Partnership ads are Meta’s format for running a creator’s content as an ad on Facebook and Instagram with the creator’s name on it. Meta’s developer documentation describes them as ads that “run Facebook and Instagram ads from a creator or other partner’s handle” (Meta). They used to be called branded content ads.
Two things make them different from a normal brand ad. The ad shows the creator as the author, so it reads like a recommendation. And the creator has to grant permission. Meta lists two ways: post-level, where the creator allows one specific post to be promoted, and account-level, where the brand can run partnership ads from the creator’s handle without approving each post (Meta). Instagram’s creator pages note that when a creator allows a brand to promote a post, the ad appears in the creator’s grid; content shared directly with the brand for upload does not (Instagram).
Example. A skincare brand and a creator agree on a 10 % ad spend share. The creator posts the video, tags the brand, and allows promotion. The brand builds a partnership ad from the post and spends $2,000 on it over three weeks. The creator receives $200, and the likes and comments land on the creator’s post. Example numbers.
When brands use it. The pain this answers: “Getting a creator’s video live as a Partnership Ad is a mess of downloads and permissions.” Partnership ads are the usual home for commission deals based on ad spend, because the brand controls the budget and the spend per ad is visible in its own account. They also let a brand test many creators’ videos as ads and scale the ones that convert. One agency reports “lower CPMs, double the CTR and CPAs down by more than half” from them, its numbers (X, checked 7 Nov 2026).
The creator’s view. Instagram’s own guidance tells creators that allowing promotion expands the brand’s usage rights, and that a creator can negotiate a higher payment because of it (Instagram). Creators usually set a time limit on the permission, ask to see the ad copy, and keep the paid partnership label on the post.
Try it on HourlyUGC. HourlyUGC launches Meta partnership ads with creators’ videos from inside the platform, so an ad spend share can be paid from the spend it reads in the brand’s account. Next step: start a campaign on HourlyUGC.