Meta has unveiled significant updates to its advertising ecosystem, introducing new ad options for both Reels and Threads. These changes are designed to help businesses reach larger, more engaged audiences by leveraging the explosive growth of short-form video and the conversational nature of Threads.
Reels: Tapping into Trending Content
Meta is rolling out new ad formats for Reels, capitalizing on the platform’s popularity. A recent study commissioned by Meta found that in India alone, Reels is the most-watched short-form video format, with 95% of users watching them daily. This high engagement presents a huge opportunity for advertisers.
The key update for Reels is the expansion of Reels trending ads. This feature uses AI to identify the most popular and culturally relevant Reels, then places an advertiser’s content directly alongside them. This means a brand’s ad could appear next to a viral dance challenge, a trending meme, or a popular how-to video.
- How it works: Meta’s AI curates a “Reels trending” inventory, allowing advertisers to choose from different categories like beauty & fashion, sports, or pets. By aligning with top-performing content, brands can significantly boost their visibility.
- The benefit: Initial tests have shown that this placement can lead to a 20% increase in brand awareness. The strategy is similar to TikTok’s Pulse ad suite, which also places ads next to the top 4% of trending videos.
- Availability: Reels trending ads are now available to all interested advertisers who work with a Meta sales representative.
In addition to trending ads, Meta is also enhancing its AI-powered video expansion feature for Facebook Reels. This tool automatically adjusts a brand’s video creative by generating new pixels, making it easier to adapt a single video for different aspect ratios and ensure it looks native and immersive on the full screen.
Threads: Monetizing the Conversation
Threads, Meta’s text-based platform, has quickly grown to over 300 million monthly active users, with three out of four users following at least one business. This organic interest has paved the way for Meta to officially introduce new advertising options.
The new Threads ad formats are designed to integrate seamlessly into the user feed. The current rollout includes:
- Carousel Ads: This format allows advertisers to showcase multiple images or videos in a single ad, perfect for product catalogs, storytelling, or highlighting different features of a service.
- Expanded Image Formats: Brands can now use a 4:5 aspect ratio for single image and video ads, which takes up more screen real estate and provides a more engaging visual experience.
- Catalog Ads: These ads work as an extension of Meta’s Advantage+ catalog campaigns, enabling businesses to dynamically promote their products to a highly-targeted audience on Threads.
- No Threads account? No problem: A significant update is that brands don’t need to have a dedicated Threads account to advertise on the platform. They can simply expand their existing Facebook or Instagram campaigns to include Threads as a placement.
New Targeting and Optimization Tools
Meta is also introducing broader updates to its ad targeting systems that will impact campaigns across all of its platforms, including Reels and Threads.
- Value rules for awareness and engagement: Previously, this feature was only available for sales and app campaigns. Now, advertisers can use “value rules” to tell Meta’s AI which audiences they prioritize. This helps guide the ad targeting system to focus on users who are most likely to provide a high-value outcome, such as a conversion or a strong engagement.
- Enhanced landing page view optimization: This update provides more flexibility in driving optimal responses from campaigns, helping to ensure that ads are shown to the most engaged audiences based on a specific objective.
These updates represent Meta’s continued effort to provide marketers with sophisticated tools to navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape. By leaning into trending content on Reels and the conversational power of Threads, Meta aims to create new avenues for brands to connect with consumers and drive tangible business results.
