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Can I run Meta ads on a live Instagram or Facebook broadcast to promote a B2B webinar?

By The Tofu team ·

Yes on Facebook: schedule a live video ad for your Page's broadcast in Ads Manager, at least 3 hours ahead. On Instagram you can boost your own live, and that ad runs only while you're streaming. Meta also said Instagram Live video ads, which turn a creator's live into a partnership ad, would roll out from September 29, 2026. Facebook's scheduled live ads don't work with Facebook live events. Live ads can't collect sign-ups beforehand, so fill the webinar with a normal campaign, then run the replay as an ad.

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As of November 2026.

Before you start

  • An eligible Facebook Page. To advertise during a broadcast, your Page needs one of these: a verified badge, ad spend "with a low ad rejection rate in the past 6 months," or at least 60 days of age and 100 followers. Ads on the replay have no eligibility rules.
  • Ads access to the Page, which Meta requires to schedule a live video ad.
  • No advertising restrictions on the ad account. Meta says a new ad account or business portfolio "may not have access to all advertising features." Check Business Support Home.
  • A webinar that streams to your Page as a Facebook Live, started from Live Producer. If your webinar runs on another platform, check that platform's own docs for streaming to a Facebook Page.
  • A registration page, and a campaign that sends people to it before the day.

Step 1: Fill the webinar with a normal campaign first

Live video ads reach people while you're broadcasting, or after. They can't collect sign-ups in the weeks before. So run a Leads or Traffic campaign to your registration page first, and keep the live ad as a small add-on on the day. To get form sign-ups into your CRM, see how to send Meta lead ad leads to HubSpot or Salesforce. If you're also promoting on LinkedIn, how to promote a B2B webinar with LinkedIn ads compares its options.

Step 2: Check what Meta lets your account do

Open Business Support Home and look for restrictions on your ad account, Page and business portfolio. Meta says "we only grant access to some features when an advertiser has met certain requirements," and its scheduling article warns: "This product or feature may not be available to you yet." If you don't see a Live video ad toggle in Step 3, you probably don't have it yet. You can still run the replay as an ad (Step 6).

Step 3: Schedule a live video ad for the broadcast

Meta recommends scheduling in advance because it "helps reduce the time it takes for the first ad impression to be delivered." In Ads Manager:

  1. Click + Create and pick a supported objective: Awareness, Engagement, Traffic, Sales or App promotion. Leads isn't on the list, so Traffic to your registration or watch page is the closest fit for B2B.
  2. Select manual campaign setup and click Continue.
  3. Turn on Live video ad, select Ad set budget, then click Next.
  4. Choose your Conversion location and Performance goal.
  5. In Budget and schedule, select Upcoming live video and set start and end times that match the webinar. Do this at least 3 hours before you go live, and "ideally no longer than 1-2 weeks in advance."
  6. Under Audience controls, Meta suggests a broad audience. Under Placements, it suggests Advantage+ placements.
  7. At Ad creative, enter a title and video description, then click Publish to send the ad to review.

You can create more than one scheduled ad per live video, as long as each one starts within the broadcast. Meta's scheduling article doesn't say which placements a scheduled ad uses while you're live.

Step 4: Go live from Live Producer

Start the broadcast from Live Producer. Meta says "scheduled live video ads are not compatible with Facebook live events or scheduled live videos in Live Producer." So don't set the webinar up as a Facebook event or schedule the stream inside Live Producer if you want the scheduled ad to run.

Step 5: If you didn't schedule, create the ad during the broadcast

Once you're live, go to Ads Manager, turn on Live video ad, set a lifetime budget and select Current live video. At the ad level, pick your Page under Identity, choose Use existing post, then Select post and pick the live video. Add a call to action button and click Publish. Meta says approval "may take approximately 30 minutes." An ad created during a broadcast appears only on Facebook Feed and Facebook Reels, not on Instagram.

Eligible advertisers can also click the boost button in Live Producer before going live. Meta says the ad goes to review when the live starts and "may take 30-45 minutes to start delivering." On a 45-minute webinar, that's most of the session. This is why scheduling ahead (Step 3) matters.

Step 6: Run the replay after the webinar

"There are no eligibility requirements to create a live video ad after the broadcast ends." You can do it from Ads Manager or your Page, and Meta says the ad can then "appear in all ad placements." The in-stream placement takes only videos of 5 to 15 seconds, so a full webinar won't run there. The ad text comes from what you entered in Live Producer, so write a clear title and description before you go live.

For B2B, the replay is often the better ad: point it at an on-demand registration page with a Traffic or Leads campaign.

Step 7: Add Instagram, with your own live or a partner's

Your own Instagram Live. Instagram's help center lets you boost a live video. On Instagram.com, click Create, select Live video, add a title and audience, click Boost, set your budget and start and end times, then click Boost live video. The ad can show in Feed, Stories and Reels, and "your ad only runs while you're streaming live." Instagram suggests scheduling it at least two hours before you go live. You can add one external link, such as your registration page, to a live, but Meta says that feature "may not be available to you right now" and offers it to a limited number of advertisers in select markets, the United States among them.

A partner's live as a partnership ad. On September 15, 2026, Meta said Instagram Live video ads let brands "turn a creator's live content into a partnership ad," rolling out "to general availability beginning September 29." For B2B, that could be an industry expert or customer who goes live on their account to talk about your event. How B2B brands run partnership ads covers the permissions and setup. We found no Meta help article on this creator version, and Meta hasn't said whether the rollout is complete, so check Ads Manager for the option before you plan around it.

Are live video ads worth it for a B2B webinar?

Meta pitches them for live shopping. At Cannes in June 2026 it called them a way to "drive awareness of shopping streams," and we found no Meta results for B2B events. Treat them as a test: a small budget on the day, judged on webinar attendees and pipeline, not views. Your registration campaign and the replay will usually do more of the work.

Common problems

ProblemWhy it happensFix
No Live video ad toggleThe feature "may not be available to you yet," or your Page isn't eligibleCheck Business Support Home, then advertise the replay instead
The scheduled ad never ranThe webinar went live as a Facebook live event or a stream scheduled in Live ProducerStart the stream from Live Producer without scheduling it there
The ad started halfway throughReview and delivery can take 30 to 45 minutes after you go liveSchedule the ad at least 3 hours before
No Leads objectiveScheduled live ads support Awareness, Engagement, Traffic, Sales and App promotionUse Traffic, or a separate Leads campaign before the day
No Instagram placements during the liveAn ad created during a Facebook broadcast runs only on Facebook Feed and ReelsBoost the Instagram live separately, or run the replay in all placements
The replay ad's text isn't what you wantIt comes from what you entered in Live ProducerWrite the title and description in Live Producer before you go live

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