Instagram Custom Audiences

Meta has introduced a new capability in Ads Manager: Instagram Custom Audiences. With this feature, you can build live, first-party audiences using Instagram Scoped User IDs of contacts who interacted with your Instagram account connected to Manychat. This lets you set up Custom audience for Instagram re-targeting in Meta Ads Manager for higher Ads ROI. 

Create Instagram Custom Audiences in Manychat

There are two ways to set up Custom Audiences in Manychat:

• Static upload – Export a one-time list of users.
• Dynamic action in Flow Builder – Continuously update audiences for evergreen campaigns.

✅ Tip: Use Dynamic Actions when running ongoing campaigns (e.g., for warm leads or product launches). Use Static Upload when you only need a one-time export of contacts.

Static upload

Export the Custom Audience List in Manychat 

⚠️ Important:

• You’ll need a paid Manychat subscription to export Instagram Scoped User ID (IGSIDs).
• The exported file will include only IGSIDs—no names, emails, or other contact details.
• IGSIDs are available only for contacts who’ve interacted with your business on Instagram.
• The Manychat Contact ID is not the same thing as the Instagram IGSIDs.
• Be sure to copy your Facebook Page ID from the modal window in Manychat. You’ll need it later when working in Ads Manager. 

Follow these steps to download IGSIDs for your contacts as a .csv file:

1. Open your Manychat account and switch to the Contacts tab.
2. Select the contacts you want to export by checking the boxes next to their names. To select all contacts, use the checkbox at the top of the list.
3. Click on Bulk Actions and select Export IG Custom Audience.

Set up Custom Audiences in Meta Ads Manager 

Start by watching the short screencast below for a full overview of the setup process.

Once you've watched the video, follow the step-by-step instructions below to set up your Instagram Custom Audience in Ads Manager. This guide will walk you through each step, from account selection to data upload.

To set up Custom Audiences in Meta Ads Manager:

1. Open Meta Ads Manager and switch to the ad account you want to use.
2. From the left-hand menu, go to Audiences, then click Create Custom Audience in the top-right corner.
3. In the audience creation window, select Customer List and click Next.
4. On the next screen, scroll to the bottom and click Next again.
5. Under Add List, choose Paste comma-separated values.
6. Paste the FBIDs you got from Manychat.
7. (Optional) Enter a name for your audience to make it easy to find later.
8. Click Next to move to the mapping step.
9. In the Map Identifier window, switch to the Action needed tab (it will show that you have 1 action to perform next to the tab name).  Click on the selector and choose  Instagram Scoped User ID.
10. Next, click on Enter Instagram FBIDs, paste the FBIDs you saved from Manychat, and click Add.
11. Click Import and create to confirm the column mapping.
12. Wait a few minutes for the upload to finish. (Optional: Refresh the page to see your new audience appear.)

Once your custom audience is live, select it in Ads Manager and create a Lookalike audience to expand your reach to users with similar profiles.

Dynamic action

Add an Update Instagram Custom Audience action to your automation

1. Open your Manychat account and switch to the Automation tab.
2. Create a new automation or open an existing one where you want to add audience updates.
3. Add a trigger to your automation (e.g., User sends a message) and define the trigger conditions (for example, when someone messages your Instagram account).
4. Next, add an Instagram action Send message.
5. Customize the text (e.g., “Hello 👋 Welcome to my page!”). This step is optional, but it helps keep users engaged while audience actions are applied in the background.
6. Drag an Action block into your automation.
7. Select Update Instagram Custom Audience from the action list.
8. Choose whether to Add or Remove users from your audience. (Example: Add new leads to a “Warm Audience” for retargeting.)
9. Connect the blocks: Trigger → Message (optional) → Action.
10. Click Publish to activate the automation.
11. From now on, any user who meets the trigger condition will automatically be added or removed from your Instagram Custom Audience.

Use Your Audience in Meta Ads Manager

1. Open Meta Ads Manager and switch to the ad account you want to use.
2. From the left-hand menu, go to Audiences, then click Create Custom Audience in the top-right corner.
3. Select the Manychat-powered Instagram Custom Audience.
4. Use this audience for retargeting in your campaigns to maximize ROI.

Limitations and troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues at any step—from ID mapping errors to audience not populating— please contact our Support Team. We’re here to help you get the most out of Instagram Custom Audiences.