Reels Placements

Reels placements put your ad into the Reels feeds, the vertical short-video streams on Instagram and Facebook. Meta's placement list names Instagram Reels, where ads appear in the Reels tab on Instagram and run in the mobile app and on desktop and mobile web, and Facebook Reels, where ads appear in the Reels tab on Facebook. It also lists in-stream ads for reels: Facebook in-stream reels, shown in video on demand and approved partner live streams, and Ads on Facebook Reels, banner or video ads shown as people watch Reels. You choose them in the Placements section of an ad set, or let Advantage+ placements include them. Both are mobile-first surfaces where the next clip is one swipe away.

Creative is vertical. Meta's aspect ratio guide shows Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels supporting several shapes, with 9:16 recommended for both images and videos. For in-stream placements, Facebook Reels and Instagram Reels support 1.91:1, 16:9, 1:1, 4:5, and 9:16, with 9:16 recommended. Meta warns that on screens taller than 9:16 it may zoom your creative to fill the screen, cutting off edges, or show it at 9:16 on a black background, so keep key text and visuals inside the safe zone. Collection ads also list Facebook Reels and Instagram Reels as supported placements, though the digital circular Instant Experience template is not compatible with Instagram Reels.

Reels interact with budget and measurement in ways that surprise people. With Advantage+ placements, Reels can take a large share of impressions, and the placement breakdown may show high impressions with low click-through rate. That does not automatically mean it is failing, because the format works as attention-first inventory and its contribution can show up later as branded search or direct visits. But you should not assume the best either. Use cost per result and, where you can, a holdout or a placement split test to judge it. Reels sit in the Stories, Status and Reels group, so they share creative needs with Stories. Treat Reels as its own row in your reports, since blending it with Feed hides which format is really driving cost.

Common mistakes: reusing a landscape or square feed video, which leaves a letterboxed strip in a full-screen environment; opening with a logo instead of a hook; and putting captions or the call to action in the top or bottom areas that the interface covers. Another is excluding Reels after one look at a click-through rate, without checking cost per purchase or lead. The opposite mistake is leaving Reels on and never checking whether the traffic converts. And creative made for polished TV spots often feels out of place beside creator-style clips, so test a plainer cut. Aim for the first second to show motion or a face, not a title card, since the next clip is one swipe away.

This week, open the Placement breakdown for the last 30 days and compare Reels against Feed on cost per result, not click-through rate. If you have no vertical video, make a 9:16 version of your best ad with burned-in captions and a visual hook in the first second or two. Keep the offer and call to action away from the screen edges. Run it as a separate ad with placement customization or as a Reels-only ad set at a small budget for a week. If cost per result is within range of Feed, keep it and build more vertical creative.