Meta has started testing ads on Threads, the company announced on Friday. The test will initially include a small group of advertisers and consumers in the U.S. and Japan.

Meta said the test will allow advertisers to reach Threads' growing audience. "Starting today, a small number of advertisers will test ads in Threads to help campaigns go further by reaching the growing Threads community," Meta said.

How Ads will work on Threads 

According to Meta, the ads will appear between organic posts in users' home feeds and will only be shown to a small percentage of users during the initial testing phase.

Businesses will have the option to extend their existing Meta ad campaigns to Threads without the need for additional resources or creative adjustments. This can be done by selecting Threads as a placement option within Meta’s Ads Manager.

The platform also said that it will integrate its existing brand safety and suitability controls, which are already used on Facebook and Instagram into Threads ads. This will ensure that advertisers have control over where their ads appear. 

Users will also have control over the ads they see. They will have the option to hide or report irrelevant ads.

Meta’s approach to monetization 

Reports in November last year said Meta would begin testing ads on Threads by early 2025.

Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has previously said that monetization efforts will expand when Threads reaches one billion users. “Our approach will be the same as all our other products: make the product work well first, then see if we can get it on a clear path to 1 billion people, and only then think about monetization,” Zuckerberg stated.

The platform was launched in 2023 as a competitor to X. As of December 2024, Threads has 100 million daily active users and 300 million monthly users.

In April,  Instagram Head, Adam Mosseri said Meta plans to introduce Ads to Threads, and in September, some advertisers saw ad placements labeled as “Threads” on the platform. However, at that time, Meta said it wasn’t testing ads on the platform “and there is no immediate timeline for monetization.”

User feedback will shape the expansion of Ads in Threads 

In a Threads post, Mosseri explained that Meta will closely monitor the test results and gather user feedback before expanding ad placements to other markets. "We know there will be plenty of feedback about how we should approach ads, and we are making sure they feel like Threads posts you’d find relevant and interesting," Mosseri said.

Brand safety and ad controls

In addition to ad placements, Meta is introducing an "inventory filter" for Threads. The feature will allow advertisers to control the type of content their ads appear next to. This brand suitability control is already available on Facebook and Instagram. The tool is powered by AI and supports over 30 languages.

Meta also said that its Monetization Policies will apply to Threads. It claimed that content that violates its ad standards will not be eligible for ad placement.

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