Meta is extending its Ads on Reels pilot to a wider pool of marketers on Instagram.

The initiative was previously exclusive to Facebook before being rolled out to some marketers on Instagram in May.

Now, Instagram Ads on Reels is being expanded further so that more advertisers can try the product on the social networking platform.

How it works: Image ads are displayed to Instagram users directly on Reel content – so there is no interruption to the person watching the Reels. These ads are designed specifically to seamlessly blend into Reel content, meaning the user experience isn’t compromised.

Why we care: Too many ads on Instagram could be problematic for both users and advertisers; users could become irritated by constant interruptions, resulting in less engagement for advertisers. However, as Ads on Reels has been created to not disturb the user experience, it could prove to be a great solution for marketers to reach a significant segment of Instagram’s 2 billion active users.

Why now? Since its launch, Ads on Reels has witnessed rapid growth, with people re-sharing them more than 2 billion times a day – a number that has doubled over the last six months. Following the success of the pilot so far, Instagram is opening up the trial to encourage more advertisers to test out the product before it decides whether to bring Ad Reels to other placements and supporting additional languages.

What has Meta said? Nicola Mendelsohn, Meta’s Head of Global Business Group, said in a statement:

• “Video is a large part of how people engage on our platforms – in fact, people spend more than half of their time on Facebook and Instagram watching video. To help businesses reach new customers and drive performance that matters we are expanding Ads on Reels.
• “This is to help advertisers on Instagram looking to reach customers through the creator content they love. Ads on Instagram Reels provide an opportunity to expand your reach to new audiences via image ads directly on Reels content, without interrupting the person watching the Reel.”

Other useful features for marketers: As Instagram prepares to extend its Ads on Reels scheme to more advertisers, marketers can also make use of the social networking platform’s addition tools, including:

• App promotion ads – This feature, which has been rolled out across Facebook and Instagram Reels, helps marketers reach bigger audiences as they expand their user base.
• Music optimization – Meta launched free, high-quality songs from its Sound Collection library that can be used on Facebook and Instagram Reels and Carousel Ads.
• Inventory filter – Meta recently started testing this new tool as well as its third party verification solution across Facebook and Instagram with select marketers.

Deeper dive: Read Meta’s full announcement here.