What Are Instagram Story Ads? Format and Setup

Instagram Stories are short vertical photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. A Stories ad slots in between those organic stories, filling the phone screen the way a story does. You can build one from new media in Ads Manager or turn an active story into an ad, and the same campaign can also deliver to Facebook and Messenger Stories.

What does a Stories ad look like?

It fills the screen vertically and carries a call-to-action sticker that Meta places at the bottom of the ad by default. For 9:16 ads, you can change the sticker’s position, size and colour in the ad creative section of Ads Manager. Meta says it is introducing these stickers gradually, so you may not have them yet. If your image or video is not 9:16, you can pick a solid or gradient background colour to fill the rest of the screen.

What specs do Instagram Stories ads need?

Item	Meta’s spec
Recommended ratio	9:16 (feed ratios from 1.91:1 to 4:5 are also supported)
Resolution	1,080 × 1,920 px recommended; 600 × 1,067 px minimum
File types	.mp4 or .mov for video; .jpg or .png for photos
Maximum file size	4 GB for video; 30 MB for photos
Video length	Up to 60 minutes; images show for 5 seconds by default

Keep the top, bottom and side edges of a 9:16 Stories ad free of text, logos and key visuals so the interface and the call-to-action sticker do not cover them.

How do you create an Instagram Stories ad in Ads Manager?

1. Go to Meta Ads Manager and click + Create campaign.
2. Choose the objective closest to your goal, name the campaign and click Next.
3. Set your budget, schedule, audience and placements, then click Next.
4. Choose flexible, single image or video, carousel or collection as the format.
5. Add media, text and a destination; use Stories templates to animate a still image.
6. Select Instagram Stories under “Select a placement to edit” to customise the creative.
7. Preview the Stories and Reels view, then click Publish.

Can you turn an existing story into an ad?

Yes, with limits. Meta says only active stories can be selected; archived stories and stories added to Highlights cannot. A story used as an ad can include up to five interactive elements from location stickers, hashtag stickers, tappable text and @mention stickers. Meta also lists reasons a story cannot be boosted from Instagram:

• Its aspect ratio is not 9:16 or between 4:5 and 1.91:1.
• It has a link sticker; use a call-to-action instead.
• It uses unsupported elements such as music stickers, GIFs or more complex creative tools.
• It is an image or video shared in the past, which Meta says may not be boostable.

FAQ

Do Stories ads have to be 9:16?

No. Meta’s Stories design page says all feed photo and video dimensions from 1.91:1 to 4:5 are supported. It still recommends 9:16 to fill the full-screen vertical format, and for media that is not 9:16 you can choose a background colour so the empty space looks intentional.

Can I add a link to an Instagram Stories ad?

Yes, through the call to action rather than a link sticker. Meta says you cannot boost a story that has a link sticker, and that to link to a website from a Stories ad you add a call-to-action. Stories ads support a default call-to-action link sticker placed at the bottom of the ad.

How long can a Stories ad video be?

Meta’s Stories design page sets a maximum video length of 60 minutes, and images display for 5 seconds by default. Stories also require 100% of the video’s pixels to be on screen before playback starts, according to Meta’s video playing specifications, so the ad plays only once fully visible.