Two things have to be set up in Meta itself, not in Noctern, before your ads work as well as they can: an Instagram account linked to your Facebook Page, and a pixel on your ad account. Noctern can only use what Meta already has, so do these first, then pick them on AdminVenues[venue]MarketingMeta ads.

Why each one matters

• Instagram linked to your Page. Without it, your ads run on Facebook only, and the Instagram previews in Noctern are blank.
• A pixel. Without one, the Pixel list on the Meta ads page is empty and Meta builds your ads for link clicks. With one, ads aim for ticket sales and Noctern can show Meta's purchase count.

Link your Instagram account

1. 1In Meta Business Suite, open Settings and then Instagram accounts.
2. 2Connect your Instagram account to your business, and make sure it is linked to the same Facebook Page you pick in Noctern.
3. 3In Noctern, open MarketingMeta ads, click Disconnect, then Connect Meta again. Noctern reads your accounts when you connect, so it only picks up the Instagram account after you do this.

Create a pixel

1. 1In Meta Events Manager, click Connect data sources, then choose Web.
2. 2Give the pixel a name and create it. Create it on the same ad account you pick in Noctern.
3. 3Back in Noctern, open MarketingMeta ads and choose the pixel in the Pixel list. If it is not in the list yet, reload the page. The list shows only the pixels on the ad account you picked.
4. 4Click Save.

Images for Instagram

Use an image 1080 px wide. Instagram won't run an ad whose image is under 500 px wide. If your event image is smaller, upload a larger one in the Facebook & Instagram ads panel on the event's Publish page, as described in Promote an event on Facebook and Instagram.

Timing

An ad with a daily budget must run for at least 24 hours. Create it more than a day before the show, so it has the time it needs.