Instagram’s New Grid Look: Say Goodbye to the Square by Tracy McCoy, CEO
At Get Fish Slapped Marketing Agency, we strive to stay ahead of the lightning-fast changes in digital marketing. Last week, Instagram introduced another big shift that has marketers and creators talking: the grid now features a 4:5 aspect ratio. That’s right—those perfectly polished square posts we’ve relied on for years are now being edged out. The change aligns Instagram’s grid with its trending vertical formats, like Reels and Stories.
So, what does this mean for your content? Back in December, there was direction from Meta that 4:5 performs better on Facebook feeds for ad placements (so why not just use that size for organic posts?). Instagram is following suit to better align its grid with trending content. However, square placements altogether are not eliminated from advertising placements. Square creatives are still part of available placements in ad formats and can be used in feeds, which means they still hold some value in your marketing strategy. When designing your content, it is crucial to keep that in mind.
Thankfully, for those perfectly polished grids, Instagram has introduced the feature “adjust preview” to adjust the preview of the post so it still creates a cohesive look on your grid.
Our agency manages content for our clients, and a considerable part of our offering is highly targeted managed Meta Ads. As we design for our client’s feeds, we also consider how those posts may be used later for ads. Meta has provided some direction on sizing, but sizing for each format is a lot of work, and can take time to get it right on each placement when running Meta Ads. We have created a time-saving guide to help you format your posts for all placements, so if you plan to use your organic post for an ad, it will look great on all placements. A little planning now can save frustration later. Take note of our safe zones and consider it a crop line. If you stay inside the lines, your content can be cropped for Reels, Stories, and Feeds without losing the most important messaging outside the crop lines.
Looking at the new Instagram feed, one thing is clear: it’s starting to look more and more like TikTok. And there’s more to this shift—Instagram is rolling out a new bonus program for creators to post Reels. These bonuses are part of Meta’s newly launched Breakthrough Bonus Program, introduced in January 2025, which rewards creators for high-performing Reels content. Could this be an effort to lure creators away from TikTok, especially as uncertainty looms over its future?
Something else is brewing with Instagram, which will launch in March. Have you checked out Edits? This could be Instagram’s all-in-one solution to editing excellent video content for Reels. Edits is a free video editor that makes it easy for creators to turn their ideas into videos right on their phones. It has all the tools you need to support your creation process, all in one place.
Exciting changes are on the horizon—we’re eagerly anticipating how everything will develop in the coming months.Have you noticed the new 4:5 grid on your Instagram feed yet? It’s not available to everyone just yet, so if you’ve got the new layout, let us know in the comments—we’d love to hear your thoughts on the update!