Surprise? Meta is testing video ads on Threads
If you scroll through Threads and think the only thing that could make the experience more enjoyable is video ads, I have some excellent news for you.
Meta announced at IAB NewFronts, an industry event for social media companies and advertisers, that it will start testing video ads on Threads. Meta began testing other ads earlier this year.
"We’re testing video ads on Threads so businesses can expand their reach and engage with their audience in a familiar way across multiple platforms," Meta wrote in its blog post about the new changes. The company also announced it would be testing Reels trending ads and adding creator marketing solutions on Facebook and Instagram.
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The social media giant has been leaning into short-form video as a quick and effective way to catch users' attention, so it's not entirely surprising that they would add this kind of ad into Threads. After all, we have video ads on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
"We recently expanded ads in Threads to all eligible advertisers globally," Meta wrote in its blog post. "Soon, a small number of advertisers will test 16:9 or 1:1 video ad creative delivered in between pieces of organic content in Threads feed to offer businesses a new way to engage with their audience."
This comes just a week after Meta announced at its earnings call that Threads now has 350 million monthly active users and that users on Threads have increased their time spent on the app by 35 percent. A Meta spokesperson told Social Media Today that Threads is "on track to be Meta’s next major social app."
Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.