One 9:16 master for Instagram ads: what two Meta pages say

Meta's Instagram Feed video ad page lists MP4, MOV or GIF in 9:16 at 1080x1920, from 1 second to 60 minutes, up to 4 GB, with a 250 px minimum width, 125 characters of primary text and at most 30 hashtags. Meta's placement chart lists Instagram Feed as 1.91:1 to 4:5. The two pages disagree, so the safe plan is a 9:16 master with the key content centred, checked in the Ads Manager preview.

The Instagram Feed page

The placement chart in Meta's one-sheeter shows the narrower Feed range of 1.91:1 to 4:5. Where two Meta pages differ, trust the preview tool in the account you are buying in.

Why a 9:16 master is still the practical start

A vertical master serves Stories, and Reels use 9:16 as well, so one clip covers the most placements. It is also the easiest ratio to generate: the Sume video API lists 9:16 among its supported ratios and takes aspect_ratio on the request. If you need a 4:5 version for Feed, crop the master with the video filter or regenerate in 3:4, the closest ratio the docs list.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/videos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: ig-master-001" \
  -d '{
    "model": "sume/auto",
    "prompt": "Hands unboxing a ceramic mug on a wooden table, soft window light",
    "aspect_ratio": "9:16",
    "resolution": "1080p",
    "duration": 10
  }'

Composition rules for a master that has to crop

Not every model offers 1080p, so check supported_resolutions first. The request above uses 1080p only if the model you route to lists it; sume/auto chooses the model for you, so pin a model when resolution matters.

• Keep the subject and any text inside the central 4:5 area of the 9:16 frame.
• Leave the top and bottom bands for the interface: captions, buttons and profile name.
• Do not rely on the edges for the product or the logo.
• Preview in Feed, Stories and Reels before you upload the batch.

Copy limits

The 125-character primary text and 30-hashtag cap belong in the same sheet as the file name. Generate the caption after the clip so it describes what is on screen, and count it before upload.

When pages disagree

Spec pages are written by different teams at different times, and an advertiser sees the result as two numbers for one placement. The practical answer is the preview tool. Upload a sample file to a draft ad and look at how each placement crops it.

Record what you found in the campaign notes: placement, file, ratio and what was cropped. The next batch then starts from evidence in your own account instead of a re-read of the spec.

If the preview crops the master badly, render a second ratio for that placement only. One extra render costs less than a launch with a cropped product.