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Meta’s pivot to video continues.
The company, which said that 60% of users’ time spent on Facebook and Instagram is on video content, introduced new tools for advertisers during this year’s Advertising Week. Those tools include:
- A tool called Video Expansion that will give users the ability to expand video content by “generating unseen pixels in each video frame to expand the aspect ratio,” similar to the company’s existing Image Expansion tool, and the ability to make video content from static images using generative AI.
- The ability for advertisers to integrate creator content into collections ads on Reels and “additional surfaces.”
- A Partnership Ads Hub, which will house all partnership ads tools, including creator campaigns, on a single page in Ads Manager.
Meta also touted its new, full-screen video tab for Reels on Facebook, which was first announced last week at its Facebook IRL event in Austin, Texas. At a press event Tuesday, Nicola Mendelsohn, head of Meta’s global business group, emphasized the “diversity of ad formats” opened up by full-screen video, including standalone video, carousel ads, in-stream ads, and overlay ads.
How cre(AI)tive: Fostering community and attracting creators seems to continue to be a priority from the company in its efforts to reach younger users. At Facebook IRL, Meta announced that it is testing several changes to Facebook, including consolidating Marketplace, Groups, and Events into a Local tab for users in select cities and adding an Explore tab to display content tailored to users’ interests.
Early last week, Meta also announced a beta of a new monetization program on Facebook called, appropriately, Facebook Content Monetization, that merges in-stream ads, Reels ads, and Performance bonuses into one program.
At Advertising Week, Mendelsohn said Meta is “coming into a new era now of creator and customer engagement, one that is fueled by the very powerful combination of AI and video.” Vivian Tu, the content creator behind Your Rich BFF, was present at the event, and explained how AI has helped her with tasks like graphic design and pulling audience insights.
“AI is not the restaurant across the street from your restaurant,” Tu said. “AI is your sous-chef, and you should be leveraging AI as much as humanly possible to do the work that you don’t want to do.”