How to Create Partnership Ads for Influencer Marketing

83% of marketers say sponsored influencer content generates more conversions than brand content, yet many agencies struggle to scale it through paid media.

Boosting posts offers limited control over targeting and optimization, while brand-run ads rarely match the authenticity of organic influencer content.

Partnership ads solve this by letting agencies run ads directly from a creator’s handle on Instagram and Facebook. But the permissions, setup, and optimization process can be confusing without a clear workflow.

In this guide, we’ll go over how you can create and run partnership ads for influencer campaigns step by step. 👇
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TL;DR: How to create partnership ads

Agencies and brands can create partnership ads in Meta Ads Manager. There are two main ways to set them up - jump straight to the method you need:

• Using an ad code —  promote a single, specific creator post that the influencer has approved.
• Without an ad code — use account-level access to run ads from the creator’s handle, selecting any eligible existing content or uploading new creative.
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What are partnership ads?

Partnership ads (formerly called branded content ads) are a type of Meta ad that allows brands to run paid campaigns using a creator’s Meta account.

Instead of appearing only from a brand’s account, the ad can show the creator’s handle, or both the creator and brand together, in the ad header.

Meta uses signals from both the brand and the creator accounts to deliver and optimize the ad. This combined data helps improve targeting, ranking, and overall performance compared to ads run from a brand account alone.

📝 For example, a skincare brand working with a beauty influencer can run ads that appear to come from the influencer’s Instagram account. To users, the ad looks like a creator recommendation rather than a traditional brand ad, which often leads to stronger engagement and conversion rates.

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What’s the difference between boosted posts and partnership ads?

Boosted posts are ads created from existing posts published on a brand’s or creator’s Instagram account or Facebook Page. Boosting is the simplest way to increase the reach of that post to a wider audience.

Boosted posts are created directly from the post interface or Meta Business Suite and offer limited targeting, placement, and optimization options compared to Ads Manager campaigns.

Partnership ads are created in Ads Manager and give agencies full control over targeting and optimization. They can use an existing creator post or new brand-supplied creative, but the ad still runs from the creator’s handle (or both creator and brand). To run partnership ads, the creator must grant permission.

Here’s a quick overview:

❓ Which should you use? 

Use boosted influencer posts when:

• Goal is engagement or awareness
• Budget is small
• Campaign is simple amplification
• No ongoing creator partnership

Use partnership ads when:

• Running paid influencer campaigns
• Optimizing for conversions or sales
• Scaling creator content
• Running ongoing creator partnerships
• Managing ads through Ads Manager

🔗 Related article: How to Request Access to a Facebook Ad Account

Benefits of partnership ads for agencies

​​For agencies managing influencer marketing at scale, partnership ads bring a few important advantages:

✔️ Achieve stronger engagement than brand-only ads

Meta reports partnership ads deliver 13% higher click-through rates and 19% lower CPA compared to standard ads, while influencer content used in ads can generate up to 4x higher CTR than brand creative. 

The result? Better campaign metrics, stronger case studies, and clearer performance justification to clients.

✔️ Scale and reuse high-performing influencer content

Agencies can amplify top-performing creator posts without requiring repeated influencer publishing. This extends the lifespan and ROI of each collaboration while keeping campaigns consistent and scalable.

✔️ Centralize reporting and optimization in Ads Manager

Partnership ads live inside Ads Manager, allowing agencies to manage budgets, placements, A/B testing, and reporting alongside other paid campaigns.

This makes influencer marketing measurable and accountable, especially when clients expect performance data beyond vanity metrics.

How to request partnership ad permissions from influencers

To run partnership ads, you need permission from the creator whose handle will appear in the ad.

There are two types of partnership ad permissions: content-level and account-level. 

1. Content-level permissions (for one-off campaigns)

Content-level permissions allow brands and agencies to promote individual posts, stories, or reels as partnership ads. Creators can typically grant access by enabling boosting on a branded content post or sharing a partnership ad code.

This option is best when:

• Promoting a single sponsored post
• Running short-term influencer campaigns
• Testing creator performance before scaling
• Agencies need approval per asset

Because access is limited to selected posts, creators retain tight control over which content can be used in ads.

2. Account-level permissions (for ongoing partnerships)

Account-level permissions allow brands and agencies to create partnership ads from a creator’s handle without requesting permission for each post.

This option is best when:

• Running ongoing influencer partnerships
• Scaling creator content into paid campaigns
• Managing always-on creator programs
• Agencies need flexibility to test multiple assets

Account-level permissions reduce the need for repeated approvals and make influencer campaigns easier to scale and optimize.

✅ Want easier access to influencer accounts?

Leadsie is a client onboarding tool that lets creators approve ad access via a single secure link, eliminating the need to navigate Meta’s permission settings or deal with repeated back-and-forth during setup.

