September 16, 2025
Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, has announced a range of new advertising features during its annual Brand Building Summit. These updates are designed to give advertisers more ways to promote their products and services, particularly across Reels and Threads, as well as more control over how their ads are shown to different audiences using AI-driven tools.
Here’s a breakdown of the key changes and what they mean for advertisers.
More Ad Opportunities on Reels
Meta is expanding a feature called Reels Trending Ads, which allows businesses to place their ads alongside popular and culturally relevant Reels. Reels are short, engaging videos on Facebook and Instagram, similar to TikTok videos. This feature was previously available to a limited number of advertisers, but it’s now being opened up to all businesses that have a Meta sales representative.
So, what exactly are Reels Trending Ads?
According to Meta, these ads are powered by AI (artificial intelligence) to match your promotion with the most talked-about Reels content. This could include Reels about animals, fashion, sports, cars, and more. It’s a clever way to get your brand seen next to viral content that people are already watching and enjoying.
Meta says that early testing showed a 20% increase in brand awareness when using Reels Trending Ads. That means people were more likely to remember a brand when they saw it featured next to popular Reels.
This kind of exposure can be valuable for companies wanting to boost their visibility in a fun and organic way—especially among younger audiences who prefer short-form video content.
Threads Ads Get an Upgrade
Meta is also introducing more advertising options on Threads, its newer social media platform designed for public conversations, similar to Twitter.
Advertisers will now be able to use carousel ads and more flexible image sizes. For example, Meta is adding support for the 4:5 image and video ratio, which means brands can use taller visuals that take up more space on the screen—ideal for capturing attention.
Another new feature is catalogue ads on Threads. These will work with Meta’s existing Advantage+ tools, which automatically show the most relevant products to users based on their behaviour and interests.
And if your business doesn’t have a Threads account yet—no problem. Meta will let you use existing content from your Facebook or Instagram pages to create ads that appear on Threads. This makes it easier for brands to get started on the platform without having to build a new presence from scratch.
Meta also shared an interesting stat: three out of four Threads users follow at least one business account. This suggests that people are open to seeing brand content on the app, making it a promising space for marketing.
Improved Ad Targeting with “Value Rules”
Meta is also making changes to how advertisers can target their audience using AI. One of the biggest updates is the expansion of something called “value rules.”
Previously, value rules were only available for sales and app-based campaigns. Now, they can also be used for campaigns focused on awareness (getting your name out there) and engagement (getting people to interact with your brand).
So, what are value rules?
They allow advertisers to tell Meta which type of audience is most valuable to them. For example, if a company knows that women aged 25–34 are their ideal customers, they can use value rules to tell Meta to prioritise showing ads to that group—even if it costs a bit more.
This gives advertisers more control over who sees their ads, especially now that detailed targeting exclusions have been removed. That change made it harder for businesses to avoid showing ads to certain groups, so value rules offer a new way to be more specific about who matters most to your campaign.
According to Meta, using value rules has shown promising results. Early data suggests that campaigns using these rules can lead to twice as many high-value conversions compared to campaigns that don’t use them.
What Does This All Mean?
Overall, these updates show that Meta is continuing to invest in smarter, more flexible advertising tools. Whether you’re trying to get noticed on Reels, explore new spaces like Threads, or target your ideal customer more effectively, these features offer more ways to reach your goals.
For small businesses and larger brands alike, understanding how to use these tools could make a real difference in performance—especially as social media continues to evolve and become more video-focused.
If you’re already advertising with Meta, it may be worth speaking to your account rep to see how these features can be added to your current strategy.
If you’re looking to make social media work better for your business — whether it’s getting started with Meta’s new ad features or improving your current campaigns — our team at IF is here to help.
Get in touch today to find out how we can support your goals and build a strategy that delivers real results.