Solved: Meta Ad Inactive Despite "Active" Status

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out!

Happy to give you some initial thoughts on your Meta ads situation. The fact your ad is active but not spending a penny is a common problem, but it's usually a symptom of a much bigger strategic issue rather than just a technical glitch. I see this all the time with new advertisers.

Below, I've outlined why this is happening and, more importantly, what you should be doing instead to actually get downloads for your app. Tbh, just getting the ad to spend money isn't the goal; getting new users profitably is. Let's get into it.

We'll need to look at why you're paying Meta to find non-customers...

Here’s the brutally honest truth: your current campaign objective is the entire problem. When you tell Meta you want "Highest volume - link clicks", you are giving the algorithm a very specific, and very flawed, command: "Find me the largest number of people for the lowest possible price who will click my ad."

The algorithm, being the efficient machine it is, does exactly what you asked. It scours its user base to find the people who are known to click on lots of things but rarely, if ever, follow through with a purchase, a sign-up, or an app install. Why? Because these users aren't in demand by serious advertisers. Their attention is cheap. You are actively paying the world's most powerful advertising machine to find you the absolute worst possible audience for your app.

This is probably the main reason your ad isn't even spending its tiny £10 budget. The algorithm is looking for these "cheap clickers," but even they have a price. For a premium placement like Instagram Reels, the floor price is likely higher than what the algorithm is willing to bid for the low-quality users it's been instructed to find. So, it just sits there, unable to fulfill your request without violating its own efficiency rules. You've essentially asked for a bargain in a luxury store, and the store has decided it's not worth its time.

Running a "Link Clicks" campaign to get app installs is like setting up a fishing net with holes big enough for all the fish to swim through. You might catch some seaweed and old boots, but you won't get what you're actually after. Awareness is a byproduct of having a great product that solves a real problem and running ads that lead to a conversion, not a prerequisite for making a sale. You need to change what you're asking the algorithm to do for you.

I'd say you need to change your entire campaign objective...

So, what's the fix? You need to delete this campaign and start over with the correct objective. Since you're promoting an app on the app store, your primary objective should be **App Installs**. This changes the instruction you give to Meta from "find me cheap clicks" to "find me people who have a history of downloading and installing apps from ads like this one."

This is a completely different ball game. The algorithm will now use its vast dataset to identify users who look and behave like people who have installed similar apps in the past. The cost per result will be higher than a simple link click, of course, but the result you're getting is an actual new user, not just a fleeting visit. One app growth campaign we worked on generated over 45,000 signups at under £2 per signup. That's only possible when you're optimising for the right action from the very beginning.

To do this properly, you'll need to make sure your app is registered in your Meta Business Manager and that you have the Facebook SDK (Software Development Kit) installed in your app. This SDK is what allows Meta to track who actually installs the app after seeing your ad, which is how it learns and optimises your campaigns. Without it, you're flying blind.

Once you've got the SDK set up, you can even go a step further and optimise for **App Events**. This means you can tell Meta to find users who are not just likely to install, but also likely to take a specific action inside your app, like completing a tutorial, starting a trial, or making a purchase. This is how you find high-value users, not just installers.

Let's look at the maths. Even a small improvement in your conversion rate from click-to-install has a massive impact on your actual Cost Per Install (CPI). Optimising for clicks gets you a low CPC but a terrible install rate. Optimising for installs gets you a higher CPC but a much, much better install rate, leading to a lower final CPI.

You probably should look beyond just one ad...

A single ad on Instagram Reels is not a marketing strategy; it's a lottery ticket. To reliably grow your app, you need a proper advertising funnel. This means having different campaigns and messages for people at different stages of awareness.

Here’s a simplified version of what this looks like for an app:

• Top of Funnel (ToFu): This is your cold audience. People who have never heard of you or your app. Here, you'd run your App Install campaigns targeting broad audiences based on interests, behaviours, and demographics related to your app's function. The goal is simple: get the install. Your Reels ad would fit here, but as part of a wider test of different creatives and audiences, not as a standalone effort.
• Middle of Funnel (MoFu): These are people who have shown some interest but haven't taken the key action yet. For an app, this could be people who installed but didn't sign up, or didn't start a trial. You would run retargeting ads to these users encouraging them to complete that next step. The objective here would be App Events.
• Bottom of Funnel (BoFu): These are your highly engaged users or past customers. You might target them to encourage a subscription, an in-app purchase, or to come back to the app if they've been inactive.

By structuring your campaigns this way, you're creating a system, not just running an ad. You're guiding users from discovery to becoming valuable customers. Limiting your placement to only Instagram Reels is also a mistake. While it can be a great placement, you should start with Automatic Placements and let Meta's algorithm figure out where it can get you the cheapest installs, whether that's on Reels, Stories, the Facebook feed, or somewhere else. You're unnecessarily tying the algorithm's hands by restricting it so much from the start.

You'll need to expand your advertising channels...

While Meta ads can be great for app promotion, relying on them solely is a mistake, especially at the start. You're missing out on the platforms where user intent is highest. People scrolling on Instagram are generally not looking to download a new app; you have to interrupt them and convince them. But on other platforms, they are actively searching for what you offer.

The two main ones you should be looking at are:

1. Apple Search Ads (ASA): This is probably the most powerful platform for iOS apps. You bid on keywords, and your app shows up as a sponsored listing at the very top of the App Store search results when people search for those terms. The intent couldn't be higher. Someone is literally in the App Store, typing in "photo editor app" or "productivity tool". Getting your app in front of them at that exact moment is incredibly effective. It's often more expensive per click, but the conversion rate to install is usually fantastic.
2. Google App Campaigns (UAC): This is Google's equivalent. It's an automated campaign type that promotes your app across Google's entire network, including Google Search, Google Play, YouTube, and the Google Display Network. You provide some text, images, and videos, set your bid, and Google's machine learning does the rest, finding you installs wherever it can. It's less hands-on than Meta but can be a very effective way to drive volume.

I've seen many app campaigns where we start on Meta and then find that Apple Search Ads deliver much higher quality users for a similar or even lower cost per acquisition. You should definately be testing these platforms alongside Meta to see what works best for your specific app and audience. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially when it's the basket with the least user intent.

This is the main advice I have for you:

I know this is a lot to take in, especially when you're just starting out. The world of paid advertising is complex, and it's very easy to waste money on the wrong strategy. The steps I've outlined above are the difference between an ad campaign that burns cash and one that actually builds a user base for your app. To make it clearer, I've detailed my main recommendations for you below in a table.

Implementing this correctly involves quite a few steps, from technical setup like the SDK to strategic decisions about audiences, creative, and budget allocation across platforms. It's a lot more involved than just boosting a post, which is why many app developers struggle to get traction with paid ads.

Getting expert help can make a massive difference, ensuring you're set up for success from day one and avoiding costly mistakes. We offer a free, no-obligation initial consultation where we can review your app and goals in more detail and give you a clearer picture of what a successful advertising strategy would look like.

If that's something you'd be interested in, please let me know. Either way, I hope these suggestions have been helpful and give you a better path forward.

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh