How to Make Instagram Stories Ads

Instagram Stories Ads are one of the most powerful tools available for reaching audiences where they already spend their time, but getting started can feel like a maze. This guide breaks down exactly how to create Instagram Stories ads that grab attention and drive results. We'll cover everything from the step-by-step setup in Meta Ads Manager to the creative strategies that actually make people stop tapping and start listening.

Why Instagram Stories Ads Are Worth Your Time

More than 500 million people use Instagram Stories every single day. That's a massive, engaged audience waiting to discover your brand. Unlike feed posts, Stories ads are an immersive, full-screen experience. When your ad shows up, it takes over the entire mobile screen, eliminating distractions and demanding a viewer's full attention, even if just for a few seconds. The format is vertical, dynamic, and perfectly suited for the mobile-first way we consume content today.

People are also conditioned to interact with Stories. Tapping through, swiping up, and replying are second nature. This makes the call-to-action (like the "Shop Now" or "Learn More" link sticker) feel incredibly natural, leading to higher engagement and click-through rates than many other ad formats. Tucked between content from friends and creators they follow, a well-made Stories ad feels less like an interruption and more like a high-quality piece of content.

The Easiest Method vs. The Best Method

There are two main ways to turn your content into a Stories ad, and the one you choose depends on your goals and how much control you need.

1. Boosting an Existing Story (The Easy Way)

You can promote a story you've already posted directly from the Instagram app. Simply view your active story, tap the "More" option (the three dots), and select "Boost Story." Instagram will walk you through a simplified setup where you can choose a goal (more profile visits, website visits, or messages), define a basic audience, and set a budget.

• Pros: It's incredibly fast and easy. You can do it in under a minute without ever leaving the app.
• Cons: The targeting options are very limited. You miss out on advanced features like detailed performance tracking, A/B testing, and specific campaign objectives that are critical for optimizing your ad spend. It's great for a quick push, but not for serious campaigns.

2. Using Meta Ads Manager (The Professional Way)

For full control and the best results, you need to use Meta Ads Manager. This is the central hub where all high-powered Facebook and Instagram advertising happens. While it has more of a learning curve, it unlocks everything you need to run strategic, effective, and highly targeted campaigns.

• Pros: Unlocks advanced targeting (demographics, interests, behaviors, custom audiences from your website), lets you choose from all campaign objectives (sales, leads, traffic, etc.), provides in-depth analytics, and allows for A/B testing to find what works.
• Cons: It can look intimidating to beginners, but following a clear process makes it manageable.

For the rest of this guide, we'll focus on the professional method using Meta Ads Manager, as it gives you the power to build truly effective ad campaigns.

How to Create Instagram Stories Ads in Ads Manager: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to build your campaign from the ground up? Let's walk through the exact process inside Meta Ads Manager. If you've never used it, you can access it at business.facebook.com/adsmanager.

Step 1: Choose Your Campaign Objective

The first thing Ads Manager will ask is what you want to achieve. Your choice here tells Meta's algorithm what "success" looks like for your ad, so it can find the people most likely to perform that action.

Here are the most common objectives for Stories Ads:

• Awareness: Show your ad to the maximum number of people in your target audience to build brand recognition. Best for getting your name out there.
• Traffic: Send people to a destination, like your website, an article, or an app. Choose this if your goal is getting clicks.
• Engagement: Get more messages, video views, or general interaction with your ad. This is great for building community.
• Leads: Collect information from potential customers, like email addresses, through an on-platform form or by sending them to a landing page.
• Sales: Find people likely to purchase your product or service. This is the go-to objective for e-commerce brands.

Pick the one that aligns directly with your business goal. Don't pick "Traffic" if you really want "Sales," as Meta will optimize for clicks, not purchases.

Step 2: Define Your Audience, Budget, and Schedule

Once you've set your objective, you'll move to the "Ad Set" level. This is where you decide who sees your ad and how much you spend.

Audience Targeting

This is where the magic happens. You have three main options:

• Core Audiences: This is where you build an audience from scratch based on demographics (age, gender, location), interests (what they follow and like, e.g., "skincare," "hiking gear," "vegan recipes"), and behaviors (like purchase behavior or device usage).
• Custom Audiences: This is for retargeting. You can create an audience of people who have already interacted with your business, such as website visitors, people on your email list, or users who have engaged with your Instagram profile. These audiences often perform incredibly well because the people are already familiar with you.
• Lookalike Audiences: Meta can take a Custom Audience (like your best customers) and find millions of new people who share similar characteristics. This is a powerful way to find new customers at scale.

Example: An online store selling sustainable yoga mats could target women aged 25-45 in the United States who are interested in "Yoga," "Sustainability," and "Lululemon," and who are also "Engaged Shoppers."

Budget and Schedule

You can set either a Daily Budget (the average amount you'll spend per day) or a Lifetime Budget (the total amount you'll spend over the entire campaign). For beginners, a daily budget is often simpler to manage. Start with an amount that feels comfortable - even $5 or $10 a day is enough to gather data and see what's working.

Step 3: Choose Your Placements

This step is absolutely vital for Stories ads. By default, Meta will select "Advantage+ Placements," which automatically shows your ads across all of its platforms (Facebook Feed, Messenger, etc.). You don't want this.

Instead, select "Manual Placements."

From here, deselect all platforms except Instagram. Then, refine it even further by unchecking everything under "Placements" except for "Instagram Stories" and "Instagram Reels" (since they share the same vertical format).

Why is this so important? An ad creative designed for the vertical, 9:16 Stories format will look cropped, unprofessional, and out-of-place in a square Facebook feed. By selecting only the Stories and Reels placements, you are telling Meta you've created content specifically for that immersive, full-screen experience.

Step 4: Design and Build Your Ad

Finally, at the "Ad" level, you'll upload your creative visuals and write your copy.

You can choose from three main formats for Stories Ads:

• Single Image: A static image that takes up the full screen.
• Single Video: A vertical video up to 60 seconds long (though 15 seconds is usually the sweet spot).
• Carousel: Up to 10 images or videos that users can tap through. This is perfect for showcasing multiple products or features.

Upload your media, ensuring it's in the 9:16 aspect ratio (1080x1920 pixels). You'll add a destination URL (where you want to send people who click) and select your Call to Action button, such as "Shop Now," "Learn More," or "Sign Up." Once everything looks good in the preview, hit "Publish" and your ad will go into review!

Best Practices for Creating Stories Ads That Convert

The technical setup is only half the battle. Your creative content is what will truly determine your success. Here are some proven strategies for making Stories ads that people actually want to watch.

1. Make it Look and Feel Native

The best Stories ads don't look like ads. They look like organic Stories. Avoid overly polished, corporate-style videos. Instead, use content that feels authentic and personal. User-generated content (UGC), simple videos shot on a phone, and behind-the-scenes footage often perform far better than a big-budget production because they blend in seamlessly with the content users are already there to see.

2. Catch Their Eye Immediately

You have about three seconds to stop someone from tapping to the next Story. Start with motion, a bold question, or a compelling visual right from the beginning. Don't waste time on a slow intro or a fade-in of your logo.

3. Design for Sound-Off, but Reward with Sound-On

Most people watch Stories without sound. Use on-screen text overlays to communicate your main message or captions for any speaking parts. However, many do watch with sound, so add music or a voiceover to create a richer experience for those users. You have to appeal to both scenarios.

4. Keep Your Message Simple and Clear

Stories are a fast-paced format. Viewers don't have time to read a block of text or decipher a complex message. Focus on communicating one single idea or benefit. What is the one thing you want them to take away?

5. Guide Them with a Clear Call-to-Action

Tell viewers precisely what you want them to do next. Use text like "Swipe Up to Shop" or add a GIF arrow pointing to the CTA button at the bottom of the screen. Reinforcing the action visually can dramatically increase your click-through rate.

Final Thoughts

Creating effective Instagram Stories ads comes down to combining a precise technical setup with creative that respects the platform. By choosing the right objective, narrowing your audience, and building vertical-first content that feels authentic, you can tap into one of the most engaged advertising spaces online.

As your ads bring in new comments and messages, managing that engagement becomes the next challenge. At Postbase, we built a modern social media tool designed for today's platforms. We give you a single inbox to manage all your comments and DMs across every platform, so you can connect with your community without the chaos. Our visual calendar also makes it simple to plan all your organic Stories and Reels in one place, ensuring your paid and organic strategies work together perfectly.