There are a lot of different steps to set up a mobile video ad campaign, but it’s always important to ensure that you’re using the right formats and specs to optimize your video. Here’s a recap of all the video ad specs for different social media platforms and advertising channels. 

Social media video ad specs for 2023

Here are all the social media video ad specs to help you get your UA campaign running. If you’re looking for more information, check out our other articles on the topic right here.

Instagram’s video ads specs

There are several video ad placements on the platform. One of the biggest ones is the feed, although it’s slightly losing steam with more advertisers moving to Stories and now Reels. There are several ratio allowed for the Instagram feed ads (from square to portrait), here are all the specs:

Instagram Stories are a staple of advertising on the platform. The best ratio is a portrait ratio with not too much empty space. It’s also important to remember that there are safezones for Instagram Stories ads and the top and bottom on the screen should be free of information to not overlap with the CTA button and the brand name.

With Instagram pushing Reels video on the platform, it was no surprise that they created an ad placement for it. When creating Reels ads, it’s important to try and adapt your ad’s content so it would fit seamlessly with organic Reels. Be careful about the safe zone, you shouldn’t show important information or text at the bottom and the right of the screen, otherwise users might have a hard time seeing it.

Instagram Explore is one of the latest ad placement to be added to Instagram’s roster. These ads will first be seen from afar, so make sure that all the important information is visible in the middle square since it will be fully shown in the grid.

Facebook’s video ads specs

Facebook is a cornerstone of app marketing. Even though ATT was a bit challenging for Facebook’s advertising system, it’s still important to stay up to date with it and know what’s needed to create efficient ads.  

Unlike their Instagram counterparts, Facebook Stories are less used, so they may reach a smaller audience, they could still be an interesting placement depending on who you’re trying to reach. Here are the ad specs you’d need:

TikTok’s video ads specs 

TikTok’s growth and large audience turned the social media platform into an essential marketing tool. With now 1,8 billion users, it’s important to make space for TikTok in your UA strategy. 

Top View is TikTok’s most expensive placement, it’s the ad every user sees when they open the app. Just like all TikTok ads, Top View are skippable, which means that you need a good hook to keep viewers interested.

TikTok’s in-feed ads are the most common type of ads on the platform. The main rule according to the video app is to make TikToks not ads. For your video ad to be effective, it needs to look like organic content. 

Be careful with the safezone, and don’t forget to put captions. People may use TikTok with the sound on, but they still enjoy having captions.

YouTube’s video ads specs

What’s a UA strategy without YouTube ads? YouTube ads will put your app or mobile game in front of a lot of eyeballs, the only important thing to remember is that your video ad needs to be in landscape to take full advantage of the video reader.

Even though YouTube does offer ads in Shorts, so far it’s not possible to place your ad solely on Shorts. Google automatically reframes ads for Shorts if need be. 

Twitter’s video ads specs

Twitter may be having a rough time with advertisers right now, but there’s still plenty of space on the social media platform to place video ads. Twitter’s audience is quite specific and they like more original content than other platforms. Ads that are too classic may not work as well.

Snapchat’s video ads specs

LinkedIn ad specs

LinkedIn ads are a more recent addition that is slowly gaining popularity. With Twitter’s unstable current position, a lot of advertisers fled to LinkedIn. With a clear professional audience and more investments in their advertising system, LinkedIn is slowly gaining ground as an ad tool. 

Reddit’s video ads specs 

Reddit is still a newcomer of sorts in the advertising world. With a highly niche and specific audience, not everyone can take advantage of advertising on the platform. Just like most social media, it’s good to include subtitles in your video ads to ensure the message gets across well. 

Pinterest’s video ads specs

If you’re planning on joining Pinterest’s ad platform, you should aim for 15 seconds maximum. Even though Pinterest users are more used to static content, video ads are a great way to reach this audience. It might be especially beneficial to some apps or games (like all those renovation mobile games for example).

Ad platforms video specs for 2023

Social media platforms are not the only road to efficient UA campaigns. Although they are now an essential part of app marketing, it’s also important to rely on ad publishers to boost your app or mobile games’ visibility. 

Most specs are similar from one platform to another, and there are only slight differences between them which makes it easier for creative asset production. Here are all the ad specs you need to know.

AdColony’s video ads specs

AppLovin’s video ads specs

Chartboost’s video ads specs

Google’s video ads specs

Google is probably one of the biggest UA channels, it can drive your visibility and improve brand awareness thanks to a strong advertising platform that has been in place for years. It’s a must for every UA campaign.

ironSource’s video ads specs

Microsoft’s video ads specs

Microsoft is also an interesting player, with the firm’s desire to push into the mobile gaming market (especially with all the announcements about working on a dedicated mobile games app store), it might be interesting to pay more attention to Microsoft’s ad platform because it could grow exponentially after the arrival of the Xbox mobile games store.

Netflix’s video ad specs

Netflix’s ad tier is a recent addition to the ad platform club. Launched late 2022, the ad tier just reached 1 million subscribers in the US after a lukewarm launch. Now may be the time to look into it a bit more closely. Especially with Netflix’s foray into mobile gaming, the streaming company is clearly pushing into the mobile sphere.

Unity’s video ad specs

Vungle/Liftoff’s video ad specs

If you need help producing high quality creatives that convert, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to help!