How to Share Instagram Ad via Messenger

Sending an Instagram ad to a teammate or client via Messenger is a quick way to get feedback, share examples, or flag an issue. This article provides step-by-step instructions for sharing any Instagram ad directly through Messenger, whether it pops up in your feed or it's one you are managing yourself in Ads Manager.

Why Share an Instagram Ad via Messenger?

You’ve probably scrolled past an interesting, terrible, or brilliant ad on Instagram and immediately thought, "I need to show this to someone." Sharing an ad is more than just a random social action, it's a common workflow for marketing teams, freelancers, and business owners. It lets you use a simple tool - Messenger - for instant communication about your advertising efforts.

Here are a few common scenarios where this comes in handy:

Client Approvals and Feedback: If you're an agency or freelancer, sending a live ad directly to your client via Messenger is much faster than sending screenshots over email. It allows them to see the ad exactly as a user would, complete with its engagement and interactive elements.
Internal Team Collaboration: Need your copywriter to see the new headline in action? Want your graphic designer to see how their creative looks in the wild? Sending the ad link in a group chat allows for quick checks and discussions without scheduling a formal meeting.
Creating a "Swipe File": Marketers love to collect examples of great (and not-so-great) ads for inspiration. Sharing an interesting ad you see on your feed to a private Messenger chat with yourself is an easy way to save it for later when you're brainstorming your next campaign.
Competitive Analysis: Spot a competitor’s ad with a compelling offer? Send it to your team to start a conversation about what they're doing well and how you can position your own brand more effectively.
Troubleshooting and Support: If an ad has a typo or a broken link, a user can instantly share it with a business page's Messenger account. For your own ads, you can send it to your developer to show them a technical issue in context.

How to Share an Instagram Ad: The Direct Method

The most straightforward way to share an ad is right from your Instagram feed when you see it. This process is identical to sharing a regular post.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Find the Ad in Your Feed or Stories: As you scroll through your Instagram feed, an ad will appear between regular posts. You can identify it by the small "Sponsored" label under the account name.
Tap the Share Icon: Just below the ad's image or video, you'll see the standard Instagram icons: a heart (like), a speech bubble (comment), and a paper airplane (share). Tap the paper airplane icon.Tip: On Instagram Stories, the share icon is typically at the bottom right corner of the screen.
Select "Send": A menu will pop up with several options, such as "Add to story" or "Share." You want to find the simple "Send" list which opens your contacts.
Choose Your Messenger Contact: At the top of the send list, you'll see a search bar and a list of your recent contacts across Instagram and Messenger (since they're connected). You can either tap a suggested contact or use the search bar to find the specific person or group chat you want to send it to.
Add an Optional Message: Before sending, you can type a message in the text box at the bottom. This is your chance to add context, like "Check out this visual!" or "What do you think of this copy for our campaign?"
Tap "Send": Once you've selected your recipient and added a message, tap the "Send" button. The ad will appear in your Messenger chat as a clickable preview, allowing the recipient to view it directly on Instagram.

What if You Already Scrolled Past the Ad? Find It in Your Ads Activity

Ever tried to find an ad you saw just moments ago, only for it to be lost in the feed forever? Don't worry, Instagram has a feature for this.

Go to your Instagram Profile.
Tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner.
Select "Settings and privacy."
Tap on "Accounts Center" and then find "Ad preferences."
From there, navigate to "Ad activity."

Here, you'll find a history of the recent ads you’ve interacted with or seen. You can scroll through this list to find the ad you wanted to share, tap on it, and then use the share icon as described above.

For Advertisers: How to Share a Specific Ad from Facebook Ads Manager

Sometimes you need to share an ad that is not currently running in your own feed - maybe it’s a draft or an ad targeted to a specific audience that doesn’t include you. In this case, you can grab a shareable link directly from Facebook Ads Manager.

This is extremely useful for getting pre-launch feedback or sending a specific version of an ad to a stakeholder.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Navigate to Ads Manager: Open the Facebook Ads Manager account where the ad was created.
Find Your Ad: Drill down through the Campaigns, Ad Sets, and finally to the specific ad creative you want to share.
Select the Ad to Preview: Check the box next to the ad you wish to share. This will activate the menu options in the toolbar just above the ads list.
Open the Preview: Click the "Preview" button located in the menu toolbar. A new pane will slide open on the right, showing you how your ad looks on different placements (like the Instagram feed, Stories, etc.).
Generate a Shareable Link: In the top right of the preview pane, click the Share icon (a box with an arrow pointing out of it). A dropdown menu will appear. Click "Share a link."
Turn the Shareable Link On: A dialog box will pop up with a toggle switch to enable sharing. Turn it on. Facebook will generate a unique URL. You can also set a timeframe for how long the link remains active (30, 60, or 90 days), which is great for security and version control.
Copy and Paste the Link in Messenger: Copy the newly generated URL. Now, open Messenger in a different tab or on your phone, navigate to your desired chat, and paste the link. A preview of the ad will generate, and you can send it along with any comments.

The recipient can click this link to see a read-only version of the ad, allowing them to see the creative, copy, and call to action exactly as it's designed.

Best Practices for Sharing Ads

Be Specific with Your Request: Don't just send an ad link without context. If you want feedback, guide the conversation. Ask questions like, "Does this headline catch your attention?" or "Is the CTA clear?"
Specify the Audience: When sharing with your team, mention who the target audience is. An ad that might seem odd to your colleague could be perfectly tailored for a niche customer segment. For example: "This is for our cold audience of Shopify store owners, ages 25-40."
Use It for Training: Sharing ads can be a fantastic way to train junior team members. Create a "Best Ads of the Week" group chat where team members share winning ads and discuss what makes them effective. Marketers and creative teams can share competitors' ads in Messenger as a way to stay inspired.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Occasionally, things don't go as planned. Here are some quick fixes for common issues you might encounter.

"I can't find the share icon on the ad."

This is uncommon, but some restricted or special ad formats might have limited shareability. More often than not, you may just be overlooking it. Ensure you’re tapping the paper airplane icon, not gesturing in a way that skips the content (like swiping away from a Story).

"The recipient can't see the ad."

If you sent an ad from your feed, and your recipient gets an error that says "Content not available," it could be due to a few reasons. The campaign may have ended, the advertiser might have deleted the ad, or the recipient is in a region excluded from the ad's targeting parameters.

"My shareable link from Ads Manager expired."

Remember that the links generated from Ads Manager have an expiration date (30-90 days). If your stakeholder can't access it, simply go back into Ads Manager and generate a new link for the same ad.

Final Thoughts

Sharing Instagram ads through Messenger is a simple but powerful habit for any marketer, business owner, or creator. Whether you're sending live ads from your feed for quick chats, grabbing specific links from Ads Manager for formal reviews, or just compiling an inspirational swipe file, these methods streamline communication and keep everyone on the same page.

While sharing ads for qualitative feedback helps refine your creative, understanding their actual performance requires a clear view of the data. Instead of constantly exporting CSVs from Ads Manager and stitching reports together manually, our team built Graphed to automate that entire process. We connect directly to your data sources like Instagram Ads, Shopify, and Google Analytics, allowing you to create real-time performance dashboards just by asking questions in plain English - no technical skills required. It saves you the hours spent fumbling with spreadsheets so you can focus on making decisions, not building reports.