Over 2 billion peoplewatch Facebook In-Stream eligible videos every month and, globally, 70% of In-Stream standalone video ads views are completed, Facebook announced on 22 April.
The social media giant also announced the launch of a global test of In-Stream Video Topics, testing of Instagram Reels Ads, and other ad experiences in Facebook Stories to increase opportunities for brands to better engage with relevant audiences.
According to a statement by Facebook, Video Topics let advertisers place ads in certain video topics through Ads Manager —allowing advertisers to align their brand messaging within contextually relevant content.
Powered by machine learning, Video Topics will be available when advertisers select the In Stream Only placement and brand objectives for their campaign, Facebook said. It will include over 20 Video Topics, like Sports, and over 700 sub-topics such as Basketball, Golf, or Swimming.
This test gives advertisers more choice in the content they want their ads to appear in, and reach engaged video viewer audiences. For example, a basketball company can now place ads in content that would be of interest to their customers, such as “Basketball.”
Instagram Reels Ads
Instagram will also begin testing Reels ads in India, Brazil, Germany and Australia with tests expanding to more countries in the coming months, Facebook sources said. The ads will be full-screen and immersive, similar to ads in Stories. As with organic Reels content, ads can be up to 30 seconds and people can comment, like, view, save, share and skip Reels ads.
Instagram will learn from how people and businesses engage with this new format to bring the best possible experience to the community.
Sticker Ads for Facebook Stories
In the coming weeks, the social media company will also be testing custom Sticker Ads for Facebook Stories, announced in March, with select advertisers and creators in the United States. These ads allow creators to monetise their Facebook Stories with ads that look like stickers and receive a portion of the resulting revenue. Brands will create bespoke stickers and creators can proactively place these Sticker Ads in their Facebook Stories.
“Given the popularity of digital video in Asia Pacific, we’re thrilled by the growth and development of video across our apps as well. We will continue to invest in this part of our business for years to come. We want to enable creators to monetize more types of content on Facebook and help brands make relevant connections where people are viewing video online,” said Sumit Sharma, Product Marketing Lead, Apps and Services at Facebook Asia Pacific.
