Instagram ads have become a powerful tool for businesses and brands to reach their target audiences, boost brand awareness, and drive results.
And the best part is that posting instagram ads is really simple if you learn the basics.
But in some cases, after you have drafted the Instagram ad, selected your target audience and the ad gets approved, the Ad still does not run!
Like you can see the Ad as approved, but there is no change to the insights of the post or no ad budget is being used.
This is super frustrating but there is often a simple reason for it.
In this article, I’ll shed some light on why your Instagram ad is approved but not running and what you can do to get it running.
⚡Also Read: Instagram Ad Account Not Found
Why Your Instagram Ad Is Not Running & How To Fix It
Here are some of the common reasons your Instagram ad is approved but not running yet:
1. Low Ad Engagement
Even if your Ad was approved but if it cannot clearly convey your message, there is a higher probability the audience might scroll past it.
Irrelevant and poor content does not grab the attention of the users.
If your Ad copy is not able to communicate the value of the product or service you offer effectively, the Ad will not deliver its intended results.
How to Fix it?
Make sure your ad copy is engaging, concise, and clearly conveying your message.
Also use high-quality videos and images that can get the attention of your target audience and make them watch or read till they end .
2. Small Target Audience
Instagram might not deliver the ad if you select a narrow and irrelevant audience.
The main reason for this is the Ad reach gets restricted as a result of the limited audience selected. The Ad will not be visible to instagram users if the audience does not include any interested parties.
This will cause zero changes to your Ad insights.
How to Fix it?
Do some research, think like your customer and then set the audience targeting settings.
Also double check if your campaign objectives and matches the interests and demographics of your ideal customers.
⚡Also Read: Instagram Videos Blocked In Some Countries
3. Low Ad Budget
Another common reason why your Instagram ad is approved but not running is because your budget is low.
If the budget is too small, Instagram’s algo won’t have enough data to tell if the ad is engaging and will stop running it.
How to Fix it?
When drafting the ad, Instagram will suggest a budget depending on the audience you targeted.
You can use this plus their budget optimization features to re-evaluate the estimated reach and conversion rates with your planned budget.
If you have a wider audience, consider increasing it a little.
We recommend at least $10/day
And also instead of using a daily limit, try using a lifetime budget. This helps Instagram to spend your budget as necessary by allocating the amount to the entire campaign.
4. Reaching The Account Spending Limit
When creating your Ad account, you come across an option to set a spending limit to control your budget.
If you did set an amount, instagram will automatically stop running your ad once you reach the accounts spending limit.
How to Fix it?
You can either change or remove the accounts spending limit.
To do this, you can go to Ads Manager > Settings and select Billing and Payments.
You will see the Account Spending limit option on the right pane of the window. Once you increase, reset or delete the spending limit, the Ad will start running again.
5. Post Is Unavailable
If the post you are promoting as an ad gets removed, the Ad will not be delivered. It’s the same if you are promoting a product from your catalog, and the product goes out of stock or is deleted.
In some cases the promoted post is a shared content from another profile and the owner of the original post has removed or changed privacy settings of it.
How to Fix it?
You can fix these issues by choosing a different post or adjusting permissions.
If you are promoting an item from the product catalog make sure to include the product IDs accurately and make products in stock.
6. Ad Scheduling Issues
This can also be an Ad scheduling issue. You usually have to select a time period for the ad to run when scheduling the Ad.
Some common issues with ad scheduling are:
- Ad is paused unintentionally. This can happen mistakenly without awareness.
- Ad campaign is scheduled for a future date.
- The scheduled Ad running period is very short and the end date has already passed.
How to Fix it?
Set your ad to run through a considerable amount of days. Instagram usually catches the algorithm of the audience and behaviors within 1-2 days.
So if you end your ad quickly, it will not deliver results properly.
The recommended number of days for an ad to run is at least for 5 to 7 days.
Also double check the advertisement to see if it is paused. If paused, resume it to complete the rest of the campaign.
And make sure your ad scheduling is not fixed for a future date. If you want the ad to run immediately, change scheduling to Publish Now.
⚡Also Read: Instagram Following Count Stuck
7. Payment Methods
If there is insufficient funds in your card or whatever payment option you selected, the Ad will obviously not run.
And there can be cases where the payment mode selected has restrictions and the funds do not get credited to your Instagram account.
For example, if there is a limit for international transfers your bank is going to block it.
How to Fix it?
Double check if the payment mode you selected has enough money on it.
Also check for limits and other blocks. There should not be anything blocking the funds from being credited to Instagram.
Contact Support
You can always contact Instagram’s support team if none of this seems to be the issue.
They help diagnose and resolve technical issues if there are any.
