Video ads by channel / Instagram
Video ads for Instagram.
Reels, Stories and Feed, each composed in its own frame, with the first second doing the work.
The medium
Instagram is two mediums inside one app. Reels open in a full-screen vertical viewer with the sound on, and Meta reports that over 75 percent of Reels views on Instagram are sound-on. Feed is the opposite: a muted portrait scroll where people move 41 percent faster than on a desktop and can remember what they saw after a quarter of a second. Stories sit between the two, tapped through one card at a time, with any ad longer than fifteen seconds split into separate cards.
An ad loads inside that behavior rather than interrupting it. A Reels ad appears only once someone has opened the immersive viewer, so it is judged against the creator video that played before it. Meta's own research with Nielsen found that up to 47 percent of a video campaign's value is delivered in the first three seconds and up to 74 percent in the first ten.
So the opening frame has to work twice: as a silent picture that reads on its own, and as a start that rewards the sound being on. The profile name, caption and call to action overlay the picture, which is why Meta asks for the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and 6 percent of each side to stay clear of anything that matters.
The specs
Quoted from the platforms' own pages. The source and the date each was read are under the table.
| Placement | Ratio | Resolution and file | Length | Sound and captions | Safe zone and rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reels | 9:16 | 1440 x 2560, MP4 or MOV, 4 GB | 0 seconds to 15 minutes | Sound optional but strongly recommended; captions optional but recommended | Keep 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side clear. No licensed music, no camera effects, no GIFs |
| Stories | 9:16 | 1440 x 2560, MP4, MOV or GIF, 4 GB | 1 second to 60 minutes; ads of 15 seconds or less show in full | Optional but recommended; captions optional but recommended | Same 14 / 35 / 6 safe zone; aspect ratio tolerance 1%; primary text 125 characters |
| Feed | 9:16 on the Ads Guide sheet; 1.91:1 to 4:5 on Meta's video requirements chart | 1080 x 1920, MP4, MOV or GIF, 4 GB | 1 second to 60 minutes on the sheet; 1 to 120 seconds on the chart | Optional but recommended; captions optional but recommended | Mobile feed is watched mostly muted; primary text 125 characters, up to 30 hashtags |
| Explore | As Feed | As Feed | As Feed | As Feed | Not a standalone placement: an ad reaches Explore only when it also runs in Feed |
- Meta Ads Guide, Instagram Reels video, read October 27, 2026
- Meta Ads Guide, Instagram Stories video, read October 27, 2026
- Meta Ads Guide, Instagram Feed video, read October 27, 2026
- Meta video requirements chart, read October 27, 2026
- Meta, Reels ads overview and safe zone, read October 27, 2026
Where two Meta pages disagree, both values are shown. Meta's mobile video guidance adds: deliver the message in fifteen seconds or less, and show the brand early.
How we build an ad for it
Directed by people, made with AI, finished by hand. You approve the script and the sound before any footage is made.
Master in 9:16, then compose the others
The Reels and Stories frame is the master. The 4:5 feed version and any 1:1 cut are composed again from the source scenes, not cropped from the vertical, so a product never loses its edges and a face never loses its eyes. Every plan includes 16:9 and 9:16; other ratios are an add-on listed on the pricing page.
The lower third stays empty
Meta's safe zone covers the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and 6 percent of each side of a vertical ad. We lay out every super, logo and product shot against that overlay before animation starts, and we send you the frame with the overlay on it so you can see what the caption and button will cover.
Hook at frame one, brand by second three
Nearly half of a campaign's value lands in the first three seconds, by Meta's own measurement. The first frame is a finished image, not a fade-in, the movement starts at once, and the brand is on screen before the third second so a swipe still leaves a memory.
Two sound mixes for one film
Reels plays with sound on; Feed is mostly watched muted; Stories has no caption track of its own. So the film reads silently first, with captions burned in for Stories and a caption file for Reels and Feed, and the sound mix is built to be the reward for turning it on, not the only way to follow the story.
Fifteen seconds is the honest runtime
Stories cuts an ad into cards after fifteen seconds and Meta's mobile guidance says to deliver the message within fifteen. We write the Reels cut as a complete story inside that window and only go longer when the longer version earns it on its own.
An ending that works without the button
The call to action lives in an interface element we do not control, and on some objectives it is not shown at all. The last frame states the next step in the picture itself: the product, the offer and the name, held long enough to be read.
Films that fit
Finished Filmito films, labeled with what each one is. Hover or tap to play.
What to order
A Reels ad lives inside fifteen seconds, and an Instagram account needs a new angle every week rather than one ad repeated, which is what a monthly slate of four different ads is for.
15 seconds. One idea, one hook, one clear ask. First cut in 3 days, 2 revision rounds, 16:9 and 9:16 included.
Launch on the pricing page4 unique ads every month. Different angles, not shorter cuts.
Growth on the pricing pageQuestions about Instagram ads
What size should an Instagram video ad be?
Reels and Stories ads are 9:16 at 1440 by 2560 pixels, MP4 or MOV, up to 4 GB, by Meta's Ads Guide. Feed is listed as 9:16 at 1080 by 1920 on the sheet and as 1.91:1 to 4:5 on Meta's video requirements chart. We deliver the 9:16 master in every plan and compose a 4:5 version when the campaign runs in Feed.
How long should an Instagram ad be?
Reels accepts up to fifteen minutes and Stories up to sixty, but Stories shows only ads of fifteen seconds or less in full and Meta's mobile guidance says to deliver the message within fifteen seconds. Our Reels cut is written to fifteen; a thirty-second version is made only when the story needs it.
Do you add captions?
Yes. Captions are burned into the Stories version, because Stories has no caption track of its own, and supplied as a caption file for Reels and Feed. Meta's internal tests found captioned video ads increase view time by an average of 12 percent, and most feed viewing is muted anyway.
Can the same ad run on Facebook?
Yes. Meta serves Facebook and Instagram from one campaign and the safe zone is the same 14 / 35 / 6 on Reels and Stories. Facebook Feed recommends 4:5 rather than 9:16, so that version is composed separately. The Facebook page covers the differences.
Do you check the Reels safe zone?
Every vertical frame is laid out against Meta's overlay and you receive a still with the overlay on it before animation starts. Anything inside the top 14 percent, bottom 35 percent or the 6 percent side margins is decorative by design.
Can you use a song we like?
Not on a Reels ad: Meta does not allow licensed music in Reels ads and recommends royalty-free or original audio. We compose or license a track cleared for commercial use, and you approve the sound before any footage is made.
Keep planning
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Six short questions about your brand and where the ad will run. A person replies within one business day with the idea, the price and the date.
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