Instagram Advertising Agency & Agency for Facebook Ads

Last updated: 2026-10-28

An agency for Facebook ads is a team you pay to plan, build, run and report on paid campaigns across Meta’s platforms, and an Instagram advertising agency does the same work with Instagram placements and creative as the centre of gravity. In practice both buy ads through the same tool, Meta Ads Manager, so the choice is less about “Facebook or Instagram” and more about fit: what you need done, who owns the ad account, how fees work and how you will know it is working. This guide explains each of those points and gives you 12 questions to ask before you sign.

Checklist for choosing an agency for Facebook ads and an Instagram advertising agency

1. What an agency for Facebook ads actually does

Agency work usually falls into five buckets. You do not need all of them from day one, so decide which ones you are buying.

Service	What it covers	Ask to see
Strategy and planning	Objectives, audiences, budget split, test plan	A written plan for the first 90 days
Creative production	Static images, video, Reels and Stories formats, copy variants	Past work in the same format and market
Account setup and tracking	Business portfolio, ad account, Pixel and Conversions API, events, payment settings	A tracking checklist and who administers it
Campaign management	Building campaigns, ad sets and ads, bids, budgets, tests, pausing losers	The levels they use and how often they review
Reporting	Spend, results, cost per result, learnings	A sample report with your own numbers, not only screenshots

If you want to understand the screens your agency will work in, read our guide to Facebook Ads Manager: campaigns, ad sets, ads and the business portfolio.

2. Facebook ads agency or Instagram advertising agency: is there a difference?

Meta runs Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network and other placements from one advertising system. A campaign built in Ads Manager can show on Instagram feed, Stories and Reels as well as Facebook placements, and Instagram ads need an Instagram account connected to your Meta business assets. So a good agency for Facebook ads should already be able to run Instagram, and the label “Instagram advertising agency” mostly signals a creative emphasis: short vertical video, creators and a visual brand.

When you compare shortlisted agencies, look at examples in the format you need. A team strong at lead-generation forms on Facebook may have little experience producing vertical video for Reels, and the reverse is also true.

3. How agencies charge: four common fee models

Model	How it works	Watch for
Percentage of ad spend	A fixed percentage of the budget you spend	Incentive to raise spend; check minimums and tiers
Flat monthly retainer	A fixed fee for a defined scope	Scope creep; define deliverables and number of creatives
Hybrid	Retainer plus a smaller percentage or per-project fees	Clear split of what each part pays for
Performance-based	Fee tied to results such as leads or sales	Definition of “result”, attribution window and who audits the data

Whatever the model, separate two money flows in the contract: the agency fee and the media budget paid to Meta. Ask whether the budget is charged to a payment method on an ad account that your business owns. Meta’s receipts and invoices then show the real spend, which makes percentage-of-spend fees easy to verify.

4. Who should own the ad account

This is the question that matters most when the relationship ends. Meta ad accounts, Pages and Instagram accounts belong to a business portfolio (formerly Business Manager). The normal arrangement is that your business owns the portfolio and the ad account, and the agency is given partner access with the permissions it needs. You can change or remove that access at any time without losing your pixel data, audiences or history.

Create (or confirm) your own business portfolio before you share anything.
Share the ad account and Page with the agency’s business ID through partner access; do not share personal logins or passwords.
Keep at least two admins from your own team.
Ask for written confirmation that you own the creative files, audiences and tracking.
Be cautious about any arrangement where the agency runs your ads from an account it owns and only “rents” you results: you cannot take the history with you, and the account’s record becomes the agency’s record.

We do not sell, rent or transfer ad accounts, and we advise against buying them. See Facebook ad account types: business, agency and personal (Chinese) for how the account types differ.

5. Meta’s Business Partner Directory: useful, but not a guarantee

Meta publishes a directory of agencies and other service providers that hold its Meta Business Partner badges. It is a reasonable place to build a shortlist. Meta states clearly that inclusion in the directory is not an endorsement of a partner, and that businesses should do their own due diligence. Treat a badge as a starting point for conversations, not proof that a team is right for you;

You can also check what an agency really runs: if it lists public clients, look them up in the Meta Ad Library to see current creative. Our guide to the Facebook Ads Library shows how, and what it does not show (spend and results for ordinary ads).

