can boost active Stories, those featured in your Highlights, or even archived Stories. When boosting a Story, Instagram allows you to add a default action button at the bottom of your ad, directing users to a specific destination. It’s important to note some creative limitations: boosted Stories generally do not support emojis, GIFs, copyrighted music, or link stickers. Only Instagram’s own effects are typically eligible. This ensures consistency and functionality within the advertising framework. Boosting Stories, especially Reels, can be a particularly effective way to capture attention, given the high engagement rates on these formats.
While all Instagram and Facebook content is eligible for boosting, some content is blocked from boosting. This could be due to several reasons, in which the most common are:
Determining the ideal spend for an Instagram boost requires a strategic approach tailored to your goals. There isn’t a single magic number, as costs are influenced by your campaign objective, target audience, and the quality of your ad creative. For testing campaigns, a budget of $1,000 to $2,000 per month on Meta platforms (which includes Instagram) is a good starting point to gather meaningful data and understand what resonates with your audience. If your objective is lead generation, you might look at $2,000 to $5,000 per month, while e-commerce conversions could necessitate $5,000 to $10,000 or more monthly. For small to mid-sized businesses, allocating around $1,500 to $2,500 per month on Meta platforms is often a good range to see tangible traction. The key is to start with a budget that allows for proper testing and data collection, rather than just throwing money down the drain.
The frequency of boosting Instagram posts depends heavily on your content strategy, audience engagement, and overall marketing goals. While there’s no strict rule, a common recommendation for in-feed posts is to aim for three to five original posts per week, and then strategically choose your top-performing organic content to boost. For Instagram Stories, a more frequent approach of at least one to two per day is often recommended, as they have a shorter lifespan and can sustain more frequent updates. For Reels, creators often see benefits from posting four to seven Reels per week. The overarching principle is consistency and quality over sheer quantity. Rather than boosting every single post, analyze your content performance using tools like Metricool to identify which posts are already gaining traction organically. Boosting these high-performing posts can amplify their success, ensuring you’re putting ad spend behind content that already resonates with your audience. The goal is to maintain visibility without overwhelming your audience or diluting the impact of your paid efforts.
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