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Why Can’t I Boost My Reels on Instagram?

  • September 6, 2025
  • -

It’s a frustrating experience. You post a great Reel, it’s getting solid engagement, and you want to give it a boost to reach a wider audience, but the “Boost” button is missing or grayed out. The reason is almost always due to the Reel not meeting one of Instagram’s strict eligibility requirements.

The platform has a set of rules in place to ensure a high-quality ad experience for its users and to prevent the promotion of content that violates its policies. While this might seem like a roadblock, the issue is almost always fixable once you know what to look for.

The Top Reasons You Can't Boost Your Reel:

The inability to boost a Reel isn’t a bug; it’s a feature designed to enforce content and ad policy guidelines. Here are the most common reasons your Reel may not be eligible, along with solutions for each.

You Used Copyrighted Content:

This is the most frequent reason. If your Reel includes music, video clips, or sound effects that you don’t have the commercial rights to, Instagram will prevent you from boosting it. This includes most of the trending music available directly in the app.
The Fix: When creating your Reel, only use royalty-free music from Instagram’s commercial audio library. Alternatively, use original audio that you’ve recorded yourself.

Your Reel Was Cross-Posted to Facebook:

During the posting process, Instagram gives you the option to share your Reel to Facebook. If you toggle this option on, the Reel will be ineligible for boosting from Instagram. This is a common mistake many people don’t even realize they’ve made.
The Fix: You’ll need to re-upload the Reel to Instagram. When you get to the final screen before posting, make sure the “Share to Facebook” toggle is off.

Your Reel is Too Long or Low-Quality:

Only business or creator accounts have the ability to boost content. Personal accounts are not eligible to run paid promotions.
The Fix: Go to your Settings and Privacy, then navigate to Account type and tools, and select “Switch to professional account.” Follow the prompts to convert your profile to a Creator or Business account.
A four-panel screenshot guide on a phone showing how to switch an Instagram account to a personal one. The first panel shows an Instagram profile with the menu icon highlighted. The second panel shows the "Settings and activity" menu with "Business tools and controls" highlighted. The third panel shows the "Business" menu with "Switch account type" highlighted. The fourth and final panel shows the "Switch account type" menu with "Switch to personal account" highlighted.

Your Account is a Personal Account:

Instagram has specific technical requirements for Reels to be boostable.

  • The Reel must be no longer than 90 seconds.

  • It must have a 9:16 vertical aspect ratio.

  • The video quality must be high. Blurry or low-resolution videos will often be rejected.

  • The Fix: Make sure your video meets the required specifications before uploading. If your video is longer than 90 seconds, you’ll need to edit it down to be eligible.

How to Troubleshoot a Disapproved Reel?

If you’ve already posted your Reel and it was disapproved, you can find the exact reason by checking your Professional Dashboard.

  1. Go to your profile and tap Professional Dashboard at the top of the screen.

  2. Under Your Tools, tap on Ad Tools.

  3. Tap on your ad to see its status and the reason for disapproval.

A series of four screenshots from the Instagram app's professional dashboard in dark mode. The screenshots show the user navigating through the menus: first, the main dashboard with an overview of insights; second, the tools menu showing "Ad tools"; third, the "Ad tools" screen with options to create and manage ads; and fourth, a list of past ads with one marked as "Completed" showing its performance.
The reason for the rejection will be clearly stated. This can provide an immediate answer to your problem and guide you to a solution.

The Bottom Line:

While it’s frustrating to be unable to boost your Reel, these eligibility rules are designed to protect both the user experience and the advertiser. By ensuring your Reels are original, policy-compliant, and meet the platform’s technical specifications, you’ll be able to boost your content without any issues and grow your brand on Instagram.
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