Video formats per channel
This is a reference page. The formats change, the principles do not: vertical where the feed is vertical, motion in the first second, and nothing important near an edge.
The table
| Placement | Ratio | Length | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok in-feed | 9:16 | 9-15s | Motion in frame one; UI covers the lower fifth |
| Meta Reels | 9:16 | 5-15s | Loops cleanly; readable with sound off |
| Meta Stories | 9:16 | ≤15s | Top and bottom 14% reserved for UI |
| Meta feed | 1:1 or 4:5 | 5-15s | First frame works as a still |
| YouTube Shorts | 9:16 | 15-30s | Tolerates a slower build |
| 2:3 or 9:16 | 6-15s | Scene context over product isolation | |
| Product page | 1:1 or 16:9 | 5-20s | Autoplay muted; no title card |
The three rules under the table
- Vertical by default. Every scrolled feed is vertical. A landscape clip in a vertical feed occupies a third of the screen and reads as an afterthought.
- Motion in the first second. These placements are scrolled past, not watched. A static opening frame is indistinguishable from a failed image load.
- Silent by default. Most impressions are muted. If the clip needs sound to make sense, it does not make sense.
Safe areas are the most commonly missed constraint. Platform UI overlays the top and bottom of vertical video, and a product or price that lands under it is simply not there for most viewers.
Produce once, crop many
Generate at the tallest ratio you need, with the product centred and generous margin, then crop down for the squarer placements. The reverse, generating square and extending, invents image data at the edges, which is where artefacts show.
File practicalities
- MP4, H.264, AAC audio if any. Universally accepted.
- Keep files under about 100 MB; several platforms re-encode aggressively above that.
- Provide captions or on-screen text where the clip carries a claim.
- Keep provenance metadata intact on generated video, for the reasons in the compliance chapter.