Meta has introduced a range of new advertising tools across Reels, Threads, and its broader ads platform, aimed at helping brands increase visibility, refine audience targeting, and improve campaign performance. The updates, announced at Meta’s annual Brand Building Summit, come as marketers prepare for the holiday season and seek new ways to reach audiences through culturally relevant content.

The latest changes include wider access to Reels trending ads, expanded ad formats on Threads, and the rollout of new AI-powered targeting features. These updates are part of Meta’s broader push to position its apps as the place where digital culture and advertising converge.

Reels Trending Ads Now Available to More Brands

Meta is making Reels trending ads more widely available to advertisers. Previously offered in closed beta, this format is now open to all advertisers working with a Meta sales representative.

Reels trending ads allow brands to appear alongside high-performing, culturally relevant content curated by Meta’s AI. These ads can be placed within categories such as fashion, beauty, pets, automotive, and sports. By aligning ads with what users are already engaging with, the format aims to improve relevance and brand visibility.

According to Meta, early results show that Reels trending ads can lift unaided brand awareness by 20%. This positions the format as competitive with similar premium placements on YouTube and TikTok.

Several brands have already reported promising outcomes. JCPenney used the format as part of a brand relaunch campaign, achieving 32% higher ad recall and 6x greater favourability compared to its standard campaigns. SharkNinja used Reels trending ads to support a new product launch and reported 91% incremental reach and over 16 million video views within weeks.

Threads Adds New Ad Formats

Threads, Meta’s conversation-based platform, is also getting a suite of advertising updates. With over 400 million monthly active users, Threads has seen steady growth and is being positioned as a space for brands to connect with audiences through authentic conversation.

Meta is introducing new ad formats on Threads, including carousel ads and 4:5 single image and video ads. Advertisers can now also run Threads ads using existing Instagram or Facebook assets, even if they don’t have a Threads profile.

Later this year, Meta plans to test Advantage+ catalogue ads and app ad campaigns on Threads. These changes are designed to give advertisers more flexibility in how they reach users and participate in conversations already taking place on the platform.

According to Meta, 75% of Threads users follow at least one business account. This suggests that there is an appetite for branded content within the app, even as it continues to evolve its commercial offering.

Value Rules Expanded to Brand Campaigns

Meta is expanding the use of value rules within Ads Manager, enabling brands to guide AI-driven ad delivery based on the audiences they consider most valuable. Previously, value rules were only available for sales and app install campaigns. They are now being rolled out to awareness and engagement objectives.

This change allows advertisers to tailor campaign delivery by assigning greater importance to specific audience segments. Meta reports that campaigns using value rules have delivered 2x more high-value conversions compared to those without.

Value rules offer a level of strategic input at a time when advertisers are facing reduced access to granular targeting due to privacy changes. While some detailed targeting exclusions have been removed, value rules offer an alternative lever for defining audience priorities.

Improved Landing Page View Optimisation

Meta has also updated its landing page view optimisation tool, aimed at helping advertisers who do not use the Meta pixel or sell products via third-party retailers.

This feature focuses on optimising ad delivery to users who are more likely to not only click the ad, but also wait for and view the landing page. This approach is designed to reduce bounce rates and increase the quality of traffic to external sites.

Advertisers using the updated optimisation saw a 31% lower cost per landing page view compared to traditional link click optimisation. This is particularly relevant for consumer goods brands and other advertisers who may lack direct control over their sales funnel.

A Broader Shift in Meta’s Advertising Approach

These updates reflect Meta’s efforts to align advertising products more closely with how users are engaging across its platforms. With short-form video and conversational content continuing to drive usage on Instagram and Threads, Meta is adapting its ad offerings to match these behaviours.

At the same time, the expansion of AI-powered tools such as value rules and optimised delivery options gives advertisers more control over campaign outcomes without relying on detailed targeting. This could be especially useful in a privacy-first landscape where first-party data is harder to access.

For marketers planning seasonal campaigns, or looking to diversify platform spend, these developments present new opportunities to engage audiences with relevant, creative, and well-targeted content. Whether through Reels’ high-engagement video placements or the growing reach of Threads, Meta is offering a more integrated ecosystem for brand-building and performance alike.