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Requirements for Video Ads Across Social Media Platforms
Requirements for Video Ads Across Social Media Platforms

What video requirements are for Amazon, Facebook, Instagram?

Deimante avatar
Written by Deimante
Updated over a week ago

While you can repurpose some types of content across social media platforms, you can’t simply take one video ad and apply it to all the platforms as-is. Each social media platform is unique in its preferred aspect ratio and the type of audience it attracts. You’ll want to apply some best practices for each of the major social media networks you plan to advertise on.



Facebook 🤩

Depending on where your ad will be displayed, it can be vertical or square. Your ad content should be fun and authentic with bright colors. Keep in mind many video ads are viewed on mobile devices with the sound turned off.

The most popular Facebook ad format is the newsfeed ads, which support aspect ratios such as 16:9 (full landscape), 1:1 (square), 4:5 (vertical). In the mobile-first era, you want to cover as much screen space as possible, therefore the 4:5 ratio is considered the best for single newsfeed video ads.

Another great option for e-commerce businesses is carousel ads. The only video format this type of ad supports is 1:1.

Facebook stories ads best work if they are done in the native 9:16 format. You can also use your 1:1 and 4:5 ads in stories, however, they will look less natural and will have text descriptions underneath them.

While some of the formats allow super long videos, it’s best to keep your ads short. The attention span is short – you have to get people’s attention in the first 3 seconds. You should keep your ad within 15 to 90 seconds long at most.

Read more on official guidelines here. 📘


Instagram 😎

In-feed Instagram ads support aspect ratios of 1:1 (square), 16:9 (horizontal), and 4:5 (vertical). Storie ads should be 9:16 (you can also create Instagram story ads from other aspect ration video ads, but they won’t look as natural). Short ads work best, between 15 and 60 seconds. Instagram audiences are expecting visually stunning content that is emotionally driven or user-generated.

Read more on official guidelines here📘


Amazon 🗣

The audience’s attention is limited, so you need to keep your videos short. If a product has multiple uses, try releasing the video in segments of 15 seconds each so that you can deliver key selling points.

Most people watch ads without sound, so it’s important to have closed captions or subtitles. Still, we recommend videos that can quickly be understood and are engaging without sound to ensure clients don’t miss any critical details.

  • Width: 1920 pixels.

  • Height: 1080 pixels.

  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9.

  • Video duration: between 6 and 45 seconds (30 secs or less highly recommended)

Don't use language that may pressure customers into taking action such as "Last chance", "Shop now" or "Click Here" as it's prohibited by Amazon

Read more on official guidelines here 📘


YouTube 🤠

The supported aspect ratios on YouTube ads are 16:9 and 4:3. There are a few different types, and each has a different length requirement, such as:

  • Skippable Video Ads: Maximum length 12 hours, skippable after 5 seconds

  • Unskippable Video Ads: Maximum length of 15, 20, or 30 seconds

  • Mid-Roll Video Ads: Minimum length of 30 seconds

  • Bumper Video Ads: Maximum length of 6 seconds

Ad copy is a bit of a mash-up on YouTube. Both animated and non-animated videos work well here. These ads aren’t shareable like they are on Facebook and Instagram, so you don’t have to focus on a viral-video for your ad content. If you’re selling a product, focus on what your target audience would most like to see, including UGC reviews, product displays, unboxing videos and brand introduction.

Opposite to Facebook and Instagram ads, the sound cannot be ignored when creating e-commerce video ads for Youtube. Make sure that your ads have good quality voice recordings, soundtracks or voiceovers.


Read more on official guidelines here 📘


TikTok 😋

TikTok doesn’t flood the For You Page with ads, so ad space is at more of a premium there, but video ads work well and convert.

Your ad can be 5 to 60 seconds, but the short, the better. Your video can be horizontal (16:9), square (1:1), or vertical (9:16). TikTok ads need to look like native TikTok videos, so cash in on current trends and use real people or UGC in your ads.

Read more on official guidelines here 📘


X (Twitter) 🐦

Capture attention and tell a strong story with a visually engaging video ad. Video Ads allow you to showcase your brand, product or service and bring them to life through video. They’re easy to create and can be used to drive people to a website, app, or simply to engage with your brand’s message.

We recommend your ad to be 15 seconds or less and the copy should be maximum 280 characters. The videos will loop if the video length is under 60 seconds.

You can order videos on Billo for Twitter in 16:9 and 1:1 aspect ratios 😉

Read more about Twitter ad specs here 📘


Snapchat 😺

With Snapchat ads, you have to be really quick to grab viewers’ attention. Videos are typically very short, as short as 10 seconds, most of the time you have as little as 2 seconds to introduce your brand. However, you can do longer format ads that users can choose to continue to watch by swiping.

UGC is the officially recommended type of video content for Snapchat ads.

Snapchat Ad Specs:

  • Width: 1080 pixels.

  • Height: 1920 pixels.

  • Aspect Ratio: 9:16.

Read more on official guidelines here 📘


LinkedIn 🤓

Video ads are especially great to use in LinkedIn advertising because LinkedIn gives the option to retarget people, who have previously watched your video. This drastically improves your chances to get conversions. LinkedIn video ads that appear in the feed can have a maximum size of 480×360 and can use aspect ratios of 4:3 (horizontal), 16:9 (horizontal), 1:1 (square).


Your video ad can be anywhere from 15 to 90 seconds, but keep in mind the rule of thumb that says you’ll lose your audience after about 30 seconds. LinkedIn is a more professional audience that will value product-specific details and industry knowledge. That doesn’t mean your ads have to be impersonal, just a touch more professional than on other social media platforms.

Read more on official guidelines here 📘

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