Video is becoming an integral part of many Facebook Ad campaigns. It can greatly improve engagement and has also been found to lower your ad conversion costs. Taking that a step further, your Facebook ad video size, or aspect ratio, can also make a big difference to the success and cost of the ad.
There are three options to consider:
- Standard HD Facebook Video: 16:9 Ratio (1920 X 1080 Pixels or 1280 X 720 Pixels)
- Square Video: 1:1 Ratio (600 X 600 Pixels)
- Vertical Video: 9:16 Ratio (1080 X 1920 or 720 X 1280)
Let’s look at each one, where to use it and how it performs in Facebook Ads specifically.
Facebook Ad Video Size
Option 1: Standard HD Facebook Video
This is the standard size for HD videos or YouTube and on Facebook for desktop viewing. Most video cameras record using this setting as do mobile phones held horizontally in landscape mode like you see here:
On a desktop, it makes perfect sense, but when viewed on a mobile people have to make decisions.
Do you turn your phone on its side to see the video full screen? This may happen with a movie clip or music video but is less likely with an ad on Facebook.
However, Facebook does add your ad text above and below the video in the vertical view, including that all-important link to your offer, as you can see here:
Option 2: Square Video
This is the first step towards mobile optimization. It involves a bit of cropping of a Standard 16:9 video, but this can be done in most editing software. You can also get apps that record square videos, such as Clips on iOS and SquareVideo on android.
Square Video: 1:1 Ratio (600 X 600 Pixels)
I use Screenflow as my video editor on the Mac. If you are on the PC, Camtasia is the best option. With these programs, you can change the canvas size and change the shape of the video to suit your needs.
If you record in 16:9 for YouTube or Facebook Video Ads on Desktop, you can then crop the video down to 1:1 for better mobile optimization.
16:9 Original (1920×1080)
1:1 Square Video
The only restriction here is if your images fill the 16:9 frame. This is something you should allow for when you do your original recording.
The main advantage with this aspect ratio on mobile is that the video is larger with the phone held vertical. This has been proven to improve mobile conversions by around 30%.
Option 3: Vertical Video
Vertical Video: 9:16 Ratio (1080 X 1920 or 720 X 1280)
Taking it a stage further is to produce a Video that is 9:16. This is designed to fill up the phone screen when it is held vertically. The downside is that it doesn’t leave room to display additional text above or below the video, but it does mean that users get a full-screen video experience while holding their phone in the vertical position.
The quickest way to achieve this aspect ratio is by filming the video with the phone held vertical as you see here:
