Instagram Story Safe & Exclusion Zone | Optimize Ads for Instagram
Instagram story ads have become a crucial element of modern digital marketing due to their extensive reach and high engagement levels. With access to over 500 million active users daily, it’s a lucrative platform for brands to create visually engaging and interactive ads for their products and services. But in an era of rapid consumption and content saturation, just doing the bare minimum isn’t cutting it anymore. Instagram story ads not only need to be eye-catching but also strategically designed to attract your viewers’ attention and prompt them to take action. Fortunately, over the years, industry experts (and Instagram itself) have established best practices to create compelling ads. One of these is the Instagram Story Safe Zone.
What is the Instagram Story Safe Zone?
The Instagram Story Safe Zone is the central area of the screen where you place important text, visual elements, and other content to ensure they are visible. For a standard Instagram story of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels, the safe zone is 1080 pixels by 1420 pixels. This is where you should place your ad’s key content pieces, including images and interactive elements. Here is an image depicting the safe zone and exclusion zone of Instagram story ads -
Here’s a sample story with all the crucial content elements in the Instagram ad safe zone:
By keeping key elements like text, logos, and call-to-action buttons (CTAs) within the safe zone, you ensure your entire ad is fully visible and accessible to your audience. It ensures that these elements are not obscured by the app’s interface, such as the account’s profile picture, navigation button, and swipe-up links. This clear display of info is vital for effective communication. The safe zone ensures that all users interact with your ad without any obstruction, making for smooth user experience and engagement.
This safe zone is also where users’ eyes are naturally drawn to while viewing content—it’s in the center. Placing elements within this zone takes advantage of the natural focal point, making it easier for viewers to notice your content and engage with it. Keeping text within this zone also enhances readability—nothing gets cut off and your user doesn’t have to squint or try to minimize some interface element to access your content.
Most importantly, adhering to the safe zone is also a mark of your professionalism. It shows that you know your audience well and prioritize their experiences deeply. It’s also a great way to showcase that you keep up with the latest trends in social media marketing.
What is the Exclusion Zone in Instagram Story Ads?
We’ve told you what the Instagram Story Safe Zone is. If you’ve done the math, you would’ve noticed that the general rule of thumb is to avoid the top and bottom 250 px of the screen for a standard Instagram story of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. This is the exclusion zone in Instagram Stories. This is where the interface elements we referred to earlier are present on the screen.
Any content element in the exclusion zone is likely partially or completely hidden by Instagram’s interface elements. Viewers may miss critical messages or CTA buttons if they are hidden, leading to lower interaction rates. Obscured text or images can create a confusing viewing experience, reducing the ad’s overall impact. Worse, not adhering to Instagram story ad best practices could confuse or frustrate your viewers and your brand may entirely put them off!
Instagram Story Ad Tips and Best Practices
Optimizing Instagram ads involves a careful blend of design principles and user behavior. Considering the Instagram Story safe and exclusion zones we’ve just explored, here are some best practices to ensure your ads are engaging and effective:
1. Place key elements in the center
Place all your important content elements such as the brand logo, the main message of the ad, and the CTA within the safe zone to ensure maximum accessibility. Use design guides and templates to help you position your content accurately. Pre-designed templates usually indicate the safe and exclusion zones, making it easier for you to place content.
Pro-Tip: Instagram’s Story Editor has horizontal and vertical grids that guide you with the placement of different elements—you’ll see them as blue lines if your content element crosses the safe zone.
2. Ensure your visuals are in the right aspect ratio
Aligning your visuals with the standard 9:16 aspect ratio is ideal for the ways users generally view Instagram stories. Images that don’t fit the story’s aspect ratio could also result in the ad being cropped or stretched. Ensure the images and videos you create for your Instagram story ad are high-resolution. In addition to enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the ad, maintaining quality also reflects positively on your brand, increasing your credibility. Crisp and clear visuals are also likely to catch and hold your audience’s attention and prompt them to respond to your ad.
3. Optimize for sound off
Many users watch Instagram stories without sound. It’s best to account for their preferences and have visual indicators and cues that help them consume the ad without sound. Consider including captions or text overlays to highlight your message more effectively. You can also use visual cues like arrows, emojis, and stickers to highlight the CTA and other critical elements. Being mindful of these aspects makes your ad more accessible for everyone, regardless of their sound settings, broadening your ad’s reach and impact.
4. Leverage design principles
Instagram stories are a dynamic medium and there are many ways to catch your audience’s attention. You can use short animations and video snippets to introduce or tease your brand. Experiment with your brand’s color palette to create high-contrast colors to create text and elements that stand out against the background. In general, adding movement to your ads is a great way to make them more inviting and memorable. People naturally gravitate towards movement over natural pictures, so a well-placed clip can make all the difference.
Pro-Tip: Instagram Stories last only for 15 seconds so make sure your ad can be easily consumed in that duration.
5. Use interactive features
Get users to interact with your ad through elements like polls, questions, and quizzes to increase engagement and make your ad more memorable. Include swipe-up links to direct users to a specific landing page or product. Interactive features can significantly boost engagement rates by making the ad experience more engaging and participatory. Make sure you also add a CTA that stands out visually and clearly directs users about where you want them to go from the ad.
Tools and Resources to Create Instagram Story Ads
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned social media marketer, there are many online tools and resources that help you create stunning Instagram story ads. Here are some of the best tools to help you design and optimize Instagram ads that look great and fit perfectly within the Instagram Story safe zone.
1. Instagram’s Official Guidelines
When in doubt, there’s no better place to go than Instagram’s help website. Over the years, Instagram has compiled detailed guidelines and best practices for creating effective Story ads. Familiarize yourself with their tips and experiment with them until you’re comfortable with your ad’s visual look. You can access Instagram’s Creator Portal here.
2. Eacel
Eacel AI is an AI-powered tool designed to help you create optimized Instagram Story ads quickly and efficiently. Based on the brand and style details you provide, it automatically generates ad creatives that adhere to industry practices. With an easy-to-use interface, it allows you to add your brand colors, specify the tone, and input base copy. Eacel AI also generates multiple variations of your ads, making it an ideal resource for non-designers and brands needing to create campaigns on the go.
3. Canva
Canva is a free online graphic design tool that’s fantastic for creating Instagram story ads. It offers a variety of templates specifically tailored for Instagram Stories, complete with guidelines for the safe and exclusion zones. Plus, it’s user-friendly, even if you’re not a design pro. Check out their Instagram Story templates.
4. Adobe Express Instagram Story Templates
Adobe’s suite of Instagram story templates allows you to create visually appealing Stories with ease. You can customizable them and choose from their extensive library of icons, images, and more to create designs that align with your brand’s tone and mood. Take a look at Adobe’s free online Instagram story templates.
5. InShot
If videos are your mode of expression, InShot is a great tool to keep handy. A popular video-editing app, it’s a preferred option for people who directly shoot videos on the phone. The app has many effects, transitions, filters, and other elements that help you enhance the videos and make them more vivid. You can download the InShots app on Android or iOS.
To sum up
Mastering the Instagram Story safe zone and exclusion zone can make a huge difference in how well your ads perform. By keeping key elements in the right spots, your ads will be more clear and engaging, and bring more conversions for your brand. So, try some of these Instagram story ad tips and tricks out and watch your Instagram ads work harder for you.
Why not try out Eacel AI for free and see how it can make creating optimized Instagram Story ads quick and easy? If you're looking for more strategies about the Instagram ad safe zone, plus tips to boost your digital marketing game, you can also subscribe to Eacel AI’s newsletter.
