In social media, video ads are one of the most effective ways to both reach and engage your potential customers. But like everything on the web, specs for these ad placements are always changing.
Can’t keep up or just want to make sure you’re falling in line with the latest updates and requirements?
Use this guide to find out the most current social media video ad specs by platform:
Facebook Video Ad Specs:
Example of a Facebook Canvas Video
Facebook offers a number of different video ad placements, each with its own unique specs and settings. Keep in mind that all must be uploaded in either MP4 or MOV form.
Here’s what those look like broken down:
- News feed link video -— Recommended dimensions: 1280 x 720, Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1, Max size/length: 4 GB and 120 minutes
- Carousel video -— Recommended dimensions: 1080 x 1080, Aspect ratio: 1:1, Max size/length: 2.3 GB and 30 seconds.
- Collection video -— Recommended dimensions: 1200 x 628, Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1, Max size/length: 4 GB and 120 minutes.
- Canvas video -— Recommended dimensions: 1200 x 628, 16:9 or 1:1, Max size/length: 4 GB and 120 minutes
- Autoplay video in canvas ad -— Recommended resolution: 720p, Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1, Max size/length: 4 GB and 120 minutes
- Slideshow video –— Recommended dimensions: 1280 x 720, Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1, Max size/length: 4 GB and 120 minutes
If you’re just sharing a video post on your feed, the recommended dimensions are 1280 x 720 with an aspect ratio of 16:9 or 9:16. The max file size is 4 Gb and max length ias 120 minutes.
Instagram Video Ad Specs:
Credit: Iconosquare Blog
Instagram also has several types of video ad placements. The video ad specs for these are as follows:
- In-feed square video — Resolution: 600 x 315, Aspect ratio: 1:91:1, Max size/length: 4 GB and 60 seconds
- In-feed landscape video — Resolution: 600 x 600, Aspect ratio: 1:1, Max size/length: 4 GB and 60 seconds
- In-feed vertical video — Resolution: 600 x 750, Aspect ratio: 4:5, Max size/length: 4 GB and 60 seconds
- Carousel video — Resolution: 600 x 600 or 1080 x 1080, Aspect ratio: 1:1 Max size/length: 4 GB and 60 seconds
- Stories video -— Resolution: 600 x 1067, Aspect ratio: 9:16 Max size/length: 4 GB and 15 seconds
“When it comes to advertising within Instagram Stories, for retail brands I think the primary limitation will be the creative. Your creative should be ‘thoughful’ because people are very much in a ‘browsing friends and family’ content mindset. Snapchat already does this really well in their own space but those ads are typically produced with high level creative.”
– Sarah Sanchez, Performance Social Manager at CPC Strategy
Sarah Rogers, Manager, Performance Social at CPC Strategy
Twitter Video Ad Specs:
Credit: The AdStage Blog
Twitter has two types of video ad placements:
- Landscape video — Min/max dimensions: 32 x 32 and 1280 x 1024, Aspect ratios: 1:3, 3.1, 16.9, Max file size/length: 512 MB and 140 seconds
- Portrait video — Min/max dimensions: 32 x 32 and 1280 x 1024, Aspect ratios: 1:3, 3.1, 16.9, Max file size/length: 512 MB and 140 seconds
These specs are the same regardless of whether your video is an ad or just posted within a tweet.
Snapchat Video Ad Specs:
Snapchat has a single video ad option with the following specs: Dimensions – 1080 x 1920, Aspect ratio – 9:16 or 16:9, Max file size/length: 1 GB and 15 second minimum (no maximum).
For 10-second videos posted on Snapchat itself (not as an ad), dimensions should be 1080 x 1920, with an aspect ratio of 9:16.
YouTube Video Ad Specs:
For YouTube ads, there are two groups your placement can fall into: Skippable/Non-skippable/Mid-roll/Bumper or Display. Here’s how those video ad specs break down:
- Display ads — Minimum dimensions: 300 x 60 (image), 426 x 240 (video), Maximum dimensions: 300 x 250 (image), 3840 x 2160 (video), Aspect ratio: 16:9, Max file size/length: 128 GB or 12 hours
- S/N/M/B — Minimum dimensions: 426 x 240, Maximum dimensions: 3840 x 2160, Aspect ratio: 16:9, Max file size/length: 128 GB or 12 hours
YouTube videos can be uploaded in the MOV, MPEG4, MP4, AVI, WMV, MPEGPS, FLV, 3GPP or WebM format.
Pinterest Video Ad Specs
Credit: AdWeek
Video ads on Pinterest are called “promoted” videos and come in either square or vertical versions. The video ad specs for these are:
- Square video — Dimensions: 600 x 600, Resolution: 240p, Aspect ratio: 1:1, Max file size/length: 2 GB and 30 minutes
- Vertical video — Dimensions: 600 x 900, Resolution: 240p, Aspect ratio: 9:16, Max file size/length: 2 GB and 30 minutes
For more information on social media video ad specs, email [email protected].
