Meta Unveils New Ad Products, Including Ads In Instagram Explore & In Creators’ Profile Feeds
Meta unveiled several ad-related updates for Facebook and Instagram, including new ad formats for Facebook Reels and ad placements in Explore Home and Profile Feed.
Post-Loop Ads & Carousel Ads
Meta is rolling out Post-Loop Ads and Carousel Ads for Facebook Reels. Post-Loop Ads are skippable, 4 to 10-second standalone video ads that appear after a Reel has been looped twice. After completion of the ad, the Reel will resume and loop again. Carousel Ads are horizontally-scrollable ads featuring 2 to 10 images at the bottom of Reels with the option for viewers to tap through a call-to-action (CTA) button to learn more.
Ads In Explore & Profile Feed
Currently, when users click on a photo or video from Explore, they will begin to see ads in the browsing experience. Instagram will now display ads directly in the Explore grid and the topic channels. Ads are large and feature prominent CTA buttons such as “Learn More.”
Instagram will soon begin to test Ads in Profile Feed for non-teen, public profiles. Users will be served ads in between posts when they go to a creator profile, tap on posts, and go through the scrolling experience. As part of this, select U.S.-based creators with Profile Feed ads enabled will have the opportunity to earn money from the ads that appear in their feeds.
the power of Contextual Advertising
As a result of these updates, brands can reach users across the surfaces and experiences where they spend the most time - short-form video content, Explore, and creator content. Brands can show up on top of, alongside, and in between existing content from relevant creators, enabling them to leverage the power of contextual advertising. In response to the impact of Apple's privacy changes on ad performance, many platforms have launched new ad experiences that enable marketers to serve ads next to relevant content and communities.
The Benefits & Risk For Brands & Creators
Like TikTok Pulse, launched months ago, this approach to advertising creates opportunities for brands to reap the benefits of contextual advertising and for creators to earn an ad revenue share. But, this could also be problematic for brands and creators. There is a safety risk for brands whose ads could appear alongside inappropriate content on Explore or in the feeds of controversial creators. As a result of ad fatigue, creators risk losing their fans. By opting into these monetization options, creators risk alienating long-time fans and newcomers by flooding their Reels and Profile Feeds with ads.
Battling Ad Revenue Decline
Combined with other announcements surrounding ads, such as AI-powered ads and Augmented Reality (AR) Ads, it seems like ads will take up even more space on Instagram. Though users won’t like this, it’s hard to argue that it might be the right move for Meta, which is facing a decline in ad revenue for the first time.