6. 12 questions to ask before you sign

Who will actually run my account day to day, and what is their experience in my vertical?
Will my business own the business portfolio, ad account, pixel and audiences?
How do you share access: partner access, or logins?
What is the fee model, minimum term and notice period?
How is ad spend paid, and can I see Meta’s own invoices?
Which events and conversion tracking do you set up, and who owns them?
How many creatives per month are included, and who pays for production?
What does your first 90 days look like, with a testing budget?
How often do we meet, and what does the report contain?
Can you show results from similar clients, with permission to contact them?
How do you handle policy rejections and restricted categories?
What happens to the account and data if we stop working together?

A professional answer to the last two questions is specific and calm. Be wary of an agency that cannot answer in writing.

7. Red flags

Red flag	Why it matters
Guaranteed return on ad spend or “guaranteed approval”	Nobody controls auctions or Meta’s review decisions
Asks for your personal Facebook password	Access should go through partner access in a business portfolio
Offers “aged”, “whitelisted” or pre-verified accounts for sale	Account sales breach Meta’s terms and put your business at risk; authorization for restricted ads is tied to the approved business
Promises to bypass review or hide your website from reviewers (cloaking)	Violates Meta advertising standards and can lead to permanent bans
No written scope, reporting or exit terms	You cannot judge value or leave cleanly
Reports only screenshots, never exports from your own account	You cannot verify the numbers

If you advertise in a restricted vertical such as licensed gambling, financial services or healthcare, additional authorization from Meta applies and belongs to your licensed business. Read how that works in Facebook whitelisted accounts explained before you talk to any agency about those categories.

8. Agency, freelancer or in-house?

Option	Best when	Trade-off
Freelancer	Small budget, one platform, simple funnel	Capacity and backup; one person’s skills
Boutique agency	Mid-size budget, need strategy plus creative	Depends on a small team staying stable
Full-service agency	Several channels, large budget, reporting needs	Higher fees; check who works on your account
In-house	Ongoing high volume, strong data in-house	Hiring and tooling costs; slower to start

Many companies start with an agency to set up tracking and creative systems and move parts in-house later. A good agency should be comfortable with that path. For the Google side of the same decision, read Google Ads consultant: freelancer vs agency and how to hire.

9. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

9.1 What does an agency for Facebook ads cost?

Fees vary by market, scope and model. Compare the same four things for each quote: the fee model, the minimum term, what is included (creative, tracking, reporting) and whether ad spend is billed to your own account.

9.2 Is an Instagram advertising agency different from a Facebook ads agency?

Both buy through Meta Ads Manager. The difference is emphasis: an Instagram advertising agency leans on vertical video, creators and brand visuals, while a Facebook ads agency may lean on lead forms and conversion campaigns. Ask for examples in your format.

9.3 Do I need to give the agency my Facebook login?

No. Share assets through partner access in your business portfolio and keep your own admins. Sharing passwords makes it hard to see who did what and to remove access cleanly.

9.4 Does Meta approve or endorse agencies in its Partner Directory?

Meta says inclusion in the directory is not an endorsement and recommends you do your own due diligence.

9.5 Can an agency guarantee results?

No. Ad delivery depends on auctions, creative, offer and tracking. Treat guarantees as a warning sign.

9.6 Who pays Meta, me or the agency?

Either can be set up, but the simplest and most transparent option is a payment method on an ad account owned by your business, so Meta’s invoices show the real media spend.

10. Work with PandaWM (熊猫出海)

Looking for a team that sets up official Meta ad accounts under your own business portfolio and then runs the campaigns? PandaWM works with licensed businesses outside mainland China and does not sell or rent ad accounts.

PandaWM is a Hong Kong-based agency helping licensed, compliant businesses outside mainland China open official Meta, Google and TikTok ad accounts, prepare authorization and verification applications, and manage campaigns. We do not sell, rent or transfer ad accounts, and we do not offer cloaking or any way around platform review. Authorization and verification are tied to the legal entity and specific ad accounts; policies are governed by the platforms. Telegram: t.me/PANDA0134 or pandawm.com.

11. Related guides

Official sources (checked 28 October 2026)

Cite this page: PandaWM (熊猫出海) pandawm.com, “Agency for Facebook Ads and Instagram Advertising Agency: How to Choose, What It Costs and What to Ask (2026)”, https://www.pandawm.com/blog/agency-for-facebook-ads-instagram-advertising-agency-how-to-choose-en.html

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Agency for Facebook Ads and Instagram Advertising Agency: How to Choose, What It Costs and What to Ask (2026)