What are Instagram Story Ads?

Instagram Story Ads are a full-screen, vertical video format that allows businesses to tell stories and show off products in a creative and engaging way. 

When done right, these ads can effectively drive awareness and sales.

When it comes to technical requirements, Instagram suggests a 1080 x 1920 resolution and 9:16 ratio. 

If you create an image ad, you should have a .jpg or .png file type, whereas if you make a video ad, you should go for .mp4 or .mov.

Furthermore, a video size shouldn’t exceed 4GB, while for photos, the size is 30MB.

Why use Instagram Story Ads?

There are a number of reasons to use Instagram Story Ads as part of your marketing strategy:

• For one, they’re highly engaging – users are more likely to watch a video or view an image on Instagram Stories than they are to scroll through their feed.

• Instagram Stories also offer a unique way to tell your brand’s story. 

You can use them to highlight key products, share behind-the-scenes content, or give a sneak peek of upcoming launches.

• Plus, with features like swipe-up links and interactive elements, you can drive traffic and conversions directly from your Story Ads. 

• And since Instagram Stories are full-screen and attention-grabbing, they’re an ideal format for promoting limited-time offers, flash sales, and other time-sensitive campaigns.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s check Instagram story ads best practices you can use to boost your marketing efforts.

8 Instagram Story Ads Best Practices

1. Keep It Straightforward

Considering that Instagram stories have a time limit, you’ll want to keep your stories straightforward and to the point. In other words, make the first few seconds count. 

Therefore, you need strong visuals, be it high-quality images or videos, which will capture your target audience's attention. 

According to Instagram, viewers find images that include product showcases or product highlights, the most popular ones.

Avoid using busy patterns or cluttered designs.

2. Keep Your Message Succinct

Since users only see your ad for a few seconds, you want to make sure that your message is clear and concise.

Get straight to the point and don’t try to cram too much information into your ad.

Pairing text with visuals will strengthen your ad and emphasize your key points.

What’s more, don’t forget to pay attention to the text positioning. The text needs to stay visible but without blocking the view of visual elements.

If possible, add the text over white space. Usually, the middle of the screen or closer to the CTA element work optimal for the text positioning. 

Regardless of where you put the text, legible instagram font is a must, especially if you place your text over other visual elements.

3. Add Motion to Your Story Ads

This is a great option if you use static images for your Story ads. Don’t get us wrong, there is nothing wrong with static images.

However, adding motion will make them more engaging. For example, you can create a carousel type of Story ad and flip images to create a sense of motion.

Other visuals that can help create motion are:

• Stickers

• Emojis

• Polls

• GIFs, etc. 

Overall, they will add the element of fun and game.

4. Make Your Brand Visible

Making your brand visible is one of the most important aspects, and you’d be surprised how many businesses tend to overlook it.

You can have a great, scroll-stopping ad, but it is almost useless if users can’t figure out the brand behind it.

Therefore, make sure to include your logo and place it in a prominent and visible position. 

It shouldn’t get in the way of other elements, and other elements shouldn’t cover your logo, too. That’s why the top left corner is the best place to put it.

Speaking of brands, if possible, include your brand colors either in the visuals or the text. 

As a result and over time, users will immediately link the type of visuals and colors to your brand.

5. Collaborate with Influencers

Partnering with influencers is yet another great way to boost your marketing efforts and become more visible. 

The good news is that they don’t have to be celebrities. You can benefit from micro-influencers, social media influencers, etc. 

They have a loyal and huge fan base and followers which can help your cause and spread the word.

In addition, it provides an excellent opportunity for your business to tap into new audiences. 

7. Add Sound to Your Story Ads

According to the 2018 survey, more than 60% of viewers watch the ads with the sound on.

This is hardly a surprise since music is a powerful medium and can boost and enhance the message you are trying to convey.

Therefore, choosing the right tune can be a game-changer. 

And to help you get inspired, here comes the list of 25 Trendy Royalty-Free Background Music for Instagram Videos & Reels. 

8. Create a Compelling CTA

Your Story Ad can’t be complete or successful without a compelling CTA. CTAs are there for a reason. 

By using them, you are actually asking the audience to perform some action and enhance interaction.

Your CTA will vary depending on the purpose of your marketing ad campaign.

For example, if you want the audience to find out more about your product or service, you should try something along these lines:

• Learn more

• Find out more

• Read on

• Swipe up

• Explore, etc.

For more direct messages, you can try:

• Shop now

• Get this offer now

• Get started today

• Subscribe

• Install now, etc.

Just like the other elements of your Story Ad, your CTA should be visible and prominent without blocking the other elements.

The above 8 Instagram Story Ads best practices will provide a great starting point or your Instagram marketing campaign. 

But don’t leave us just yet because we do have a special treat for you.

Here are more ideas to kickstart your Instagram business journey.

And as a special bonus, we'll show you how to create attention-grabbing visuals effortlessly. 

More Ideas to Get You Going

There is technically no limit to what you can use Story ads for or how creative you can get.

Let's take a look at some of the most popular ways you can use your Story ads:

• To showcase your product

• To highlight a product's features

• To inform about a new blog post

• To announce a new product, service or event

• To offer discounts, promotions, special offers

• To boost credibility with testimonials, etc.

For even more illustrative examples with all the benefits they bring, make sure to read our article 8 Best Instagram Story Ad Examples For 2023.

Instagram Story ads remain a powerful marketing asset and tool, and to utilize them to the max, you need to know how to create them.

So let’s see how you can create stunning visuals using Glorify.

How to Create Stunning Instagram Visuals with Glorify?

Glorify is a graphic design and social media marketing tool that can help you create engaging visuals. 

Having said that, Glorify offers a wide array of versatile features that cater to both marketing and design business needs.

So what are some of these robust features?

• Infinite Canvases offering endless space to ideate, brainstorm, work on your marketing strategy, etc.

Template gallery offering hundreds of templates, pre-sized to fit all the platforms 

• Photo editing tools offering assets to tweak and edit your visuals and text - you can resize, remove background, change the font, colors, etc.

• Marketing transformation offering pre-made templates to use across all marketing campaigns.

• Brand Kit helping you stay uniform and consistent across all the channels. Furthermore, you can centralize all your branding assets in one place.

• Annotation tool highlighting the most distinctive features of your product, but also invaluable for creating charts and diagrams, etc.

Furthermore, Glorify’s intuitive dashboard lets eCommerce store owners with no design experience create beautiful visuals in just a few clicks.

The dashboard hosts two panels. 

The left one is home to assets like templates, images, mockups, icons and shapes, effects, textures, pen and drawing tools, etc.

The right one stores tools like BG remover, layers, color changes, shadows and reflections, font changes, etc.

Regardless of which panel you use, you just need to click on the element you want to edit or use.

And finally, once you finish your design, you can download it in multiple formats.

Final Thoughts

Instagram story ads can be a great way to connect with potential customers on a more personal level. 

By following the best practices outlined in this article, you can make sure that your Instagram story ads are effective and engaging.

And by adding Glorify to the equation, you'll be well on your way to creating successful ad campaigns that will help boost your business and drive conversions.

Ready to try it out?

Sign up so you can start working on your next Instagram Story ad campaign today.