Ahead of the holiday season rush, Meta has announced the release of a series of new paid ad features for both Facebook and Instagram.

Many of the new updates are focused on Reels with the aim of boosting ad engagement and campaign performance. The new features include the launch of collection ads, multi-destination Reels carousel ads, and a swipe-left functionality.

New ad formats

Thanks to the update, advertisers should find that the campaign creation process is much more simplified. Meta hopes that by streamlining this workflow, it will make it easier for advertisers to create more engaging and better-quality ads. The end user has also been considered in this process, with the new ad formats offering a more seamless shopping experience. Ultimately, this should increase purchase volumes via the social networks.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at the ad types:

• Collection ads: Already available on Instagram, this feature is also being rolled out to Facebook Reels. This type of ad consists of a large asset, either a video or image, and additional smaller images. Instagram users can scroll through the group of images to learn more about the products advertised. At the moment, this feature is only available in a pilot capacity, but it will be made more widely available in the near future.

• Multi-destination Reels carousel ads: Meta is also testing multi-destination Reels carousel ads. This will allow brands to signpost users to different product pages based on the pictures shown in the ad. This feature is already live on Instagram Carousel Ads. As a result, users will be able to find items with ease, helping to drive more sales.

• Swipe left functionality: Available on both Instagram and Facebook Reels ads. This feature allows individuals to swipe to the left to learn more about the products displayed. This should help to encourage sales by simplifying the shopping process. 

As a further way to optimise ads, Meta is also introducing new features to its Advantage+ automation solutions. One of the first major changes advertisers will see is the option to auto-generate templates for Reel promotions. This means ads can be optimised so that they’re formatted like the best-performing Reels without hours of research or creative back and forth. Meta is also allowing advertisers on iOS to add free music from their Sound Collection library.

Meta says its aim is to make adverts more powerul. It explains, “As people spend more time watching Reels on Facebook and Instagram — Reels plays exceed 200 billion per day across Facebook and Instagram — we are building ways to make Reels ads more engaging for people and more effective for advertisers.”