Most video ad problems are really format problems: a landscape clip buried in a vertical feed, or a square ad that wastes a full-screen Story. There are four formats worth knowing, and each one has a home.
The four formats and where they go
| Format | Ratio | Best placements |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical | 9:16 | TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Stories |
| Portrait | 4:5 | Instagram & Facebook feeds |
| Square | 1:1 | Feeds, carousels, cross-platform |
| Landscape | 16:9 | YouTube, display, website embeds |
How to choose
- Mobile-first, full attention: go 9:16. It fills the screen on TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
- Maximum feed real estate: 4:5 takes more vertical space than square without a full Story frame.
- One safe default across platforms: 1:1 works almost everywhere.
- YouTube and display: 16:9 is the classic landscape frame.
Ship one ad in every format
The efficient move is to make the ad once and render it in each ratio you need, rather than rebuilding it per placement. Because VoolMotion templates are format-aware, you can pick a template, fill in your product, and export the same ad across all four sizes.