Instagram ads can bring steady enquiries and sales, but only if you know what is working. Meta Ads Manager offers dozens of columns and filters; these three reports answer the questions that matter most.
1. Results by audience (age, gender and location)
Use the Breakdown menu in Ads Manager and choose age, gender or region. You will often find that a small group of people brings most of your results at a much lower cost.
What to do with it: shift budget towards the best-performing groups, or create separate ad sets with messages tailored to them.
2. Results by placement
Break down results by placement to compare Instagram Feed, Stories, Reels and Explore (and Facebook placements if they are included). Costs and conversion rates can differ a lot between them.
What to do with it: make creatives in the right format for your best placements, for example vertical 9:16 video for Reels and Stories.
3. Results by creative
Compare ads side by side using the metrics that match your goal: cost per result, click-through rate and, for video, how many people watched beyond the first few seconds.
What to do with it: keep the winners running, pause the weakest and launch new variations that build on what worked, such as a new hook on a successful video.
Make reporting a weekly habit
Set a simple routine: check these three reports once a week, write down one decision for each, and make the change. Over a few weeks, small improvements add up to much better results.
Need help reading the numbers or running your campaigns? See our paid ads service.
Frequently asked questions
Which metric matters most for Instagram ads?
The one tied to your goal: cost per lead for enquiries, cost per purchase and return on ad spend for online sales.
How long should an ad run before I judge it?
Give it enough time and budget to gather meaningful data, usually several days, before making big changes.
