Partnership ads on Meta: why the creator's profile can sell more

A partnership ad is an ad your brand pays for that shows the creator's account in the header, on its own or next to yours, on Instagram, on Facebook and, since September 2026, on WhatsApp Status. Meta used to call them branded content ads, and what sets them apart is that whoever sees one finds a person's name and face right at the top. I've been filming UGC videos for brands since 2024 and I run campaigns with a network of more than 100 Portuguese creators, so here's what Meta explains and what's worth agreeing before you ask for the code.

Why the creator's profile can sell more

The header fits two accounts at most. Whether it shows both or only the creator's, Meta says it uses signals from both accounts to decide who to show the ad to, and that's how it explains the better performance of these ads. According to figures it published in December 2025, adding partnership ads to usual campaigns delivered, on average, a 13% higher click-through rate and a 19% lower cost per acquisition, which is what you pay for each customer.

There's one more advantage that only comes with account-level permission, described below. With it you can build a custom audience of people who've engaged with the creator's Instagram account and, from there, lookalike audiences of people similar to them. For a brand with few followers, it's a way to start with people who already recognise the face in the ad.

A code for one post or access to the whole account

The creator can give you two kinds of permission, and Meta describes the first as more restrictive, for promoting specific content, and the second as broader, suited to ongoing partnerships. With content-level permission, she opens the post, story or reel on Instagram or Facebook, switches on the partnership ad code in its options and sends it to you. The same code works for two brands at a time at most and, on Instagram, it stays valid even if she archives the post.

With account-level permission, you're the one who sends the request, from the Creator Marketing Hub in Meta Business Suite, where you search for her username. Once she accepts, in the Instagram or Facebook app, you can create ads from her profile without her having posted anything, and also from any of her posts that tag your brand, including archived ones.

In the UGC campaigns I run, I'm the one who picks the creators for each product and writes the scripts, and that's the stage when it's worth knowing whether the brand wants to run the videos under their names. It affects the choice, because Meta only accepts professional accounts with an established presence and enough followers as partners, and it affects the script, because a video coming from a creator's profile has to sound like one of her own posts. Knowing this from the start saves swapping creators halfway through.

How to set up the ad in Ads Manager

With the code in hand, or with account-level permission accepted, the rest happens in Ads Manager, and if you work with an agency you'll need to give it permissions on the brand's Instagram account, Facebook Page and ad account. With a code, these are the steps:

• Click + Create, choose your objective, Sales for example, and fill in the conversion location, budget, schedule and audience.
• At the ad level, turn on the partnership ad toggle and paste the code, post ID or post URL, which sets the creator as the first identity and uses her video.
• Choose the second identity, usually your brand, and what the header shows: both accounts, only the first, or dynamic identity, on by default, where Meta picks whatever it predicts will perform best.
• Publish, and Meta will review the ad and let you know when it's approved.

You can edit the content for the ad, and the original post stays the same on her profile. Without a code, with account-level permission, you turn on the same toggle, choose the identities and then boost a post she's already made or upload a new video.

How long the permission lasts and how it's revoked

Meta's help pages don't give a time limit for these permissions. They only say that you can run ads while the permission is active, that the creator can change or revoke it at any time, and that you should check it's still active before you publish a new ad. So it's the agreement between you that marks the end, because the tool won't do it on its own.

How it's revoked depends on the type of permission. If she switches off the code on a post, you can no longer create new ads with it, but the ones already live keep running until someone stops them, her in the Instagram app or you in Ads Manager. If she removes account-level permission, you can no longer create ads from her profile and the ones running are paused straight away.

What to agree with the creator before you ask for the code

Meta itself keeps the two things apart: the permission gives you the technical access to create the ad, while scope, duration, exclusivity and payment belong in a separate agreement, because the permission doesn't set payment or transfer ownership of the content. It's also on you to make sure you have the rights to everything in the ad, music included. Before you ask for the code, put this in writing:

• The type of permission and which posts you can promote.
• The start and end dates, and who switches off any ads still running on that day.
• The fee for using her name and profile, separate from the filming fee, because the ad runs with her account.
• Exclusivity, if you want it, with the brands or products that are excluded and for how many months.
• Whether you can use the audience of people who engage with her account.
• How comments are handled, since the brand can hide them on the ad and on the original post and the creator can unhide them.

Partnership ad or video on the brand's page

You don't have to pick one. Meta recommends adding partnership ads to your usual campaigns, within the same campaign and with the budget shared, either in the same ad set or in separate ad sets with Advantage+ campaign budget switched on, and says this raises the click-through rate of direct response campaigns, the ones that ask viewers to buy or leave their details. With both side by side, the results show you which works better with your audience.

A video running only from the brand's page still makes sense when the creator who filmed it doesn't have an eligible professional account, when the ad speaks for the brand, like a promotion with an end date, or when you want to keep the video running after the period agreed for her name, within the usage rights you've agreed. It also doesn't depend on a permission that can be revoked at any time.

In the UGC campaigns I run, I follow the shoots and deliver the videos ready to publish, with three months of paid ad usage always included, so you can run them from the brand's page as soon as they arrive. If you'd like any of them to run under the creator's name as well, let me know at the start, so it goes into the choice of who films and into the script. Tell me what you sell and I'll reply within 24 hours.