Instagram Story ads are a promising business avenue in the tap economy, and there’s proof: case studies show 73% higher click-through rates, an 18% increase in sales, and a 41% increase in product page views for businesses that use Instagram Story Ad campaigns. Additionally, these businesses have also been able to cut costs: for instance, restaurant reservation service Dineout was able to decrease its cost per app install by 17% and decrease its cost per purchase by 39% once it kicked off its Stories ad campaign.
Consumers love Stories too! Every second Instagram user reports feeling a greater interest in a brand/product after seeing an Instagram Story Ad about it. Clearly, Instagram Story Ads are an incredible way to reach audiences, boost engagement, spotlight your product or service, and influence purchasing behavior.
But if you’re wondering how to leverage them, we’ve done the legwork. In this article, we’ll take you through the top Instagram Story ad examples, pro tips, and a quick step-by-step guide to help you make a stunning Instagram Story Ad. If you already have an idea that you would bring to life, you can quickly do that using InVideo’s Instagram video editor or, simply follow InVideo on Instagram for inspiration and cool tips & tricks that will help you create compelling ads for your page.
In this blog, we’ll cover:
1. What are Instagram Story Ads?
2. The Best Instagram Story Ad Examples (Video & Static)
3. How to create Instagram Story Ads on InVideo — A Step - by - Step Guide
4. Best Practices and Pro-tips for Creating Instagram Story Ads
Let’s dive right in!
1. What are Instagram Story Ads?
When you run an ad on Instagram, there are four places where it can show up for your intended audience — their feed, their stories, their explore page, or their Reels section. If you’re running your ads directly from the Instagram app, you don’t have the option to pick where the ad gets placed, however, if you’re using the Facebook Ads Manager to run your ads, you can decide exactly where you want your ads to be placed.
Instagram Story ads are advertisements that either appear or are designed specifically to show up as stories for Instagram users. These can either be photos, infographics, or videos in the vertical format, i.e. the 9:16 aspect ratio, that appear as sponsored content in between the regular stories that users see on the top of their feed.
Typically, if you’re designing an Instagram story ad, you want it to not be more than 15 seconds long. However, if it is longer, the ads manager automatically places it as a group of multiple stories for the viewers – making it a multi-story ad. Have a look at the photo below to see what an Instagram Story ad looks like.
What are the benefits to using Instagram Story ads?
But why would you specifically choose to create a story ad as compared to a feed ad or an ad that appears on the explore page? The reasoning is two-fold.
The first reason is that Instagram stories get more engagement than other types of content on Instagram. Instagram stories are also more attention-grabbing because they take up more of your screen’s real estate. It therefore becomes impossible for viewers to miss what you want to showcase, making them highly effective for businesses. InVideo, for example, also leverages stories on its Instagram channel to showcase ads.
The second reason is that Instagram story ads push people to think fast. You cannot save an Instagram story ad. Once it’s lost and you’ve not acted on it, you will not be able to go back to it again. This plays on fear psychology and pushes people towards making an impulse decision, increasing the odds of them purchasing a product or service.
For a deeper dive into Instagram story specs and how to use them for your business, read this helpful blog, and keep reading on to check out some of the best Instagram Story ads.
2. The Best Instagram Story Ad Examples
Now that you understand how Instagram story ads are different from other Instagram ads and how they can help you grow your business, let’s look at how businesses around the world implement these best practices. In this section, we’ll show you some excellent examples of Instagram story ads and how you can leverage them for your own business, followed by links to free video templates which you can use to create your own Story ads. We’ll start off with video ads first since video is the more impactful medium and is known to bring a higher ROI and then we’ll move on to image-based Instagram story ad examples.
Remember, there are loads of opinions on how businesses should go about creating and posting Instagram Story ads, but it really boils down to what your end goal is. So explore each category of Instagram Story ads below, and note down what works best for your purpose. Let’s dive right in!
A. Instagram Story Ads for Conversions
If you want to leverage Instagram Story ads for conversions — installs, purchases, or subscriptions — have a look at these Instagram Story ad examples below.
