You’re probably wondering why Instagram ads size and dimensions are so crucial to creating a successful Instagram campaign. It’s because knowing the right size for your images and videos ensures that your message gets across to those who matter the most: potential customers.
Knowing the right Instagram ads size saves marketers from getting their posts stretched, cropped, or distorted in any way.
You wouldn’t want Facebook Ads Manager to truncate your images or videos because you didn’t follow their specifications while making them. Plus, an unappealing or unattractive ad won’t do any good but hurt your brand recognition value, making it difficult for people to remember what you stand for or offer in the first place!
However, Instagram ads size is not as straightforward a subject as it seems to be. In this blog post, we’ll cover the different types of ads you can create, what size they should be, and more.
Instagram Ads Sizes And Dimensions – All That You Need To Know
We will now get into the specifications of all available Instagram Ad types (image ads, video ads, carousel ads, story ads and more), their placement, sizes, and dimensions.
It is important to stick to these size and dimension guidelines so that your efforts do not go down the drain as Facebook Ads Manager expects all ads to adhere to certain standards outlined by it.
Let’s dig in.
1. Image Ads
Captivating images are the key to this ad format. Use a vibrant image with compelling text and an impactful Call-To-Action button to promote your products and engage customers.
Placement: Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are a perfect way to showcase your products in an engaging form. It gives options to add stickers, emojis, and other features. One of the best ways to advertise on Instagram stories is to showcase your product and promote your brand with eye-catching images that encourage people to take action. The duration of Image ads in Instagram Stories is 5 seconds, so your ad copy better is intriguing.
Text Recommendation:
- Primary Text – Up to 125 characters.
Design Recommendation:
- File type – jpg or png
- Ratio – 9:16
- Resolution – 1080 * 1080 pixels
Technical Recommendation:
- Maximum file size – 30 MB
- Minimum width – 500 pixels
Placement: Instagram Feed
Instagram Feed is a great place to connect with your followers and showcase your products. You can use the Image Ads format in your Instagram feed to showcase your product or develop your brand image. Try using very noticeable pictures and crisp texts to stand out in the crowd.
Text Recommendation:
- Primary text – Up to 125 characters.
- Headline – Up to 40 characters
- Hashtags – Up to 30
Design Recommendation:
- File type – jpg or png
- Ratio – 1:1
- Resolution – 1080 * 1080 pixels
Technical Recommendation:
- Maximum file size – 30 MB
- Minimum width – 500 pixels
Placement: Instagram Explore
Instagram Explore is a place for users to discover new things, connect with new people, and explore new brands. More than 50% of Instagram users use Instagram Explore to follow new trends, shop, and look for brands they like.
Text Recommendation:
- Primary text – Up to 125 characters.
Design Recommendation:
- File type – jpg or png
- Ratio – 9:16
- Resolution – 1080 * 1080 pixels
Technical Recommendation:
- Maximum file size – 30 MB
- Minimum width – 500 pixels
2. Video Ads
Instagram video ads let you describe your product in brief and give a better understanding of your brand to Instagrammers. It also helps in lead generation, traffic generation, and increasing brand awareness.
According to a 2021 survey by Wyzowl, 93% of marketers consider video an essential part of their marketing plans. Around 94% of marketers stated that video has helped improve the understanding of their products, while 78% confirmed that video directly helped improve their sales.
Placement – Instagram Stories
Bring your business to life with fullscreen vertical video ads on Instagram Stories. They appear in between users’ organic Stories. You can add stickers, emojis, and other engaging elements to immerse your followers in your ads.
The movement and audio features help grab viewers’ attention easily – show some unique features of your product or tell a story about your brand – the opportunities are endless.
The duration of the video ads is 15 seconds, and then it automatically goes to the next story. If your video is more than 15 seconds long, Instagram will break it into 15 seconds segments. If the viewer clicks on “Keep Watching”, they can continue to watch the video ad segments.
Text Recommendation:
- Primary text – Up to 125 characters.
Design Recommendation:
- File type – mp4, mov, gif
- Ratio – 9:16
- Video Settings – H.264 compression, square pixel, fixed frame rate, progressive scan and stereo AAC audio compression at 128 kbps
- Resolution – 1080 * 1080 pixels
- Video Caption – Optional
- Audio Caption – Optional
Technical Recommendation:
- Duration – Up to 2 minutes
- Maximum file size – 4 GB
- Minimum width – 500 pixels
Placement – Instagram Feed
Instagram offers yet another seamless way to reach your audience by using In-feed video ads that look like normal Feed posts. Use videos to build brand awareness or illustrate your products or services as users scroll through their Feed. The duration of the video ads is up to 2 minutes.
