ResidentialBusiness Posted March 4 Report Posted March 4 Meta ads are evolving, and understanding the right video formats can make a big difference in your ad performance. Here’s how 9:16 and 4:5 videos can help you get better results in Meta, and even across TikTok and YouTube Shorts. The power of Meta’s video innovation Many ecommerce brands have found success using Meta ads. However, many of these brands don’t understand the formatting details that, when used correctly, can drive better results. For context, Meta has undergone more changes than other platforms like Google Ads (which together form the digital advertising duopoly). While Google Ads is older, Meta continues to innovate. It first entered the vertical video space by launching Stories as a direct competitor to Snapchat. Today, Meta is in a similar competition with TikTok through Reels. Different placements work for different advertisers, so it’s important to understand where your brand performs best to succeed. Dig deeper: Why video is key to building brand identity and engagement Meta’s video advertising focus Over the past three months, I’ve spoken with Meta reps, agency owners, and clients to better understand where Meta is focusing its efforts. The answer? 9:16 and 4:5 video ad formats. These formats perform well on Meta’s platform and work as effective creative for TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Both vertical placements are key to getting the most out of your ad campaigns. The 9:16: Maximizes the area within the Story placement. The 4:5: Provides the largest creative space within the newsfeed and Reel placements – and more space means more opportunity. At our agency, we work with 30 brands, giving us a broad view of trends and patterns. And we’ve noticed one key thing: Reels (9:16) are more cost-efficient but convert less immediately for most brands. There is a clear difference between engagement, shareability, and research within Reels compared to In-Feed and Stories. Why does this matter to you as an advertiser? Because Meta is getting more expensive, you need to be more efficient. Instead of simply saying, “Jump on Reels, they’re cheap,” I want to share data-backed tactics you can use right away. 3 ways to get more from 9:16 and 4:5 Meta video ad formats With a million different tactics floating around on the internet, use these 3 to make a dent in your media buying: 1. Optimize Reel placement Start by creating varied content, then refine it through testing within the Reels placement to gather feedback and increase exposure at a lower cost. Next, identify which creative drives performance versus engagement. Focus on growing sales, top-funnel reach, and boosting engagement through shares and Google searches. 2. Pay attention to your ad’s safe zones In Meta advertising, “safe zones” are areas within Stories and Reels ads where key creative elements – such as text and logos – should be placed to prevent them from being obscured by interface features like profile icons or call-to-action buttons. Safe zones have become one of the biggest talking points with our clients heading into 2025. What makes safe zones complex is how primary placements (Stories, Reels, and In-Feed) interact with other placements (video feed, Explore, search, etc.). This complexity increases when you expand to other platforms like YouTube Shorts and TikTok, which present content differently to users. When optimizing safe zones, ensure clear communication between: Media buyer. Client. Creative team. A strong safe zone strategy is key to increasing click-through rates (CTR) and engagement (shares, saves, comments, and reactions). This improved engagement helps the algorithm lower costs (CPM) while collecting valuable data on how users respond – both positively and negatively – to your ads. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. 3. Embrace creative variation The most important factor in creative development is variation. Take one of our clients, for example – a company specializing in ergonomic home products. They’ve developed an unmatched product, and we’ve created personalized dashboards to track their ad account at the founder’s creative level. This helps us better understand their return on ad spend (ROAS) alongside engagement metrics like shares, saves, and comments. Data visualization allows us to quickly see how each creative performs: Some drive high shareability. Some generate more purchases and stronger ROAS. Others encourage comments. If you aren’t analyzing this information, you’re missing key insights that could improve your creative performance. By understanding how each founder-led creative performs, we can refine those assets and expand into new variations. For this brand, founder creative was the most impactful and engaging – but it shouldn’t be the only focus. We found that the “health” creative category drives both purchases and ROAS. This type of content is ideal for retargeting – potentially in a carousel format through the feed for users already familiar with the brand. But let’s dig a level deeper. Within the “health” category, we discovered that “spine-specific health” content is both engaging and high-performing. This makes it a strong candidate for evergreen ads in both prospecting and retargeting. This high-performing creative can now be iterated and repurposed in different ways, such as: Featuring a new UGC spine expert. Highlighting a target audience user. Using an overhead shot of the product with a voice-over about spine health. One successful ad can branch into multiple creative opportunities. When you combine these variations with 9:16, 4:5, and safe zones, you create ads that are optimized for lasting success. Dig deeper: Meta introduces generative AI video advertising tools View the full article Quote
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