#1 Deezer, Brazil
Brazil-based music streaming service Deezer took to posting Instagram Story ads with two key objectives: acquiring new customers and maintaining low acquisition costs. Towards this end, the campaign needed a strong targeting strategy and engaging creatives to encourage people to download the app, sign up and start streaming. So how did they go about it? They took their existing video ads and adapted them to follow best practices for Instagram Stories, keeping the creative consistent across platforms to increase ad recall and performance. The ads were then targeted to people who already were using or liked online services such as music streaming, food delivery, or taxi services.
The one-month February 2019 campaign successfully achieved a 52% lower subscriber acquisition cost after adding Instagram Stories to their automatic placements and a two-time increase in conversion rate with the same.
Key Takeaways:
- Use automatic placements to run ads across the Facebook family of apps and services. To learn more about how to set up sponsored content on Instagram and Facebook, read this helpful blog.
- Use catchy music that people will remember even after they’re done watching your ad.
- Use minimal text that draws attention to 1-2 key concepts. This keeps your message clear and prevents users from getting confused.
To create an Instagram Story ad just like this one, check out this Instagram Story ad template from InVideo
#2 Rovio Entertainment Corporation
Unlike Deezer, the Rovio Entertainment Corporation of Angry Birds fame decided to test out if marketing creatives made specifically for Instagram Stories would perform better than those repurposed from other marketing channels. Their goal with the Stories ad campaign was to check what type of creativity would lead to an increase in Installs. How did they go about this? They targeted their ads to a Lookalike Audience of its gaming base in the most relevant markets. To ensure accurate results tracking, they ran a conversion lift study. Results?
They got an 82% lift in Angry Birds 2 app installs among audiences who saw the custom ad compared to 68% among those who saw the repurposed creative. They also saw an 11% lower cost per install on iOS with the custom creative, and 7% lower cost per install on Android
Key Takeaways:
- Customized creatives can bring better results if designed and targeted right.
- Testing your ad campaigns is essential to know what is working and what is not. To understand how to tap into your Instagram insights better, read this helpful blog
To create a Story ad creative for gaming just like this one, use a ready-to-use template from InVideo and edit it online here.
#3 Audible
This Instagram Story static ad by Audible drives a direct, explicit, and active message to the viewer. The copy here isn’t something passive like “Listen on Audible” but includes emphasis and says “Listen only on Audible”, which shows the exclusivity of their product. They make it super clear what your next steps need to be: signing up on Audible.
The ad uses a catchy title and a minimalistic design with bright colors to draw attention and makes the message clear in one look.
Key Takeaways:
- It’s important to stick to having a single call to action in one creative to prevent audiences from getting confused.
- The design and placement of text in your creative can make or break your ad, especially if you plan on using bold text.
For more impact, you can also try animating your text and image elements on your creative. Check out this pre-made template from InVideo that allows you to do just that.
#4 Tokopedia
Source: Instagram
Instagram reports show that Indonesia’s top search engine Tokopedia took to posting Instagram Story ads with two primary objectives: increasing engagement with its young target audience on Instagram, as well as driving website traffic and conversions. To do so, they leveraged the busy year-end sales period and created an extensive strategy combining influencers with Instagram campaigns. They also ran ads optimized for conversions and retargeted to people who had used the app, visited the website, or made a purchase in the last quarter.
The result? Within the 3 days that the campaign ran for, Tokopedia achieved a 2.2X increase in unique store visits, a 67% increase in product page views, a 2x increase in sales for featured products, and a 3.1x increase in online store visits for featured brands.
Key Takeaways:
- If your target audience is active on Instagram, targeted Story ads can bring in sales and increase engagement
- Use influencers as the face for your ads! Familiar faces really help bolster connections with your audiences. You can check out this template from InVideo to create ads featuring people.
#5 Gymshark
Leading fitness brand Gymshark used Instagram Story ads to launch “Flex”, their activewear line. The ad featured vibrant colors, spotlighted the product, and featured a very clear CTA. The results? A whooping 2,400 orders for the new line from this ad, and an impressive 9x return on ad spend according to Instagram.
The best part about this ad is it simply plays around with text on a static image to create an impact without too much of an effort. If you’re a fitness or activewear brand looking for a quick way to create a stunning Story ad like this, you can do so by using this template from InVideo. All you need is 4-5 different shots of your product along with a great call to action. Simply replace the stock media in the template with your own and you’re good to go.
