One of the most overlooked factors in Facebook ad performance is where your ads appear across Facebook and Instagram. Each placement delivers a different user experience, and choosing the right one can dramatically impact your cost, engagement, and conversions.
While Feeds and Reels tend to be the top-performing placements for most advertisers, testing across other options can help lower costs or uncover new opportunities. Let’s break down the most essential placements, when to use them, and how to ensure your creative fits properly.
Focus on the Essential Placements
Facebook & Instagram Feed
The Feed is among the most effective and consistent placements across both platforms. It’s where users spend most of their time and expect to see content from friends, brands, and ads in a scrollable format.
Feed ads work because they feel native, offer plenty of space for messaging, and support nearly every campaign objective, from traffic and engagement to purchases. Use vertical (4:5) or square (1:1) creatives that blend naturally with other posts for best results. Keep your copy clear and concise, and always include a strong call-to-action.
Facebook & Instagram Reels
Reels are rapidly growing in engagement and reach, especially among younger users. These full-screen, short-form videos deliver content in a fast, immersive format. They’re ideal for quick storytelling, product showcases, and building brand awareness.
Because Reels play between organic content, your creative must be engaging from the first second. Use a vertical (9:16) format, add bold on-screen text or captions, and focus on delivering your key message quickly.
Test Other Placements When the Creative Fits
While Feed and Reels should form the foundation of your campaigns, other placements can still be valuable when used strategically. The key is ensuring your creative is sized and structured for different formats, or else you risk key parts of your ad being cropped or overlooked.
Stories offer another full-screen vertical format for time-sensitive offers or limited promos. Keep visuals simple, text bold, and pacing fast.
Proper Column placements are desktop-only and visually smaller, but they can work well for retargeting or reinforcing brand awareness. Use sharp, high-contrast images with minimal copy.
In-stream Video ads appear mid-roll during other video content and are suited for short, high-quality videos. Hook the viewer early and keep the content polished.
Facebook Marketplace ads appear alongside buy/sell listings and are ideal for local promotions or retail-style offers. Format your ad like a product listing with transparent pricing or value.
Audience Network extends your reach beyond Facebook to other apps and websites. It’s typically best for low-cost awareness rather than conversions, so only use it when your creative is broad and simple enough to apply across contexts.
Format Matters: Match the Creative to the Placement
Each placement has its dimensions and behavior. If you’re running a campaign across multiple placements, your creative must be formatted correctly to avoid poor cropping or a bad user experience.
For Feeds, stick with square or vertical images and videos. Reels and Stories require full-screen vertical videos (9:16), while desktop placements like the Right Column benefit from horizontal formats. In-stream video should be short, high quality, and on-brand.
You can upload custom creatives per placement or use Meta’s built-in cropping tools, but manually tailoring each asset produces better results.
Should You Use Automatic Placements?
Yes, especially during testing. Facebook’s algorithm can help determine which placements deliver the best results at the lowest cost based on your campaign goals and available creative.
However, automatic placements only work well if your creative is correctly formatted for each placement. If not, you risk wasting budget on underperforming spots. Once you’ve gathered data, you can narrow down to your best-performing placements.
If you want to get the most out of your Facebook and Instagram ad budget, start by optimizing for Feed and Reels. These placements are versatile, high-engagement, and proven performers.
Smart placement decisions can be the difference between average results and standout performance. Match your ad to the environment, test with purpose, and let data guide moves.
