Instagram Lets Creators Boost Livestreams Directly From the App

Instagram has added an option to boost live videos, giving livestream creators another way to grow their audiences and improve engagement and monetization potential. The app already lets users promote posts, Stories and Reels, and livestreams now join that list.

How the Livestream Boost Works

Instagram explains that boosting turns a live video into an ad, with the stream itself serving as the creative. The ad can appear in Feed, Stories and Reels, helping more people discover the broadcast. Creators can boost a stream just before going live or schedule the promotion in advance. Instagram recommends scheduling at least two hours ahead to reduce ad delivery delays.

Livestream boosts run only while the creator is actively broadcasting. The idea is to show in-progress streams to users who are online right now, building a bigger live audience as the session unfolds.

Not Entirely New, but Easier

Creators and marketers could already create ads for upcoming Instagram Live sessions through Meta Ads Manager, so the capability itself is not brand new. What changes is convenience: creators can now launch a promotion directly from the in-app composer instead of working through a full campaign setup.

To boost a broadcast, creators tap the Boost option in the livestream composer, then pick their own target audience or use Instagram’s suggested one. They can also set start and end times for planned streams. Once the boost is set, creators can go live as usual while the promotion runs automatically.

For creators who rely on live video, the simpler workflow could make paid promotion more accessible, particularly for those without experience in Ads Manager. As Instagram continues to expand its creator tools, the livestream boost adds one more quick route to reach viewers in real time.