#6 Memebox
Global multi-brand beauty and personal care start-up Memebox had been using Facebook and Instagram for purchase conversion campaigns. For the new I'M Meme product, however, the company decided to try using them to measure changes in brand awareness (a benefit not available through traditional media). The campaign was rolled out in phases; one video featured the product in a variety of colors at the bottom of the screen, prompting viewers who were curious about color availability to swipe up. In another ad for Stories, a model used the product to repeatedly draw a line upward on the screen, and viewers who swiped up on the video were redirected to the Memebox website.
This campaign shows us that consumers who are exposed to an ad campaign multiple times are more likely to make a purchase as compared to those just viewing it once.
If you’re a make-up brand too or could use a Story ad with a bit of pop, use this template, in which you can add a sequence of product photos, with minimal copy against a catchy background score, and a straightforward call to action to head over to your shop page.
#7 Amena
Posting excellent creatives is one thing, but it is incredibly important to also continually research how your creative is faring. Instagram Story ads are a cost-effective way to do this. For instance, Amena, a Spanish mobile operator, launched ads on Instagram Stories and other Instagram and Facebook formats, targeted at Spanish people aged 18 and up who were interested in other low-cost products and brands.
In their campaign, they excluded existing Amena, Jazztel, and Orange customers by creating Custom Audiences and retargeting ads to people who had recently visited Amena’s website. Two famous Spanish personalities fronted the campaign—David Bisbal and Boris Izaguirre. The Facebook and Instagram campaign ran concurrently with campaigns on TV, offline, and other digital media.
Running between November 4–30, 2018, the Instagram and Facebook campaign resulted in a 76% lift in purchase intent for both mobile and fixed lines compared to other online media channels, 936 incremental conversions and €21 generated per each incremental conversion
What’s unique about this Amena ad is that it uses emojis and stickers with a fairly candid video. You can create a Story ad just like this by using this free template, and adding your own video content and some emojis or stickers as you customize it to make it an approachable and actionable ad for your audience.
B. Instagram Story ads to Boost Awareness
Now ads are not run for the sole purpose of conversion. If you’re familiar with marketing terminology, you know that for someone to purchase your product or service, they go through a few stages, namely – know, like, and trust. So the first step of the process is getting more and more people to know about your brand. This is the reason that most companies also run ads to boost awareness in addition to ones that get them conversions. Have a look at the Instagram Story ad examples below to learn how you can design a successful creative if you have a similar objective.
#1 Michael Kors
World-renowned and award-winning designer brand Michael Kors ran multi-story Instagram ads to increase awareness about their smartwatches among a wider audience. Unlike its usual product line comprising jewelry, eyewear, accessories, and footwear, the Michael Kors smartwatch fell into the wearable technological category, requiring a specialized and innovative marketing campaign for tech and social savvy consumers.
Together with Facebook Marketing Partner SocialCode, MK created an Instagram Stories ad campaign, which resulted in an 8-point lift in ad recall as compared to other formats, a 20% higher ROI on online ad spend, and 60% lower cost per click.
Key Takeaways:
- Including your website link and contact details is essential to measuring the conversion of your Instagram story ads.
- It is also essential to have a call to action. Most people viewing things online are doing so passively. Having a CTA brings it to their immediate attention that they need to take action. Check out this InVideo template that allows you to put in a clear CTA in your ads without going overboard.
#2 Pepe Jeans
To rejuvenate its brand, Pepe Jeans partnered with marketing agency TRGT Digital and identified their key markets like France and Portugal. Next, they took their existing videos and photos featuring brand ambassador Dua Lipa and adapted them to fit in a mobile environment. Pepe Jeans also used Facebook’s reach and frequency buying tool so that people would see it at a frequency of twice per week.
Results? Overwhelmingly positive! Following the month-long campaign, Pepe Jeans recorded a 5 point increase in campaign awareness, a reach of 5 million users, and over 4,50,000 video views.
Key Takeaways:
- Design your ads while keeping in mind your target audience i.e by taking into account the right age group, gender, and demography. For instance if you want to target a millennial audience, you will need a design that appeals to their sensibilities instead of just creating something random. Check out this InVideo template with a contemporary design to create your next Instagram Story Ad.