Text Recommendation:
- Primary text – Up to 125 characters.
- Hashtags – Up to 30
Design Recommendation:
- File type – mp4, mov, gif
- Ratio – 4:5
- Resolution – 1080 * 1080 pixels
- Video Caption – Optional
- Audio Caption – Optional
Technical Recommendation:
- Duration – Up to 2 minutes
- Maximum file size – 4 GB
- Minimum width – 500 pixels
Placement – Instagram Explore
You can now post video ads on Instagram Explore, a place to discover, connect and follow your favorite brands. Instagram recommends you use the best available video with the highest resolution.
Recommendations:
- Resolution – Highest possible
- Caption – Optional
- Video length – Up to 2 minutes
- Text – Only one row will display
3. Carousel Ads
Instagram Carousel Ads allow you to use up to 10 photos and videos in a single ad, in card formats. You can recognize it by the small dots under the image. You can tell a story about your brand or create a step-by-step illustration of how your product works. Carousel ads run as individual campaigns and can’t be clubbed with other ad campaigns.
Placement – Instagram Stories
Showcase up to 10 images or videos with individual links in a single ad. Carousel ads give an edge with its full-screen vertical format and carousel cards when placed in Instagram Stories.
Develop a story in each card, generate curiosity, illustrate a step-by-step guide, or build a story. Everything is possible with carousel ads.
Instagram displays three cards automatically before giving the option of “Expand Story” to give viewers the option to watch the remaining carousel cards.
Text Recommendation:
- Primary text – Up to 125 characters.
- Headline – Up to 40 characters
- Landing page URL – Required
Design Recommendation:
- Image File type – jpg or png
- Video File type – mp4, mov, gif
- Ratio – 1:1
- Resolution – 1080 * 1080 pixels
Technical Recommendation:
- Number of Carousel cards – 2 to 10
- Image Maximum file size – 30 MB
- Video Maximum file size – 4 GB
- Video duration – 15 seconds
Placement – Instagram Feed
Whenever you open your Instagram account, your Instagram feed updates you with the latest posts. The same is the case with your followers. Scrolling through Instagram feeds is immersive and can prove very effective in showcasing your brand and products.
Use carousel ads in Instagram feed to showcase up to 10 images or videos to exemplify your products or build chronicles around your brand.
Text Recommendation:
- Primary text – Up to 125 characters.
- Hashtags – Up to 30
- Landing page URL – Required
Design Recommendation:
- Image File type – jpg or png
- Video File type – mp4, mov, gif
- Ratio – 1:1
- Resolution – 1080 * 1080 pixels
Technical Recommendation:
- Number of Carousel cards – 2 to 10
- Image Maximum file size – 30 MB
- Video Maximum file size – 4 GB
- Video duration – Up to 2 minutes
4. Instagram Collection Ads
Collection ads on Instagram allow users to discover, browse and buy products or services as per their liking. It is a mobile-first feature, allowing you to showcase your product catalog and letting your customers have a unique post-click browsing experience. It has a full-screen grid layout with “Sell Products” captions.
You can place your Instagram Collection Ads on both your Instagram Story and Feed.
It essentially includes a cover image or video, followed by three product images. When your customer clicks on a Collection ad, a fullscreen landing page will appear as an Instant Experience.
While creating your Collection ad, you can use the shopfront or customer acquisition template or customize your own. It has no Call-To-Action buttons.
Text Recommendation
- Primary text – Up to 125 characters
- Headline – Up to 40 characters
- Landing page URL – Required
Design Recommendation
- The cover image uses the first media asset from your Instant Experience.
- Image File type – jpg or png
- Video File type – mp4, mov, gif
- Ratio – 1.91:1 to 1:1
- Resolution – 1080 * 1080 pixels
Technical Recommendation
- Instant Experience – Required
- Maximum Image File size – 30 MB
- Maximum Video File size – 4 GB
Size It, Post It
Instagram uses its parent company, Facebook’s Ads Manager, to create ads. Like every other tool, it also has specific requirements for every marketer to upload their ad on the platform. Technical parity helps in giving a better experience to all Instagram users.
Creating your ads following these technical specifications will ensure that your ads are uploaded hassle-free and you don’t end up wasting time and resources on modifying ads.
Follow the above specifications while creating your ad, and you are good to go!
Speaking of a hassle-free experience, you can use SocialPilot to schedule your Instagram posts way ahead of time to maintain a consistent presence on the platform and increase social media engagement effectively.
