Meta has unveiled significant advertising enhancements at its annual Brand Building Summit, introducing expanded ad formats for Reels and Threads alongside improved AI-powered targeting capabilities. These updates aim to provide marketers with more sophisticated tools to reach engaged audiences across Meta’s platforms.
Reels Trending Ads Expand to More Advertisers
The social media giant is broadening access to Reels trending ads, which utilize artificial intelligence to curate culturally relevant content alongside brand promotions. These ads place advertiser content next to popular Reels, with Meta reporting initial tests show a 20% boost in unaided brand awareness. The feature includes targeted categories such as animals & pets, beauty & fashion, cars, and sports, with additional categories planned for 2025.
New Threads Ad Formats Drive Business Engagement
Threads is receiving enhanced advertising options including carousel ads and expanded image formats with 4:5 rendering capabilities. Meta is also introducing Threads catalog ads as an extension of Advantage+ catalog promotions. Notably, brands without Threads accounts can now extend their Instagram and Facebook campaigns to Threads using existing content. This expansion comes as Meta reports three out of four Threads users now follow at least one business account.
The platform has also enhanced its AI targeting system with value rules now available for awareness and engagement objectives, previously limited to sales campaigns. Early results demonstrate campaigns using value rules generate twice as many high-value conversions compared to standard approaches. These updates provide marketers with more precise control over ad targeting and optimization, particularly valuable for holiday marketing strategies.