8 Types of Instagram Ads: A Complete Guide And Best Tips For 2025
If you want to leverage Instagram ads to build your brand, reach potential customers, and drive more sales, then understanding the types of Instagram ads is a good start. This complete guide will provide an overview of different Instagram ad types. We will also show you a trick or two to achieve the best results for each. Ready to discover? Grab your coffee and let’s dive in!
Why Can Instagram Ads Be Your Secret Weapon?
Why Instagram ads? Well, according to Instagram statistics, over 200 million businesses are on Instagram promoting their products and services. And you should be one of them for the following reasons:
- Unmatched Reach: Instagram stands as the third-largest social media platform globally with 2 billion monthly active users, making it an ideal place to find prospects, especially younger demographics.
- Targeted Advertising: Instagram offers multiple targeting options like detailed targeting, custom audience, and lookalike audience, allowing businesses to show appropriate ads to the right people.
- Visual Storytelling: As a visual-centric platform, Instagram is perfect for showcasing products or services with artistic and compelling images/videos.
- Brand Building: Businesses can use Instagram ads to increase the brand’s visibility and build lasting connections with potential consumers.
- Driving Traffic & Conversions: Instagram ads are proven to be effective in getting traffic to your website and driving valuable conversions.
How Many Different Types Of Instagram Ads Are There?
There are 8 primary types of Instagram ads available in 2025:
- Photo ads
- Video ads
- Carousel ads
- Stories ads
- Reels ads
- Collection ads
- Explore ads
- Shopping ads
Now let’s go into detail.
The 8 Types Of Instagram Ads 2025: Definition, Specs, & Tips
Below is a breakdown of 8 common types of Instagram ads, plus my tips for implementing them.
Photo ads
Photo ads, the OG in Instagram’s ad history, are ads with a single image. They appear in the Instagram Feed. They are versatile, easy to create, and usually more cost-effective than other ad types. If done right, photo ads can be visually impactful and effective for showing off your brand, product, or service.
Photo ad format specs:
Design Recommendations
- File Type: JPG or PNG
- Ratio: 1:1
- Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
Text Recommendations
- Primary Text: 125 characters
- Headline: 40 characters
- Maximum Number of Hashtags: 30
Technical Requirements
- Maximum File Size: 30MB
- Minimum Width: 500 pixels
- Minimum Aspect Ratio: 400 x 500
- Maximum Aspect Ratio: 191 x 100
- Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%
Supported objectives
- Awareness
- Traffic
- Engagement
- Leads
- App Promotion
- Sales
Available calls to action
|
|
Pro Tip:
Use high-quality, interesting, or eye-catching photos of your product or brand to capture attention and encourage users to learn more.
Video ads
A video ad includes a single video that appears in the feed. It can be rather long, up to 60 minutes, but shorter is recommended.
With movement and sound, videos are usually engaging, dynamic, and effective in stopping users from scrolling through ads and driving more clicks. They are best for showing complex features or telling brand stories.
Video ad format specs:
Design Recommendations
- File Type: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Ratio: 4:5
- Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Captions: Optional, but recommended
- Sound: Optional, but recommended
Text Recommendations
- Primary Text: 125 characters
- Maximum Number of Hashtags: 30
Technical Requirements
- Duration: 1 second to 60 minutes
- Maximum File Size: 4GB
- Minimum Width: 500 pixels
- Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%
Supported objectives
- Awareness
- Traffic
- Engagement
- Leads
- App Promotion
- Sales
Available calls to action
|
|
Pro Tip:
Use video hooks to grab attention in the first 3 seconds. Keep your videos short and get to the point quickly to hold users because human attention spans are short.
Carousel ads
A carousel ad consists of multiple photos or videos (up to 10) that users can swipe through.
With more space, you can highlight various products of a collection, different features of one product, or tell a brand story across each carousel card.
Carousel ad format specs:
Design Recommendations
- File Type: JPG, PNG, MP4, MOV, or GIF
- Ratio: 1:1 or 4:5
- Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
Text Recommendations
- Primary Text: 125 characters
- Maximum Number of Hashtags: 30
- Landing Page URL: Required
Technical Requirements
- Number of Carousel Cards: 2 to 10
- Image Maximum File Size: 30MB
- Video Maximum File Size: 4GB
- Video Duration: 1 second to 2 minutes
- Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%
Supported objectives
- Awareness
- Traffic
- Engagement
- Leads
- App Promotion
- Sales
Available calls to action
|
|
Pro Tips:
Use carousel cards to tell a sequential story, present step-by-step instructions, or showcase your product line.
Stories ads
Stories ads appear between organic Instagram Stories in an immersive format of full-screen vertical images or videos. They include additional options to add stickers, emojis, polls, and other creative and interactive elements.