#3 Chantelle Lingerie
With the larger goal of raising brand awareness among a broad audience, this France-based lingerie brand used Instagram Stories ads and video posts designed for the Facebook and Instagram news screens. The multi-phase campaign used short, mobile-first videos highlighting their products and their unique perspectives.
Results? Between March 28–June 30, 2019, the campaign achieved a 7.3-point lift in brand awareness, a 5.4 point lift in unaided brand awareness, a 7.7 point lift in ad recall, and a 2x increase in online SoftStretch sales.
Key Takeaways:
- Instagram Story Ads provide some of the highest ROI in the online ad space, making it a feasible option if you’re looking to promote your brand online.
- You need to create ads that spotlight your product. This might sound obvious but you will be surprised by how many brands fail to do this. Thankfully, it’s super easy to create impactful ads using templates from InVideo, just like this one.
#4 iDeal of Sweden
iDeal of Sweden created short, thumb-stopping photo and video ads featuring online influencers for Instagram Stories that kept the company’s products firmly in focus. iDeal wanted to reach a broad audience, so it targeted the campaign to women in Sweden aged 16–45 on Instagram and Facebook.
The campaign results were measured with a Facebook brand lift study, which polled people’s reactions to the ads to measure audience, brand, and sales outcomes. The May 27–June 21, 2019 campaign achieved a 21-point increase in ad recall, a 4-point increase in brand awareness, and an 8-point increase in purchase intent
Pro-tip: Higher retention and engagement are key to successful ad campaigns and one of the most important tricks to doing this is ensuring you hook your audience’s attention within the first 5 seconds of your video ad. A great way to do this is to use engaging visuals and bold text and you can achieve that by using creative Instagram story ad templates from InVideo.
#5 Thrive Causemetics
California-based Thrive Causemetics used Instagram Story ads to help viewers associate a select set of words with them: clean, beautiful, and powerful. Moving forward, most viewers who’d view this ad would associate the brand with clean beauty: products free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and fragrance. All this before even visiting their website.
In order to emulate something like this, you first need to create a marketing strategy and define your brand principles. Only then can you create creatives and videos around the concept.
#6 Bose Sleepbuds
To introduce and position Bose Sleepbuds as an effective sleep aid, the company used eye-catching multi-story Instagram story ads. An audience interested in health and wellbeing, and one comprising urban commuters and couples were targeted by showcasing relevant benefits. Those who watched a video for three seconds or longer were retargeted to follow the story and visit the Bose website. During the second part of the campaign, Bose served a combination of video carousels as well as video and photo link ads to encourage people to buy, leading them to the Bose website to learn more about the new product.
What were the results? The campaign delivered significant results with an increase in top-of-mind awareness by 14.8 points, in ad recall by 8.8 points, and in familiarity by 4.5 points
If you’ve built an app that could benefit from a Story ad featuring a phone screen as this one does, try out this InVideo template. All you’ll need is some catchy copy and a winning call to action to customize the template and make it your own.
C. Instagram Story ads to Attract New Customers
Like conversions and brand identity, a solid customer base is the lifeblood of any business. Advertising to reach new customers helps bolster and expand that foundation, and Story ads can really help you do so. If you are looking for ways to expand your customer base, have a look at the Instagram Story ad examples below.
#1 Hello Bank!
This European digital bank, set up in 2016, began to advertise on Instagram Stories in 2018, with content specifically targeted towards millennials. Using its existing still photo assets, and working with motion designers, the brand created new 10-second video ads which communicated the message that Hello Bank was an excellent choice for busy millennials looking for a flexible banking solution with a seamless app experience. The campaign achieved a 21% lift in account opening intent and an 18% lift in favorability
Key Takeaways:
- You don’t necessarily need to spend too much on production to create compelling video ads. As can be seen in the Hello Bank example, you can also use good-quality images and creatives to create video collages. Check out this template from InVideo to achieve a similar result for your brand.
- Positioning your product or service as a solution to your audience’s needs is key to ensuring the success of your ad campaign. And this messaging needs to reflect in your copy as well as video/creative.
