Placements & Networks

Instagram Feed vs Right Column Ads: Native Scroll or Cheap Sidebar Reach

In short: Both can carry the same static image, but they sit in almost opposite corners of Meta's inventory. Instagram Feed is full-width, native-feeling, mobile-first inventory that competes for real attention during a scroll. Right Column Ads are small, desktop-only sidebar units that people have learned to ignore, bought mainly because they are cheap. Feed is where you spend real creative effort and budget to build consideration; Right Column is where you let a retargeting reminder ride along at a low cost. Pick Feed to be seen, and Right Column only when you want cheap frequency, not attention.

By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026

Instagram Feed

Ads placed between posts from followed accounts in the main Instagram scrolling surface, typically bought at a higher CPM than Facebook.

It is bought in Meta Ads Manager alongside Facebook inventory, and it rewards polished or natively styled creative more than direct-response layouts. Choose it when the audience skews younger or the product is inherently visual. The frequent mistake is running Facebook-style creative with heavy text overlays and long copy: Instagram truncates captions early, and anything that reads as a template gets scrolled past.

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Right Column Ads

Small ad units in the desktop Facebook sidebar, shown beside the feed rather than inside it, at very low cost per impression.

This is desktop-only inventory with a small image and little text, so it buys impressions cheaply but rarely drives considered action. It survives mostly as a low-cost retargeting reminder. The mistake is leaving it on in an automatic placement mix and reading its impressions as real reach, then blaming the whole campaign for frequency and click-through that came from one shrinking desktop surface.

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Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

	Instagram Feed	Right Column Ads
Where it physically sits	Full-width, inside the main scrolling content stream.	A small box beside the feed, on desktop only.
Device availability	Mobile and desktop, mobile-dominant.	Desktop only - there is no mobile right column.
Format supported	Image, video, and carousel, in native aspect ratios.	Static image only, no video, small dimensions.
Attention it earns	Real, if brief, glance during an active scroll.	Peripheral at best; most people scan past it without registering it.
Typical cost	Middle to high CPM, reflecting contested premium inventory.	The lowest CPM in the Meta placement mix.
Best use	Primary reach and consideration creative for the campaign.	Cheap incremental retargeting frequency, not a standalone strategy.
Risk when left on automatic	Rarely a problem; it is core inventory Meta already prioritizes appropriately.	Can quietly absorb impressions that look like reach but rarely change a decision.

What actually separates them.

Right Column only exists on desktop, so any campaign that is mostly mobile traffic will barely deliver there no matter how it is configured, while Instagram Feed delivers across both.

Right Column supports static images only, so any video-first creative strategy simply cannot run there, while Feed accepts the full range of formats.

Feed inventory is contested enough to carry a real CPM premium; Right Column is priced near the floor because so little attention lands on it.

Because Right Column impressions rarely drive a considered click, judging it on click-through rate makes it look broken even when it is doing its cheap-frequency job correctly.

Excluding Right Column barely changes overall reach or spend in most automatic placement mixes, while excluding Instagram Feed removes one of the largest available surfaces.

Which one should you use?

Use Instagram Feed when

Your creative is strong enough to earn a real glance during an active scroll.
You are building consideration or driving traffic with video or carousel assets.
The campaign's primary audience is mobile-first.
You want a placement worth spending real creative production time on.

Use Right Column Ads when

You want cheap incremental frequency for existing warm audiences, not new attention.
Your creative library already has a strong static image that does not need a video variant.
You are comfortable with desktop-only delivery for this slice of budget.
You are retargeting people who already know the brand and just need a reminder.

Common questions.

Should I turn off Right Column ads?

Not automatically. It is cheap enough that it rarely hurts blended cost per result even though it earns little attention on its own, so check its numbers by placement before excluding it. Turn it off if you are running video-only creative it cannot show, or if you specifically need budget to prioritize higher-attention placements.

Why does Right Column have such a low click-through rate?

It is small, static, and sits beside content people are actively scrolling past, so low click-through is expected behavior, not a sign something is broken. Judge it on cost per impression and its contribution to overall frequency, not on the same click-through bar you would use for Feed.

Can I use the same creative for both placements?

A static image works in both, but a video or carousel built for Feed simply will not run in Right Column at all. If Right Column matters to your mix, make sure at least one static image is included in the ad, or Meta cannot serve there.

Or stop choosing between them.

AdFlint picks the setting, writes the ads, and keeps optimizing inside the Google and Meta accounts you already own.

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