As digital marketers, we often feel overwhelmed with the amount of options we have in front of us — Instagram video ads being one of them. It can be confusing, that’s why it’s important to understand each medium in order to pick the one having the greatest chance of profitability.
There are currently more than 2 million advertisers on the platform. 60% of users say they discovered new products on Instagram, and there has been an 80% increase in time spent watching videos on Instagram.
Instagram’s advertising platform has grown aggressively in the past few years. When I started advertising back in 2015, it was one of the best platforms to advertise on in terms of returns.
Funny enough, very few advertisers were using Instagram because they were afraid of the new. I had built a watch store and pulled more than $1 million in revenue in less than four months from Instagram advertising alone.
The platform has really changed throughout the years for the better. Product tagging, boost posts, stories with links — all these changes made the platform one of the most competitive on the market.
One thing we’ve seen growing on Instagram are video ads. They have given us very strong results in the past few months.
Without further ado, let’s dive in the Instagram world.
Video Ad Formats and How They Work
1. In-feed video ads
Those ads show up in the feed, the place where everyone lands when they open Instagram and waste two hours scrolling.
You have to understand people’s mindset when they are scrolling — they just like watching. They rarely engage or even click, because it would demand too much effort for them. Your ad better be good.
In-feed Instagram video ads are really good for brand awareness. Combine them with re-targeting video views ads, and they will drive you some sexy results.
With that in mind, make sure you create content that gives value, captivates and entertains. Anything promotional will make people stop watching your ad. You want to captivate the user’s attention. In fact, I usually recommend that people mimic movie trailers for their advertising.
Sizes and specs:
Vertical Video
- Resolution: 600 x 750
- Aspect ratio: 4:5
- Max size & length: 4 GB/60 seconds
Landscape Video
- Resolution: 600 x 315
- Aspect ratio: 1:91:1
- Max size & length: 4 GB/60 seconds
Square Video
- Resolution: 600 x 600
- Aspect Ratio: 1:1
- Max size & length: 4 GB/60 seconds
2. Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are fairly new. One thing we’ve seen across many of our clients is that they bring some really awesome results. They appear between the other stories that over 400 million users view everyday.
Above is a visual of the difference between an Instagram feed ad and Instagram Stories ad. Take a peek.
These ads have one of the highest CTR and lowest CPC rate we’ve seen on any social media ads. They work amazingly well for apps.
These videos last 15 seconds, and people need to swipe up in order to click. Make sure you take that in consideration in your CTA.
Remember, be catchy and keep it to essentials. 15 seconds can really fly by.
Remember, also, that the demographic on Instagram is between 18–29, and that they prefer spending on experiences over products. We’ll go deeper into this subject in another article, but keep in mind that it’s not about the benefits of the product. Rather, it is the emotions you make people feel that matter.
Size & Specs
- Resolution: 600 X 1067
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max size & length: 4 GB/ 15 seconds
3. Instagram Canva ads
The awesome thing about Instagram Canva video ads is they are super immersive and allow for a lot of creativity. They also open your website while staying on Instagram, which improves conversion rates by a ton. Just keep in mind, they show up as Instagram Stories ads.
I recommend using a main image and three cards behind in order to display more images and videos. If you run an ecommerce, you can even create a catalog of products and let people click through in order to purchase.
Size and specs
- Resolution: 600 x 600
- Aspect ratio: 1:1
- Max size & length: 4 GB/60 seconds
4. Instagram Carousel ads
You can use two to ten images or videos per ad, which leaves tons of room for creativity. You can create stories, product catalogs, or any other idea your mind sparks. There’s not much more to say except go and try them out.
Sizes & specs:
- Resolution: 600 x 600 or 1080 x 1080
- Aspect ratio: 1:1
- Max size & length: 4 GB/60 seconds
5. Instagram TV (IGTV)
IGTV is really new, only seven to eight months old at this point. It allows you to upload videos longer than an hour on Instagram. Be careful, though. Don’t make long videos if your audience connects with shorter videos.
Inside your IGTV, you really want to create content that shows behind the scenes, informative content and inspirational stories. We recommend having something periodic, like “Monday Content Day,” or whatever would fit your brand.
One brand killing it with IGTV is Netflix, by showing interviews and promo videos. I recommend checking them out.
Sizes & specs:
- Aspect ratio: 4:5 to 9:16
- Big account max size & length: 650 MB under 10 minutes or 3.6 GB up to 60 minutes
- Small account max size & length: 15 seconds to 10 minutes
How to create your IGTV:
- Click on the IGTV Icon
2. Tap the Settings Icon to your right
3. Click “Create Channel”
4. Click “next, next, next” and at sometime, “create channel”.
OK, enough of the setups, how do you actually make the ads?
How To Create Solid Video Ads
1. Put yourself in their shoes
- First impressions. The first few seconds of your video count much like first impressions in real life. If people don’t like the beginning of your video, they can just keep scrolling, and that’s exactly what they’ll do. Remember, if people don’t watch the beginning of your video, they won’t see the rest.
- Brand awareness. Show your brand in the first few seconds to make people know who you are, and so they can see your logo. This will enable more people to know who you are before they keep scrolling.
- Show them something cool. Give something to your customer that they will benefit from so that they leave the video with a positive experience and a big ass smile. This will help your brand reputation and, thus, your sales.
- Choose why. You need to know exactly what is the purpose of that video. Is it brand awareness, to sell a product, or to gather video views to re-target? This is essential in order to create the best videos.
2. Goal orientation
- Thumbnails. Your thumbnail is what captivates people and entices them to watch your video. Again, if they don’t stop, they won’t watch. Be careful to keep it relevant, otherwise people won’t keep watching your video.
- Captions. A lot of people watch your videos in public places and don’t have the sound on. Having captions is a must to captivate and connect with your audience.
- CTA. Set up a clear Call-To-Action, otherwise you’ll just have people confused about the next step. You’ll miss a lot of opportunities for building relationships with customers, and you’ll cry at home.
- Have a sense of humor. Most people have bad days. They go on social media to lighten up. Don’t bring them more problems. Consider cracking some jokes.
3. Test until you find what works
- Visualize it on mobile. Always remember that people view Instagram on mobile. If you want to know how your video looks, check it out on mobile, not on desktop.
- Keep it short & simple. Even if IGTV allows long videos, Instagram was built for short videos. Lucky for me, Facebook has decided to back me up on this in research they did somewhat recently.
- Maintain a balance between water and fire. You want to find a balance between quality and something filmed by a potato, a balance between two unicorns flying and boring powerpoint slides. Too much of anything is not enough — except for food.
- Test multiple videos. Remember, you’ll never know what converts best unless you test it. We recommend testing new, small changes in your video and tracking the result by trusting the data to draw solid conclusions.
Here’s What Matters In the End
Remember, videos are fun to make, but they are here on this earth to convert customers. Don’t be salesy, create value, and track to see which video gives you the most of what you want for the best price.
Here are cool Instagram video examples from Hubspot if you need some inspiration. I recommend that you find out how your competitors are advertising; this will give you a good idea of what’s working well.
Let us know what your experience has been with Instagram video ads, and if you have any tips to others.