#2 Wise
Wise, a European non-bank payment provider, recognized that people don’t browse Instagram Stories with international money transfers on their minds. Nevertheless, to capture their attention, Wise built a concept around something that people do look at Stories for recipe videos! Through their Story ad, Wise created a parallel between cooking tutorials and international money transfers how-tos, making it more accessible and straightforward. The Story ad showed a variety of dining tables to demonstrate how global the Wise product is, and used step-by-step instructions to show how easy the app is to use.
The one-year-long campaign suggested success with 9000 new registrations from Instagram Stories. It also found that Instagram Stories drove 40% of monthly user activity and that conversion rates were 5–10% higher for Instagram Stories than for ads that ran in the feed.
D. Instagram Story Ads to Launch Something New
When it comes to launching a new product, business, or even an upcoming event, Instagram Story ads coupled with other newsfeed ads and posts can work wonders. If you want to see how you can launch something using Instagram Story ads, have a look at the following Instagram Story ad examples.
#1 GLAMI
To launch its winter campaign, Romania-based fashion search engine GLAMI produced Instagram Story ads targeted specifically at a younger audience. GLAMI created engaging, immersive video ads customized for Instagram Stories, in which their product line was in the spotlight, and used Facebook’s interest-based targeting to help identify the right audiences.
The two-week-long campaign resulted in a 17% lower cost per incremental conversion than average, and a 61% increase in reach among women aged 18–24 with ads in Instagram Stories. It also found that Instagram story ads increased the conversion rate by 13%.
If you’re a fashion brand, you can easily create a Story ad like this by using this InVideo template, replacing the stock photos with your own product images, replacing the text, and adding some music.
#2 UKTV
This one’s a great example for any business that can do with explicit storytelling. UKTV’s approach while advertising the new series “Flack” was to introduce the term (Flack: a celebrity PR agent) to the audience, and position it as humorous. They tackled this by condensing elements of the TV promo into shorter, thumb-stopping Instagram Story ads. The ads showed the impressive cast, the premise, and guest stars. And get this, each 3-second clip ended with a humorous payoff.
The campaign resulted in over three times more completed video views, 56% lower cost per view, and a 36% lift in ad recall after third exposure.
Key Takeaways:
- Shorter ads with impactful hooks can be really useful in engaging customers, but in order to make them work, you really need to work on your storytelling and script.
- When creating an ad campaign, using the concept of continuity can really increase brand recall. This means using a theme across all your ads or a continuing storyline or even a similar style.
Once you have your script and storyline ready, you can bring it to life using Instagram Story Ad templates from InVideo. This will substantially reduce your designing and creative effort, allowing you to spend more time refining your message.
E. Instagram Story Ads offering deals and discounts
Finally, nothing signals a good shopping season or discount like a well-made advertisement. Knowing how to combine world and seasonal events with brand messaging can help you truly connect with your audience. If you’re looking at tapping into the glorious sales days, take inspiration from some Instagram Story ad examples below.
#1 Made.com
Luxury furnishings business Made produced elegant and playful Instagram Stories ads to launch their winter line. The ad showcased the quality of the products and spotlighted the offers available in the winter sale. Animated, eye-catching video combined worked with or without sound.
The month-long campaign helped Made achieve a 69% higher return on ad spend compared to the previous sale, a 27% lower CPM than other placements, and a 44% increase in traffic.
To create a Story ad like Made.com’s, make sure you spotlight your product and use interesting graphics to make the ad seamless. If you want to create an equally stunning Story ad to advertise your offers, use this free template, and add in your product visuals and offer details. Alternatively, you could also try your hand at actually creating a stop motion video, and then editing it on InVideo’s free online video editor.
#2 Chupi
In order to promote their Black Friday Sale, this Irish jewelry brand ran Instagram Story ads for one week from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday. It targeted females aged 25–54 who were considered engaged online shoppers and who had an interest in jewelry brands in Ireland. Chupi uploaded its product catalog and used dynamic ads to show specific Chupi products to customers who had either viewed them or added them to their online cart but hadn’t purchased. They ran a lead ad on Instagram and Facebook to grow this list using Klaviyo, an email marketing platform, which allowed customers to sign up to the list without leaving the Instagram or Facebook app.
