Stories ads are full-screen, vertical ads that appear between the Stories people watch on Instagram and Facebook. They take over the whole phone screen for a few seconds, and the viewer moves on with a tap or a swipe.
How Stories ads work
Stories is one of the placements Meta can deliver an ad to. You can choose it yourself, or leave Advantage+ placements switched on and let Meta decide how much of the budget goes there. The same ad set can show in Feeds, Reels and Stories, so the creative you upload has to work in each, or you supply a separate version for Stories.
A single image in Stories shows for a few seconds before the next Story begins. A video plays for its length, within Meta’s limits for the placement. Carousels work too, with each card shown in turn. Viewers can tap to skip forward, hold to pause, and tap the call-to-action button to visit your site, open a form or start a message.
The frame is 9:16, ideally 1080 x 1920 pixels. The top of the screen carries the account name and progress bar; the bottom carries the button and reply box. Anything important placed in those areas gets covered, which is why Meta publishes a safe zone for the placement.
Why it matters
Stories gives an ad the whole screen, without competing posts above and below it. For a UK business selling something visual, such as a restaurant, salon, interiors brand or clothing label, that full-screen moment is a good fit. Stories inventory is often priced differently from feed, so the placement breakdown can show it bringing cheaper reach or clicks for some accounts, and worse results for others.
The catch is attention. People move through Stories quickly and are used to skipping. An ad that takes three seconds to say who it is from has lost most of its audience before the message lands, which is why the opening hook carries more weight here than almost anywhere else.
Stories and Reels ads share the vertical format, so one well-made 9:16 video can often serve both, with small adjustments for each placement’s on-screen furniture.
Common mistakes
- Reusing a square or landscape feed asset Which Meta pads with blurred or coloured bars and which looks like an afterthought.
- Putting the offer or price at the very top or bottom Where the profile name or button covers it.
- Leaving the brand until the end So viewers skip before they know who the ad is from.
- Writing long primary text. In Stories the caption is barely visible; the message must sit inside the creative itself.
- Ignoring sound and silence. Some people watch Stories with sound on and some without, so use captions and a clear visual story as well as voice.
- Not checking the preview. Ads Manager shows a Stories preview; skipping it is how text ends up cut off.
How to act on it
Start with a vertical concept rather than a resize. Plan the first two seconds: product, face or problem on screen, and the brand visible. Keep each scene short, add burned-in captions, and finish with one clear action that matches the button. If you only have feed images, use placement asset customisation to upload a proper 9:16 version for Stories.
Once the ads are running, break results down by placement in Ads Manager. Compare cost per result, click-through and landing page views for Stories with Feeds and Reels before you decide whether to keep, rework or exclude it. Planning and producing vertical ads for these placements is part of my Facebook video, Reels and Stories ads service.