Get ready to be bombarded with some more targeted advertisements on Facebbom services as the company on Thursday said it will begin testing ads on its TikTok clone Instagram Reels in India, Brazil, Germany and Australia, as the social media giant aims to make money from its short-form video feature.
The company is seeking to capitalize on Instagram’s popularity in India, a fast-growing social media market, while rival TikTok has been banned from the country since last year. Facebook has said it plans to test other features in India, such as letting content creators share Reels videos on their Facebook accounts, Reuters reported.
The introduction of ads is an “indication of how strong the momentum is for Reels,” said Carolyn Everson, vice president of global business group at Facebook, in an interview to Reuters. Everson declined to share usage metrics for Reels.
Facebook also announced Thursday it will let advertisers select categories of video content they want to place ads on, such as videos about children and parenting, animals and pets or fitness and workouts.
The effort is Facebook’s biggest move yet to let brands advertise alongside content subjects. Advertisers typically use Facebook to target certain users by their interests. “This is a big deal for marketers,” Everson said.
Facebook added it will roll out sticker ads for Facebook Stories in the coming weeks. Brands can create stickers that creators will place in their Stories, and influencers will earn a cut of any sales made through the sticker ads.
The feature is part of Facebook’s push to court content creators who are increasingly making money directly from fans and followers through platforms such as audio chat app Clubhouse and membership site Patreon.
Madras HC halts release of ‘Akhanda 2’ in major relief for Eros International
Kevin Vaz highlights India’s content surge at Asia TV Forum 2025
Gaurav Gandhi honored as M&E visionary at CII Summit 2025
Ministry of Tourism signs MoU with Netflix to showcase India’s destinations globally
GTPL Hathway unveils ‘GTPL Infinity’, new satellite-based HITS platform
Prime Video’s Nikhil Madhok calls for homegrown superhero in Indian streaming
Prime Video drops new posters for ‘Spider-Noir’ series
ShemarooMe rolls out 10-day ‘Gujju Film Fest’
Gracenote unveils new CTV ad platform to enable precise program-level targeting
TPL signs multi-year streaming deal with JioHotstar to boost digital reach 


