Boost a post

Turn a published post into an ad with POST /v1/ads/boost. The post keeps its likes, comments and shares, and Zernio builds the campaign, ad set and ad around it.

Before you start

You need the Zernio postId (or Meta's platformPostId), accountId and adAccountId.

Promote a post

Unlike POST /v1/ads/create, the body nests budget, schedule and targeting.

import Zernio from '@zernio/node';

const zernio = new Zernio();

const { data: boosted } = await zernio.adcampaigns.boostPost({
  body: {
    postId: '65f1c0a9e2b5af0012ab34cd',
    accountId: '66b2e19d8c3f5a7e9d0b1c2d',
    adAccountId: 'act_1234567890',
    name: 'Spring launch boost',
    goal: 'traffic',
    budget: { amount: 40, type: 'daily' },
    schedule: { startDate: '2027-03-01T09:00:00Z', endDate: '2027-03-08T09:00:00Z' },
    targeting: {
      ageMin: 25,
      ageMax: 45,
      countries: ['US', 'CA'],
      interests: [{ id: '6003139266461', name: 'DevOps' }]
    },
    linkUrl: 'https://example.com/spring',
    callToAction: 'LEARN_MORE'
  }
});

const adId = boosted.ad._id;

Response (201):

{
  "ad": {
    "_id": "66d4a1b2c3e4f5a6b7c8d9e3",
    "name": "Spring launch boost",
    "platform": "facebook",
    "status": "pending_review",
    "reviewStatus": "in_review",
    "adType": "boost",
    "goal": "traffic",
    "budget": { "amount": 40, "type": "daily" },
    "schedule": { "startDate": "2027-03-01T09:00:00Z", "endDate": "2027-03-08T09:00:00Z" },
    "platformAdId": "120260000000000001",
    "platformCampaignId": "120250000000000002",
    "platformAdSetId": "120250000000000003",
    "creative": {
      "effectiveObjectStoryId": "811889972008357_1029384756",
      "pageId": "811889972008357"
    }
  },
  "message": "Ad created and submitted for review"
}

goal is one of engagement, traffic, awareness, video_views, lead_generation, conversions or app_promotion.

budget is in whole currency units. schedule.startDate and endDate are date-times, and endDate is required for a lifetime budget.

destinationType decides where the click lands, independently of plain link CTAs and their goal:

• WEBSITE
• MESSENGER
• WHATSAPP
• INSTAGRAM_DIRECT
• INSTAGRAM_PROFILE
• ON_AD

A lead_generation boost forces ON_AD and ignores it.

instagramAccountId picks the Instagram identity the ad runs as, overriding the one linked to the Page.

Send status: "PAUSED" to create the campaign and ad paused instead of live, so you can review before it spends. The default, omitted or "ACTIVE", publishes immediately.

How it behaves

The targeting object takes the full geo shape

targeting accepts these as well as countries, with keys from the targeting search:

• cities, with radius and distanceUnit
• regions, zips and metros
• customLocations

A city radius and a lat/lng catchment keep the post's social proof, because the ad still references the original post.

A call to action needs a link

Send linkUrl and callToAction together.

On Meta they add a call_to_action to the post-reference creative. That gives a traffic boost a clickable destination without replacing the creative.

One value is boost-only: VIEW_INSTAGRAM_PROFILE, with the Instagram profile URL as linkUrl.

A call to action without a link is a 400. Both are ignored when leadGenFormId supplies the destination (lead forms).

The 3 messaging CTAs below are the exception: omit linkUrl for them.

Messaging boosts open a chat

To boost into a chat starter rather than a link click, use goal: "engagement" with callToAction: "WHATSAPP_MESSAGE", "MESSAGE_PAGE" or "INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE". Omit linkUrl.

The CTA alone selects the destination (WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct). An explicit destinationType must then match it.

Setting destinationType alone does not select a messaging CTA.

The campaign uses OUTCOME_ENGAGEMENT. The ad set uses the CONVERSATIONS optimization goal with the boosted post's Page.

whatsappPhoneNumber (E.164) picks a number already paired with that Page for WHATSAPP_MESSAGE. Omit it to use the Page's default pairing.

A messaging boost can start a workflow

workflowId on a messaging boost (callToAction MESSAGE_PAGE, WHATSAPP_MESSAGE or INSTAGRAM_MESSAGE) names a workflow in the account's profile. It starts in the conversation a click on the ad opens.

It is stored on the ad.

Without a messaging call to action, or on another platform, it is a 400. A workflow that does not exist in the profile is a 404.

Messaging ads take the same field.

Attach to an ad set that already runs

Send adSetId to put the boosted post under an existing ad set instead of a new campaign. That ad set keeps its learning phase.

The ad set then owns budget, schedule and targeting. Sending any of them with adSetId is a 400.

Retries

Send an Idempotency-Key header. The same key and body replays the original 201, and distinct keys always create distinct ads.

Without the header:

• an identical request in flight returns 409
• within 10 minutes of a completed boost, it returns the already-created ad

To duplicate a boost on purpose, send distinct keys or vary the body.

If it fails

A 409 means an identical boost is still in progress:

{
  "error": "An identical boost request is already in progress",
  "type": "invalid_request_error"
}

Wait for the first request to finish. Read the ad from GET /v1/ads instead of sending the boost again.

A 422 means the account has no ads connection, or the Instagram account has no linked Facebook account (before you start).

Related

• Campaigns: the flat create body for ads with their own creative.
• Targeting: every field the targeting object takes.
• Lead forms: boost with goal: "lead_generation" and a form.
• Boost post as ad: every field.