The Black Friday campaign had a consistent look and feel across email, website, unsponsored social content, and paid social media. The design team made creative specifically for Instagram feed, Facebook News Feed, and Instagram Stories, and video was used across all placements. Chupi's Black Friday 2018 campaign successfully reached new audiences in Ireland and resulted in a significant increase in website conversions compared to the same period in 2017. Chupi saw a 25% increase in conversions and a 10x return on ad spend.
You can create a Story ad to promote your Black Friday sales too by using this template, adding your own product images and copy. To ensure that you can also create a beautifully designed look as Chupi did while still looking crafty, be sure to create a mis en scène that includes beautiful packaging materials and a variety of products.
#3 NUXE
Building on its success with Facebook ads, NUXE decided to design ad creative for Instagram Stories to boost its end of year sales. Together with the agency MILKY, the company developed 15-second videos that instantly grabbed people’s attention. They combined introducing the product with the eye-catching stop-motion video technique. The ads were also designed to work with or without sound, and NUXE placed a card at the end to reinforce the brand identity. The campaign conveyed the inspirational quality of NUXE’s products, resulting in a 6.2X return on ad spend, at a far lower cost.
To create a simple yet elegant ad like Nuxe did, have a go at stop motion with help from this blog, and then head over to this template, add in your product footage, your logo and effective copy, and you’re good to go.
F. Participatory Instagram Story Ads
Ads which allow the viewer to participate often work because they’re the first hook towards prolonged engagement. Whether it goes towards promoting your product, giving your audience a behind-the-scenes look at your business, or simply posting entertaining content, such an ad helps hook your audience in right from the beginning. Let’s have a look at some examples below.
#1 AirBnB
Source: AirBnB
In a 2018 study, Delmondo found that typically more people exit on the first and last story frame than any other part of the Instagram Stories ads. So, if your first story frame does not immediately capture their attention, your audience will promptly exit your Stories content in search of something else. So what did Airbnb do? They slowly revealed content through the static interactive Stories series, encouraging the viewer to stay put until the last slide. Like Airbnb, make sure you reward users that make it all the way to the last story frame, by including some kind of CTA to provide them with a “next step.”
#2 Dunkin
Dunkin has been known to use Instagram Story ads to kill several birds with one stone: to understand customer pain points, to launch products, and to test out marketing campaigns. During the launch of the Dunkin Donut Fries combo, the company created these playful, interactive, and colorful Story ads. The split test Instagram Story ads revealed that interactive features in Instagram Stories ads drove better results.
Key Takeaways:
- Use stickers in your Instagram Story ads
- Using an interactive element in Instagram Stories ads helps your customer feel like the hero of the ad, which gives people a memorable touchpoint with a brand
#3 Yoga International
Yoga International’s goal while using the static Instagram Story ad campaigns was to increase memberships globally. Using the interactive poll sticker, they created a poll that asked, “Want 30 days of free unlimited yoga streaming?” Possible answers include “Yes” or “Heck Yes”. The poll was superimposed over photos holding yoga poses on their mats.
The three-month interactive campaign led to 3,510 new trial members, a 21% decrease in cost per registration, and an 18% of total sign-ups during the campaign.
- 3,510 new trial members
- 21% decrease in cost per registration
- 18% of total sign-ups during campaign came from poll ads, which had a smaller budget
If you’re a wellness or yoga apparel brand, you can create a Story ad just like this using InVideo’s customizable Story ad templates. This InVideo template will allow you to add in your product footage or photographs, and text copy, and then all you’ll have to do is add in your poll in your ad manager.
3. How to create Instagram Story Ads on InVideo — A Step-by-Step Guide
So far so good? Now that you’ve seen some of the most successful Instagram Story ad examples, let’s get down to production. Creating videos for Story ads can be tricky, especially if you’ve never edited videos before. But we’ve got your back with a bunch of ready to use and customizable Story ad templates and an easy to use video editor at InVideo. Let’s check out step-by-step how you can use InVideo to create your very own Instagram Story ad.
Step 1: Head over to InVideo and choose a template with the 9:16 aspect ratio of your choice by typing in keywords into the search bar (shown below). Choose a template of your choice and click Use this template.
