Instagram Reels View: Why Stories Outperform Reels for Conversions

Jonathan Claydon, Chief Strategist at Acceleration Partners (the world's largest partner marketing agency), breaks down exactly what content formats to book on Instagram when running creator partnerships for performance-driven brands. His core argument: Instagram Stories consistently outperform other formats because the swipe-up mechanic creates a directly measurable, acquisition-focused action that ties back to real results.

Claydon explains that the right booking decision starts with understanding what a specific creator does best, whether that is video, static imagery, or something else, and reviewing their historical performance data before committing to a format. While the agency does incorporate Instagram Reels view and other content types depending on brand goals, Stories remain the default recommendation because they drive the highest conversion rates across Instagram campaigns. The agency generally leaves creative execution to the creator but still pushes toward Stories because the performance data consistently supports that choice.

Watch to see how Claydon frames the full decision-making process and when it makes sense to deviate from the Stories-first approach.