You can also add movement and sound to capture attention quickly. Fleeting stories ads can be effective in creating a sense of urgency. Also, as they look like organic content, this Instagram ad type often has higher engagement rates.
Stories ad format specs:
Design Recommendations
- File Type: JPG, PNG, MP4, MOV, or GIF
- Ratio: 9:16
- Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Captions: Optional, but recommended
- Sound: Optional, but recommended
Text Recommendations
- Primary Text: 125 characters
Technical Requirements
- Video Duration: 1 second to 60 minutes
- Image Maximum File Size: 30MB
- Video Maximum File Size: 4GB
- Minimum Width: 500 pixels
- Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%
Supported objectives
- Awareness
- Traffic
- Engagement
- Leads
- App Promotion
- Sales
Available calls to action
|
|
Pro Tip:
Use behind-the-scenes content to captivate more attention.
Drive more engagement by adding interactive polls, quizzes, and stickers. Include limited-time offers for increased conversion.
Reels ads
Instagram Reels ads are vertical, full-screen ads that appear between organic Reels. A Reels ad can include an image, video, or carousel. Video reels ads can be up to 15 minutes.
Reels ads often have high engagement rates. They are especially helpful in reaching younger audiences.
Reels ad format specs:
Design Recommendations
- File Type: JPG, PNG, MP4, or MOV
- Ratio: 9:16
- Image Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Video Resolution: At least 500 x 888 pixels
- Captions: Optional, but recommended
- Sound: Optional, but strongly recommended
Text Recommendations
- Primary Text: 72 characters
Technical Requirements
- Video Duration: 0 seconds to 15 minutes
- Image Maximum File Size: 30MB
- Video Maximum File Size: 4GB
- Minimum Width: 500 pixels
- Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%
Pro Tip:
Follow viral challenges, and leverage trending music, audio, and effects to make your Reels ads native and relevant to users.
Collection ads
Collection ads can appear in different placements on Instagram: feeds, stories, reels, and Explore pages.
They usually include a cover photo or video along with 3 smaller product photos.
The special about collection ads is that when you tap on them, you will see a full-screen, native landing page inside Instagram, and you can shop directly within the ad. It’s called an Instant Experience.
Collection ad format specs:
Design Recommendations
- File Type: JPG, PNG, MP4, MOV or GIF
- Ratio: 1.91:1 to 1:1
- Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
Text Recommendations
- Primary Text: 125 characters
- Headline: 40 characters
- Landing Page URL: Required
Technical Requirements
- Instant Experience: Required
- Image Maximum File Size: 30MB
- Video Maximum File Size: 4GB
- Minimum Image/Video Width & Height: 500 pixels
Supported objectives
- Awareness
- Traffic
- Engagement
- Leads
- Sales
Available calls to action
- Shop Now
Pro Tip:
Collection ads are perfect to showcase your curated collections, new arrivals, or best-selling products. You can leverage them for Instagram retargeting.
Explore ads
Instagram Explore is a place to discover fresh content from accounts a user has not yet followed. Instagram Explore ads are displayed between organic content.
They are great for expanding reach to a broader audience and increasing brand discovery.
Explore ad format specs:
Design Recommendations
- Image File Type: JPG or PNG
- Image Ratio: 9:16
- Video File Type: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Video Ratio: 4:5
- Carousel File Type: JPG or PNG
- Carousel Image Ratio: 1:1
- Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Captions: Optional, but recommended
- Sound: Optional, but recommended
Text Recommendations
- Primary Text: 125 characters
- Carousel Headline: 40 characters
- Carousel Landing Page URL: Required
Technical Requirements
- Minimum Width: 500 pixels
- Image Maximum File Size: 30MB
- Video Duration: 1 second to 60 minutes
- Video maximum file size: 4GB
- Number of carousel cards: 2-10
- Carousel Minimum Aspect Ratio: 400 x 500
- Carousel Maximum Aspect Ratio: 191 x 100
- Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%
Supported objectives
- Awareness
- Traffic
- Engagement
- Leads
- App Promotion
- Sales
Available calls to action
|
|
Pro Tip:
For Instagram Explore ads, it’s recommended to use highly eye-catching visuals to stand out. Add movement and sound to attract people.
Shopping ads
Instagram shopping ads are those with product tags that when you click on, you can view product prices, and details, and even make purchases directly in-app.
They are power tools to encourage impulse buys and drive sales.
