Facebook video ads that work with the sound off

People don't use Facebook the way they use Instagram. They open it to check on family, scroll their groups or hunt for a deal on Marketplace, and your ad lands in the middle of that. This guide covers where Facebook video ads run, what format each placement wants and how to write a video for this crowd. If you'd rather hand off production, we make motion graphics ads ready in 24 business hours, starting with a 3 video trial for $97.

Updated: 2026-10-29

Where your video can run on Facebook

Inside Ads Manager, Facebook is split into several placements. These are the ones that matter when your ad is a video:

Per Meta's developer documentation, Marketplace and search results can't be picked on their own; they run alongside Feed. Facebook Stories are mobile only, and the right column won't take a video ad as the only placement. For the technical requirements of each one, see our video ad specs guide.

Facebook isn't Instagram: how the audience behaves

Both apps share one Ads Manager, but the vibe is different. On Facebook, groups, comment threads, Marketplace and longer Page videos carry more weight. Plenty of people read the ad copy before they watch and ask about price, shipping or warranty in the comments.

• More context, fewer trends: spell out the problem and the fix instead of leaning on a trending sound.
• Shopping intent on Marketplace and search: people there are already looking for something. Put the product, the benefit and the offer in the first few frames.
• Don't guess your audience's age: pull the age and placement breakdowns in your own Ads Manager before you decide on tone.

If most of your budget goes to Instagram, our Instagram video ads guide covers that side.

One vertical master, plus the cuts Feed wants

With Advantage+ placements, Meta looks across every available placement and delivers your ad where it finds the most cost-effective impressions. Meta calls it the recommended setup for most advertisers. If you need to exclude a placement on a Sales or Leads campaign, there's now a limited spend option that lets up to 5% of your budget go to each excluded placement when that's likely to help performance.

So you want:

• A 9:16 master for Reels and Stories. That's our standard delivery.
• A 4:5 cut for mobile Feed, where it fills more of the screen than a square.
• A 1:1 cut if you also run placements where square looks better.

1:1 and 4:5 versions are a $19 add-on on the trial. You upload them as separate files in the same ad and each placement pulls the right one.

How to write a video for the Facebook Feed

In Feed, your video starts playing as people scroll, and a lot of them have the sound off. An ad that needs the voiceover to make sense just slides by.

• Big on-screen text: one idea per screen, readable on a phone without zooming in.
• Show the product early: make it obvious what you sell before the thumb keeps moving.
• Primary text that pulls its weight: on Facebook, the copy above the video actually gets read. Use it for the benefit and keep the offer clear in the video.
• Stay on top of comments: answer questions under the ad from your Page.

Facebook Reels flips that: Meta recommends vertical video with audio and key messages inside the safe zone. Build it to work muted and sound good with audio.

In-stream and Marketplace: two special cases

In-stream video ads play inside other Pages' videos, like a commercial break. Nobody chose to watch your ad, so the brand and the promise go first. Not every campaign objective supports this placement.

On Marketplace, your ad sits next to listings from people selling their stuff. A video that looks like a real product, with the price or offer on screen, fits in better than an abstract brand piece. Here, clarity beats style.

For the bigger picture on creative across Meta, read Meta video ad creatives.

What you get and what we need

All we need is an online brief: product, offer, audience and, if you have them, your logo, photos or screenshots. We write the script, animate it and add licensed music. You get vertical 9:16 MP4s through a download link, in English or Spanish, ready to upload to Ads Manager. No calls, and we never ask for access to your Page or ad account.

If we miss the 24 business hour window, you get an extra video free, and if a video doesn't match your brief, we redo it. We don't promise sales: results also depend on your offer, your audience and your budget.

Ad ideas to start with

Illustrative examples of concepts we produce. You choose the result you want and we write the script.

How it works

Pricing in USD

Delivered in 24 business hours or you get a free extra video. If a video doesn't match your brief, we redo it at no cost.

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