This will lead you to your editing table where you can customize your template.
Step 2: Now change your logo to customize the template. To add your logo, click on the Logo option in the menu to your left, click Upload Logo and upload it from your computer
Step 3: To add the logo, simply click on your uploaded logo file and it will be added to the template. You can also resize the logo by dragging it, as is shown below.
Step 4: To add video clips or images to your video, start by clicking Uploads on the menu bar to upload your files. Then drag and drop them on to the template to replace existing media as shown below.
Step 5: Edit the website URL text in the template by clicking on it and typing in your website link or shop page
Step 6: If this isn’t the music you’re looking for, explore more options from InVideo’s music stock by clicking on Music on the menu bar to your left
Select the genre you want and simply select the option that works for you. Click on the three dots next to the song and click on Replace music to replace the current audio track.
Step 7: Almost done! Now all you need to do is preview your Story ad and make sure it’s perfect. Do this by clicking on the Preview button on top of the editor
Step 8: All done! Now navigate to Download & Share, click Export from the dropdown menu, and go ahead and use it in your campaign.
For a more in-depth tutorial on how to edit premade templates on InVideo, have a look at this helpful tutorial.
4. Best Practices and Pro-tips for creating Instagram Story Ads
Now that you’ve seen several Instagram Story Ads, you know that there is a lot of scope to experiment when it comes to creating ads for your brand. However, there are certain practices that will ensure better results. In this section, we will look at those practices in order to help you create the most impactful Instagram Story Ads. IMPACT Facebook Specialist Ali Parmelee has shared the following list of specific insights into the best practices for successful and effective Instagram ads:
#1 - Use the right dimensions
As far as possible, create Story ads on Instagram with the correct dimensions, i.e. 9:16. Parmelee says that native ads (designed to fit these dimensions) usually work better than standard ads reused without edits in Stories. To learn more about resizing videos for Instagram Stories, check out this helpful blog
#2 - Grab attention fast, ideally in the first 2-3 seconds
Unlike YouTube ads, users don’t have a minimum of 6 seconds to wait before skipping, if your ad doesn't instantly grab attention, the viewer can skip immediately and return to content posted by their friends and brands they follow on Instagram. To avoid that, deploy your Call to Action within the first 3 seconds, and make sure the page you are linking your viewer to works! Your CTA should be customized to what you want out of your ad; for instance, if your goal is brand awareness, “Learn More” tells viewers you simply want to educate them about your brand's offerings, which is a very different CTA from “Shop Now”. Check out Made.com’s effective use of CTA below
#3 - Keep it Simple
In your quest for creativity, don’t forget that the simpler your creative is, the faster a viewer will be able to engage with it. Research suggests that ads that look like regular stories and “less produced”, aka with fewer or understated design elements, work better.
#4 - Motion and Sound
Movement reportedly helps engage viewers better as does sound, as about 60% of Stories are viewed with sound on. For best results, design ads that can be enjoyed with or without sound
#5 - Mobile Shots
Use high-resolution images and spotlight your product. Interestingly, however, you don’t need to go as far as hiring expensive studio equipment. According to Facebook, “Mobile shots outperform studio shots for ad recall and intent, while studio shots tend to drive higher brand awareness.”
#6 - Ensure consistency between your creative visuals
Beautiful ads which lead to a dull shop page or website won’t encourage your viewer to go any further.
So far so good? If you want to learn more about advertising through various Instagram features like Reels and Posts, read this helpful blog.
Wrapping Up
Now that you’re familiar with how a variety of Instagram Story ads work across the globe, it’s time to get working and grow your business’s presence on Instagram. Whenever you need to, keep coming back to this blog to look at the Instagram Story advertising examples, or to peruse our tips and tricks to get a better grasp over Instagram Story ads. For further inspiration, we’ve got tons of more Instagram Story ideas for you to explore. If you found this guide helpful and would like to explore more knowledge on social media marketing, be sure to sign up with InVideo.
And if you want to excel at video marketing, you definitely should check out our YouTube channel, where we share daily video creation tips and tricks, the latest video trends, and ideas that help you get more leads via video.
This post was written by Kasturi and edited by Adete from Team InVideo
