Meta shares playbook to boost reels ad performance for marketers

Reels continue to play a major role on Instagram, with more than 50% of time spent on the platform on Reels, and video time spent on the platform has risen by more than 30% since last year.

A recent study by the research firm Toluna found that specific creative techniques used in Instagram Reels ads are associated with higher rankings on measures such as purchase intent and brand interest. Toluna’s analysis examined how different creative elements performed across brand advertising and direct-response campaigns.

The study found several techniques that were more likely to appear in high-performing brand ads.

• State your case early: Showing the brand and main message within the first five seconds made ads 1.7 times more likely to rank in the top 20% for purchase intent.
• Dynamic branding:Displaying the brand more than once increased the likelihood of ranking in the top 20% for purchase intent by 1.8 times.
• Leverage speech and music together:Using both speech and music raised the likelihood of ranking in the top 20% for brand interest by 2.0 times.
• Say it out loud: Delivering the message through both audio and visual cues increased the likelihood of ranking in the top 20% for brand interest by 1.8 times.
• Slice of life:Featuring people in everyday scenarios increased the likelihood of ranking in the top 20% for purchase intent by 1.5 times.

Toluna reported similar patterns in direct-response (DR) ads.

• Product is king: Showing a product more than once made DR creatives 2.7 times more likely to rank in the top 20% for purchase intent.
• Support your product with brand: Featuring the brand for no more than 25% of the ad’s duration increased the likelihood of ranking in the top 20% for purchase intent by 4.8 times.
• Tell your story: Adding context, such as features or unique selling points, made ads 5.3 times more likely to rank in the top 20% for purchase intent.
• Use a CTA:Including a call to action increased the likelihood of ranking in the top 20% for purchase intent by 1.9 times.
• Leverage speech and music together:Using both speech and music increased the likelihood of top-tier purchase intent performance by 2.1 times.
• Experiment with native elements:Using emojis as a native element made ads 2.5 times more likely to rank in the top 20% for purchase intent.
• Bonus insight: Adopting creatives with a hook increases performance:  Incorporating a visual and audio ‘hook’ increased the likelihood of ranking in the top 20% for purchase intent by 1.5 times.

The study notes that Reels’ vertical 9:16 format and reliance on audio cues continue to influence ad performance. It also suggests that advertisers frequently test and compare creative variations to identify what works best for their campaigns.