Learn more about using Leadsie for influencer whitelisting.

Who can run partnership ads?

To run partnership ads on Instagram and Facebook, both the brand (advertiser) and the creator must meet Meta’s eligibility requirements:

✔️ Brands must use eligible business accounts
Partnership ads can only run from Facebook Pages, professional-mode profiles, or Instagram professional accounts connected to an ad account.

 If the brand can run Meta ads, it’s usually eligible.

🔗 Related article: How to Create and a Facebook business Page

✔️ Creators must have professional accounts with an active presence
Creators appearing in partnership ads need Instagram professional accounts or Facebook Pages and an authentic, established presence.

Most active influencers already qualify.

🔗 Related article: How to Change Your Instagram Personal Profile to a Business Account

✔️ Content must follow Meta policies
Posts used in partnership ads must comply with Meta’s Community Standards, branded content rules, and intellectual property policies.

Non-compliant content can’t be promoted, even if the accounts are eligible.

✔️ Creator permission is required
Agencies need content-level or account-level partnership ad permissions from the creator to run ads from their identity.

Without this approval, partnership ads can’t be created.
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How to create partnership ads (step-by-step)

Partnership ads are created in Meta Ads Manager and follow the standard campaign setup process, with an additional step to add the creator identity. 

The workflow differs slightly depending on whether you’re using a creator ad code or selecting content directly, but we’ll show you both ways. 

📝 Before you begin, make sure:

• Both the brand and creator meet the eligibility requirements outlined above. 
• The content you plan to promote is in a supported partnership ad format (Feed, Stories, or Reels). For full format specifications and restrictions, see Meta’s eligible formats for partnership ads.
• While optional, linking your Instagram and Facebook accounts is recommended to ensure partnership ads deliver correctly across placements. Learn how to link them here.

Now, let’s walk through the setup process:

Step 1. Go to Ads Manager and click “Create.”

Step 2. Choose the objective that matches your campaign goal.

💡Tip: If you’re amplifying creator content that already performs well organically, “Engagement” or “Sales” objectives typically align best with partnership ads.

Step 3. Continue setting up your ad as you would with a standard Meta ad.

👉 Advantage+ campaign budget distributes the budget automatically across ad sets. 

If you're running single-creator partnership ads, this can result in one creator receiving most of the budget before others have had a fair chance to generate results. Turning it off allows you to set a fixed budget per ad set, ensuring each creator gets equal spend and a proper performance test.

👉 A/B testing is optional and typically used when comparing multiple creators or creatives.

Step 4. Choose your campaign delivery settings, including budget, schedule, audience targeting, and placements.

Step 5. Turn on the Partnership ad toggle.

Then choose how you want to create a partnership ad:

Option 1: Create a partnership ad using an ad code

This method is best when you have content-level permissions and you’re promoting a specific existing creator post.

After enabling the Partnership ad toggle:

1. Click “Enter ad code or post info.”

2. Paste the creator’s ad code, post ID, or post URL.

Ads Manager will then automatically load the creator identity and associated media. They will appear as the primary identity because they authored the original content.

3. Select the second identity (usually the brand) to appear in the ad header and click “Done.”

Option 2: Create a partnership ad without an ad code

This method is best if you have account-level permissions and want to create or select content that runs under the creator’s profile.

After enabling the Partnership ad toggle:

1. Under Identities, add the creator as the second identity. 

The brand will be automatically set as the first identity, but you can switch the order if needed.

1. Choose your content source:
   
   

a) use an existing creator post

Under Ad setup, select “Use existing post.”

Then, click “Select post” and choose the creator content to promote.

👉 If you can’t find the post, ensure the creator identity is selected or use the identity filter.

b) upload new creative

Under Ad setup, select “Create ad.”

• Choose the ad format (single image/video or carousel)
• Click “Add media” and upload/edit creative

This allows you to run ads from the creator identity even if the content wasn’t originally posted organically.

• You can also use the Testimonial option to add a short comment from the creator. 

This appears as a pinned comment on the ad, making it feel more authentic and adding social proof.

Step 6. Complete the remaining setup, including tracking and any other required settings, just like you would with any Meta ad. Then click “Publish.”

Meta will review the partnership ad before it goes live. Once approved, the ad will appear from the selected creator or creator + brand identity.
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How to measure partnership ad performance

Once your partnership ad is live, you can track performance in Meta Ads Manager just like any other campaign. 

Here are some tips:
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Track paid performance in Ads Manager

You can view standard ad metrics for partnership ads directly in Ads Manager, including:

• Impressions and reach
• Clicks and CTR
• Conversions and CPA
• ROAS or purchase value
• Engagement (likes, comments, shares)

These metrics reflect how the partnership ad performs as paid media, regardless of whether the ad appears from the brand or creator identity.

