How to Set Up Whitelisting for Meta Ads
If you’ve been looking for additional scale in your Meta ad account, whitelisting could be the an answer to grow. We’re not saying it’s the golden ticket to a 10x+ ROAS, but it is a great way to squeeze additional scale out of an ad account and horizontally scale into new tests.
So, what is whitelisting? It’s where a brand runs ads through their own/normal Meta ad account, but the ad LOOKS like it’s coming from an influencer or creator’s account (usually non-branded), as if someone else is vouching for the brand and advertising for them/singing their praises. It’s a good way to gain additional trust from consumers and a way to make the content be seen as an organic post instead of an ad
What are other options to work with influencers & creators in addition to Whitelisting?
Brands like to run whitelisted ad content usually to give another layer of social proofing in that more than just the brand itself is advertising for their product or service.
With regard to influencer content, one option is a collaborator post where the creator creates content for a brand, posts it “in collaboration” with the brand so that it shows up on both the influencer/creator’s organic page/feed, AND the brand’s page/feed. This can all be done via the influencer/creator’s Instagram page and no Business Manager work is needed. The brand and influencer just have to accept each other as collaborator partners in-app on Instagram. TikTok calls this partnership/process a Spark Ad. Once the permissions by both parties are accepted, the brand can run the organic post as a branded content ad via Ads Manager using the “Existing Post” feature in the ad setup section, and the “Branded Content” tab.
Finally — whitelisting. Running ad ad essentially from the creator/influencer’s account, but through the brand’s Business Manager. Aka, the brand still pays for the ads, sees the ad in Ads Manager like they would any other ad, and gets all the data.
How to set up Whitelisting for Facebook & Instagram Ads
Step 1:
Whitelisting account must have a public AND business or creator Facebook page and Instagram account
If the whitelisting account does not have a Facebook page, have them go to this webpage to create a Facebook page
The creator/influencer should go to their Instagram account, go to “Settings”, then at the top, click “Accounts Center” and connect their new Facebook profile and Instagram account
To make sure the account that will be whitelisting is public, go to the page settings on Instagram, scroll down to the section that reads: “Who can see your content” and under “Account Privacy”, make sure it says “Public” and when you click into it, the “Private Account” toggle is OFF
Facebook pages are automatically made public
Make sure the creator/influencer Instagram page is set up as a business or creator (creator page is most common)
To switch from a personal Instagram page to a Creator Instagram page, follow the steps in the screenshot below:
Settings & Activity
Under “For Professionals,” click “Account type & tools”
Click “Switch to a Professional Account”
Choose the type of professional/category you want to be, and choose if you want that designation indicated on your profile
Step 2:
Whitelisted account must be connected to a Business Manager account
How to set up a Business Manager account and link creator/business Facebook and Instagram account
Visit this link to create a Business Manager. The creator/influencer must have a personal Facebook or Instagram account to link to the Business Manager
Once the Business Manager is created, add the Facebook page to be owned/managed by the Business Manager
Then, follow the same steps to connect the Instagram account to be owned by the Business Manager. See screenshots below.
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Step 3:
Give creator/influencer Facebook and Instagram page access to the brand Business Manager via Partner ID.
1) The account that will be running the ads (agency or brand Business Manager) must share their Partner ID with the whitelisted account (creator/influencer)
2) To find the Partner ID, the brand needs to go to their Business Manager, go to “Business Settings,” and scroll down to and click on “Business Info”
3) At the top of the screen, there will be the brand/Business Manager name and a section that says: “Business Manager ID:” followed by a string of numbers. Copy those numbers and send those to the influencer/creator
4) For the influencer/creator: once they have the brand’s Partner ID number, they must go to the “Partners” tab on the left column of their Business Manager and click “Give Partner access to assets.” Make sure they give the Partner full access to post for the Facebook page and Instagram account.
Whitelisting isn’t new to the scene of Meta ads, and isn’t going away any time soon. Consumers are wanting to buy from more legitimate brands and companies and one great way to do that is through social proofing and other legitimate accounts singing praises of the brands and products they want to buy from … via whitelisted ads.
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