It’s difficult to get users to stop scrolling. Instagram is saturated with in-feed ads, making it harder for brands and businesses to stand out. Story ads are a great way to break through the noise. Their vertical, full-screen video is ideal for social content consumption, making them an essential format for social media advertising.
But your Story ads don’t need highly produced creative in order to be successful. While high-quality and high-resolution images and videos will always be a priority, your ads can be successful by simply using your organic assets and the tools within the Instagram app.
If you haven’t already, download Instagram and test out some of the in-app editing capabilities to enhance your organic Stories with filters, text overlays, animated gifs, stickers, and more. All of this work can then be transferred to an ad with the click of a few buttons.
The advanced camera technology in our mobile devices has made producing high-quality images and videos that much easier and attainable for all advertisers. Keep these four things in mind when creating organic content for use in Instagram Story ads:
- Maximize the use of vertical format: When you take a video or photo for an Instagram Story, make sure to shoot vertically in order to take advantage of the entire ad space. It creates a seamless full-screen experience for the user. For more details, see our post on Creative Specs for Facebook and Instagram Ads.
- Make a solid first impression: Using video gives you 15 seconds to get your message across, versus an image where you only have five. Whenever possible, use video to your advantage. This may be the first time a user interacts with your brand so make sure your product or service is the main focus of the Story. Be funny, be informative, be engaging. Do what you have to do to get them to interact with your ad.
- Less is more: Visuals are the most important aspect of the Story. Copy and text overlays are supplementary – use them sparingly. Provide enough context to get your message across and leave it at that.
- Be authentic: Social media users know an ad when they see it, and are quick to react when they do. Ads that scream “AD!” cause most users to tap away quickly. When a Story ad appears more authentic and organic, it has a much stronger effect on users than overly produced, commercial-style ads. Organic Stories add a personality that cannot be captured in an overly polished video, which allows your ad to stand out from the crowd.
Take another look at your recent Instagram Stories. You may find a few that can do double duty to become successful ads with very little effort.