Shopping ad format specs:
Design Recommendations
- File Type: JPG, PNG, MP4, MOV or GIF
- Ratio: 1:1 or 4:5
- Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Video Captions: Optional, but recommended
- Video Sound: Optional, but recommended
Text Recommendations
- Primary Text: 125 characters
- Carousel Headline: 45 characters
- Carousel Description: 18 characters
- Carousel Landing Page URL: Required
Technical Requirements
- Video Duration: 1 second to 60 minutes
- Maximum File Size: 4GB
- Minimum Width: 500 pixels
- Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%
Supported objectives
- Awareness
- Traffic
- Engagement
- Leads
- App Promotion
- Sales
Available calls to action
|
|
Pro Tip:
Leverage shopping ads for purchase stage campaigns. They work best for promoting best-selling products, new arrivals, and seasonal sales.
Use high-quality photos of your products and show clear pricing info to encourage more clicks.
Related post: 10 Best Instagram Ad Examples By Type To Inspire Your 2025 Campaigns
How To Choose The Right Types Of Instagram Ads For Your Business?
With so many options as above, choosing the right types of Instagram ads for your campaigns can be a little daunting. Here are our proven tips to make the right decisions in different cases.
Start with your goals
Define your campaign objective. If it’s an awareness campaign, you may want to focus on the brand. So you can choose photo ads to maximize reach and save costs.
For sales and retargeting campaigns, collections ads can be more effective.
Know your audience
Who do you want to reach for ads? Who is more likely to be interested in your products and convert to sales? Different users can love different content formats.
For example, statistics show that Instagram users aged 25 to 34 are the most frequent viewers of Instagram Reels (31.6%).
Experiment and analyze
You can try all types of Instagram ads and see which works best for you. Run A/B testing campaigns for several days (we suggest 5-7 days) and the results will speak for themselves.
Track performance and analyze metrics to determine the effective types.
Use organic data
Test ads can be costly, so if you don’t want to spend too much on testing, review previous data. Analyze what organic content format your customers engage the most. Are they photos, videos, or stories?
Based on this information, you can decide on a suitable type for your next campaign.
Check competitor’s ads
Research ads of other competitors in your niche to see what ads are running and performing well. You can find their ads in the Meta Ads Library.
Consider your budget
Last but not least, you can determine the types of Instagram ads based on your budget, like how much your business is willing to spend on Instagram ads. Different ad types have different costs and benchmarks. Compare the numbers and decide for yourself.
By considering these factors, businesses can choose the best types of Instagram ads to drive the best results.
Best Practices for Creating Effective Instagram Ads
Now that you’ve selected the appropriate types of Instagram ads, let us reveal the best practices to create effective Instagram ads and multiply your revenue.
- Design for mobile: Most Instagram users access the platform via mobile devices, so make sure your ads are optimized for mobile viewing. Follow Instagram’s recommended specs and use large fonts if you add text to photos or videos.
- Create compelling visuals: Use high-quality visuals to make your ads stand out. Choose the right style, color, and consistent fonts for your product/brand. Use visual hierarchy to highlight important information or messages.
- Add a hook: The first 3-5 seconds when someone sees your ad will determine if they will stop or continue to scroll. Therefore, add a caption hook or a video hook to capture their attention immediately.
- Design ads for sound-off users: 69% of users browse social media with sound-off. So make sure your ads are still effective without voiceover or background music. Input your scripts or messages with text overlays.
- Write a compelling ad copy: For Instagram ads, keep your ad copy short yet impactful. Address your audience’s pain points and show how they can benefit from your products. Remember to adhere to your brand’s tone and add relevant keywords & hashtags.
- Pitch, play, plunge: This is the creative framework that Meta recommends advertisers use to connect more effectively with people.
-
- Pitch: Use short content to get people’s attention and pitch your most compelling ideas quickly.
-
- Play: Create interactive content that encourages people to play, explore, and try your idea.
-
- Plunge: Use longer content that enables people to immerse themselves in your campaign, such as long-form video and instant experience.
- Include a strong CTA: Use a clear and strong CTA that is aligned with your objective. Action-oriented language is recommended to drive desired actions.
- Do A/B testing: Test on different creatives, audiences, formats, and placements to find the winning ads.
- Track performance: Monitor ad performance and key metrics such as CPC, CPM, CTR, conversion rates, and ROI regularly to make timely adjustments, scale up strategically, and optimize your results.
Final Thoughts
Instagram ads are powerful tools for businesses to build brand awareness, connect with potential customers, and skyrocket online sales. By understanding different types of Instagram ads, making the right choice, and applying appropriate practices, you can create effective campaigns and deliver exceptional results for your business.
Remember, Instagram ads are constantly evolving. Follow GDT Agency to stay up-to-date with the best knowledge!
Follow if you find it useful
Was this helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
You can contact us, with our experience in successfully deploying thousands of conversion advertising campaigns, GDT Agency confidently believes we can help you optimize effectiveness and maximize cost savings with advertising operations.
