Instagram partnership ads in Malta.
Creator reach, with ads you control.

Partnership ads are ads that run with a partner. The partner can be a creator, another brand or another business. Both account names show in the ad’s header. Meta used to call them branded content ads, and the help pages now use the new name.

The key point is control. A partnership ad takes a creator’s post, or new content made for you, and runs it as a paid ad from your ad account. You set the goal, the budget, the audience and the dates.

Meta says these ads use signals from both accounts. So Meta can learn from the creator’s followers as well as your own customers. A weak offer stays weak with a famous face on it, though, so judge the ad on what it sells.

The Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) has published guidelines for influencer marketing, based on the Consumer Affairs Act, Cap. 378. Followers must be able to tell paid content from normal posts.

The MCCAA says a post counts as commercial when it aims to sell, when money, commission or gifts are given, or when someone promotes their own range. Acceptable labels include #ad, #advert, #advertisement and #sponsored. #gifted fits goods given for free so the creator mentions them.

Where the label goes matters as much as the word. The MCCAA says it must be at the start of the post or story, on every related post, and visible without extra clicks. Hiding #ad at the end, among other hashtags, is not enough.

The MCCAA says it is the legal duty of influencers, marketing agencies and brands to follow consumer law. So put the label in the written agreement, and check the post before you put money behind it.

Enter the creator fee, your ad spend, what a sale costs in ads and your average order. Then answer four questions about the deal. The checker shows sales, the return on ad spend and on the full cost with the fee, and flags anything that breaks Malta’s labelling rules or leaves you exposed. Nothing you enter leaves this page.

Malta is small, so audience location matters more than follower count. A creator with 40,000 followers may have most of them abroad. Ask for a screenshot of their audience insights, showing top countries and towns. You want a large share in Malta, or in the countries you sell to.

Look at their past paid work in the Meta Ad Library, and check how they labelled it.

Then agree the deal in writing. Meta’s permission tools control access, not payment or usage terms. So write down the fee, what content you get, how many days you may run it as an ad, and who owns the raw files. Our Instagram Reels ads guide covers what makes a reel work as an ad.

1. Agree the goal. Sales or leads, the offer, and what a good result costs.
2. Shortlist creators. We check audience location, past labels and fit with your brand.
3. Write the brief and the label. Every post starts with #ad or #advert and uses the Paid partnership tag.
4. Set up permissions. An ad code for one post, or account-level access for an ongoing deal.
5. Run and compare. The creator ad runs beside your own ads, and we report the cost per sale or lead in euro.

Malta Digital manages Facebook and Instagram ads from €1,249 a month plus ad spend, paid to Meta in your own ad account. The creator fee is agreed between you and the creator. For the costs of the ads themselves, see what Instagram ads cost in Malta.