Two Formats, One Logic: Ads That Fill the Entire Screen
Smartphone content consumption is now almost entirely vertical. Meta responds to this with two major full-screen ad formats: Reels and Stories. Reels (the short-video section on Instagram and Facebook) are 15-to-90-second videos users watch back to back. Stories are photos or short clips that disappear within 24 hours; a single swipe takes the user from one account to the next. Your ad is placed right in the middle of these organic posts — it looks like content, not a separate ad box.
- Reels ad: Placed within the short-video feed; can be video or image; recommended length 15–90 seconds
- Story ad: Shown among temporary 24-hour content; ideal for short 5–15 second moments
- Both must be designed in vertical (9:16) format — horizontal video looks poor in these placements
- Users swipe to skip, so the first 3 seconds are decisive
- Sound-on viewing rates are higher than in Feed formats — audio design matters
According to Meta, the share of users who watch Reels with sound on — which means relying on subtitles alone is not enough.
Your Creative Is Everything: How You Look Comes Before What You Say
In these formats, the video or image quality shapes results more than the ad copy. Before the viewer reads your offer, they look at your content and decide: do I keep watching, or swipe away? A striking opening frame, a clear message, and a closing call to action — without these three elements, your budget may be wasted. If you run a restaurant, steam rising from a plate; if you're a jeweler, light refracting through a stone; if you own a boutique, a real customer testimonial — these are natural, effective content ideas for these formats.