Click to Instagram Ads
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Signals reads conversations started from an Instagram ad, so campaigns driving people into direct messages can be measured against what those conversations led to.
A Instagram conversation is not a form, so there is nothing to read a lead status from. What Signals reads instead is the words people send. You define the keywords or phrases that mean something happened, and each one becomes an event.
That makes the mapping step the whole substance of this connector. Get the keywords wrong and the connection works perfectly while reporting nothing useful.
Supported destinations
Section titled “Supported destinations”Destinations supported by Click to Instagram Ads
| Category | Supported |
|---|---|
| Messaging Conversions |
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”Before connecting Click to Instagram Ads, make sure you have:
- A Facebook Business account with access to the Page running the ads.
- An Instagram Business account connected to that Page.
- A list of the keywords or phrases that indicate a conversion, agreed with whoever handles the conversations.
Authentication
Section titled “Authentication”In Studio, open Sources, find the Messaging Ads category, and click the Click to Instagram Ads tile. This connector uses single sign-on.
- Click Login with Facebook for Business.
- Grant the requested permissions.
Sign in with an account that already administers the Page. Datahash reads as that account, so a Page it cannot manage will not appear in the next step.
Configuration
Section titled “Configuration”Instance details
Section titled “Instance details”- Give the instance a name.
- Select the Facebook Page whose conversations you want to read.
- Click Next.
Field mapping
Section titled “Field mapping”Define the Instagram keywords, phrases or text that represent specific events, and map each one to the event value it should report.
For example, a message containing a phrase you have agreed means an enquiry started, or that someone asked to buy, becomes that event.
Test connection and response preview
Section titled “Test connection and response preview”Click Test Connection, review the preview, then click Finish.
Manage instance
Section titled “Manage instance”To add another, open Manage Connections and click Add Instance. To change one, open it from Manage Connections, click the edit option in the menu to the top right, update the fields and click Finish. Cancel discards the changes and leaves the previous configuration running.
Data & identifiers
Section titled “Data & identifiers”Personal identifiers are normalized and SHA-256 hashed before they are sent to any destination.
Message content is used to decide whether an event occurred. Only the event and the identifiers the platform provides are sent onward; the conversation itself is not.
The identifier that matters most here is ig_sid, the Instagram-scoped user ID Meta issues for the person in the conversation, sent with the ig_account_id of the business account that received it. That pair is what Meta Instagram Conversions API matches on. Both pass through unhashed, because a hashed ID matches nothing. See Identifier normalization & hashing.
An Instagram-scoped ID is only meaningful to the account it was issued for, which is why the two travel together. The same person messaging a second Instagram account of the same business appears under a different ig_sid, so conversations cannot be joined across accounts on that identifier alone.
Best practices
Section titled “Best practices”- Read a sample of real conversations before choosing keywords. People rarely use the words a campaign brief expects.
- Prefer phrases tied to an action, such as booking or ordering, over general interest. Generic words over-report.
- Start with a small set of high-confidence keywords and widen once you can see what is being counted.
- Review the keyword list when campaign creative changes, since the phrases people reply with follow the creative.
- Keep whoever handles the conversations involved. They know the vocabulary better than anyone in the ads team.
Troubleshooting & FAQ
Section titled “Troubleshooting & FAQ”The Page is listed but no conversations are read. Check the Instagram Business account is still connected to that Page, and that it is a business account rather than a personal one.
Conversions are being over-reported. A keyword is appearing in ordinary conversation. Narrow it to a phrase tied to the action.
Conversations are happening but nothing is reported. The keywords do not match what people are actually sending. Read recent conversations and adjust.
Nothing is arriving at the destination. Confirm the destination is connected in the same project and that the setup was finished rather than left at the mapping step.
Delivery stopped. The sign-in grant may have been revoked, or the account may have lost admin access to the Page. Reconnect.