👉 Note: Partnership ads don’t provide additional creator-side data in Ads Manager, only the paid ad performance.
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Understand the difference between ad and creator insights

Creators and advertisers see different performance data for the same partnership ad.

• Agencies/brands: paid ad performance in Ads Manager
• Creators: organic post insights in Instagram/Facebook

For example, a creator can see organic reach and engagement on their original post, while the agency sees paid impressions and conversions from the ad.

👉 Note: Agencies can’t access full creator analytics unless the creator shares them separately.
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Evaluate partnership ads like creator-led paid campaigns

From a performance perspective, partnership ads should be evaluated the same way as other paid social campaigns, but with creative context in mind.

Common agency KPIs include:

• Engagement rate vs brand ads
• CTR and thumb-stop rate
• CPA or ROAS
• Creative fatigue over time

Because partnership ads use creator identity, engagement and CTR are often higher than brand-only ads, so benchmarks may differ from standard brand campaigns.
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Compare creators and scale top performers

If you run multiple creators, Ads Manager allows you to compare results across partnership ads to identify:

• Top-performing creators
• Strongest creative formats
• Best audiences
• Scalable campaigns

Agencies typically increase budget on creators with the strongest CPA or ROAS and refresh or pause underperforming partnerships.
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Partnership ads best practices for agencies

Partnership ads combine influencer content with paid media optimization, so your results depend on both the creator’s content and how your campaign is set up. 

These best practices will help your agency get the most out of creator-led ads on Instagram and Facebook:
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Use top-performing creator content first

Start by amplifying influencer posts that already perform well organically. High engagement, saves, shares, or positive comments usually indicate content that resonates with audiences and will translate effectively into paid ads.

When creator content has already proven its appeal, partnership ads can scale that performance to broader or more targeted audiences without losing authenticity.
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Use creator testimonials to strengthen trust

Partnership ads allow brands to feature creator testimonials as pinned or highlighted comments on the partner’s handle. This appears directly under the ad and reinforces the creator’s endorsement while the brand runs the campaign.

Testimonials can increase credibility by showing the creator actively supporting the product within the ad experience.

❗ Note: Testimonials are currently supported in Instagram Feed and Reels placements only.

💡 Setup tip: If you want the testimonial to appear from the creator while the ad runs from the brand, create the partnership ad without an ad code so the brand is the primary identity and the creator appears as the testimonial.
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Default to creator-only or dynamic identity

Ads that show primarily from the creator often feel more natural and like a genuine recommendation, compared to co-branded headers. Using a creator-only identity keeps the ad consistent with organic influencer content, which can help improve engagement and trust.

You can also use dynamic identity optimization, which allows Meta to automatically decide whether to show the ad from the creator alone or from both the creator and your brand, based on what’s likely to perform best.

 💡 Tip: Creator-only identity often performs best for prospecting, while creator+brand can work well for retargeting or lower-funnel campaigns.
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Refresh creator ads regularly

Influencer creative can fatigue faster than brand creative because audiences repeatedly see the same face and message. Over time, engagement and CTR often decline as audiences become familiar with the content.

Refreshing partnership ads with new creator posts, variations, or updated messaging helps maintain performance and prevents ad fatigue in always-on campaigns.
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Maintain clear creator permissions and access

Partnership ads depend on active creator permissions. If a creator revokes access or their authorization expires, your ads may stop running or switch off the creator identity, disrupting performance mid-campaign.

That’s why your agency should regularly check permissions and make sure access stays active for the full campaign duration, especially for always-on influencer programs.

💡 Tip: Tools like Leadsie help agencies manage creator permissions at scale. Instead of chasing access manually, you can request and maintain permissions in one place, making it easier to keep campaigns running smoothly across multiple creators.

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⚡ Agency hack: Get access to all your clients’ marketing accounts with one Leadsie link  

Spending hours on multiple calls, reminder emails, lengthy PDFs, or sharing passwords to access clients’ ad and social accounts? Leadsie has a better solution. 

Don’t place the administrative burden on your new clients during client onboarding. Send them a secure Leadsie link that’ll get your agency access to 31+ platforms at once. The best part? The access doesn’t expire, and no one is risking account security by sharing logins. 🔒

What is Leadsie?

Leadsie is a client onboarding software that simplifies requesting and giving access to marketing assets, social media, and ad accounts with one secure link. Get access to your clients’ or influencers’ Facebook, Instagram, Google, TikTok, Shopify, LinkedIn, X, and other accounts without sharing passwords. 🔒

How does Leadsie help agencies onboard new clients?

Leadsie speeds up client onboarding by replacing manual access requests with one secure approval link. You send the link to your client, they review and approve the permissions you’ve requested, and your agency gets instant access to their accounts.

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