Meta, the parent company behind Facebook and Instagram, has announced several new ad formats, which will give businesses more ways to promote their products and services and reach potential customers.
The new features were revealed at Meta’s Brand Building Summit 2026, and they include new ad placements, more opportunities for advertising on Reels and changes to how the performance of ad can be measured.
One of the main announcements was the introduction of Ads Super Burst, which is a new advertising format that allows businesses to gain increased exposure over a period of between three and 24 hours.
Advertisers will also be able to request exclusivity within their particular advertising category, meaning that competing businesses wouldn’t be able to advertise in the same placement during this time. This could be particularly useful for companies looking to promote a new product, advertise a special offer or increase awareness around an upcoming event.
According to Meta, early campaigns using Ads Super Burst reached an average of approximately 34 million people, with a nearly 3% increase in ad recall. This new format is being gradually introduced throughout October.
Another feature currently being tested is First Impression Ads, which will provide businesses with the opportunity to secure the very first ad that a person sees when opening their Facebook Feed – a very enticing position indeed. This is currently being tested in the US and will be limited to one advertiser each day, giving the selected business an opportunity to reach users before they encounter other adverts. This could be a game changing tool, and Meta says it has been long requested.
Meta has also announced an expansion of its Reels Trending Ads, which allow businesses to place their ads alongside trending video content on both Instagram and Facebook.
Advertisers will now be able to choose from 15 ongoing content categories, including Home & Garden, as well as seasonal categories covering topics such as sporting events and holidays. Meta has reported that ad campaigns using Reels Trending Ads have seen improvements in both brand awareness and people’s intentions to take action after seeing an ad.
In addition to the new ad formats, Meta is also testing out a new way of measuring how people interact with ads.
Known as Aggregated View Time, this new metric looks at the total amount of attention someone gives to a brand’s content across several interactions throughout a week, instead of just measuring individual video views.
This could help advertisers gain a better understanding of whether people are paying attention to their content over time, and how repeated exposure to adverts may influence brand recognition and purchasing decisions.
What do these changes mean for businesses?
Although some of the new features are still in the testing stages or are only available to selected advertisers, they demonstrate how Meta is continuing to develop its ad platform to help businesses reach their target audiences.
For businesses already using Facebook and Instagram ads, these new formats could provide additional opportunities to increase brand awareness and improve the visibility of their campaigns.
However, choosing the right format will still depend on what a business wants to achieve, who it’s trying to reach and the available budget. A placement that is effective for a major product launch, for example, may not be the most suitable option for a smaller business looking to generate regular enquiries.
At Engage Web, we stay up to date with the latest changes to Facebook and Instagram advertising to help businesses make the most of their marketing budgets. If you’re interested in advertising on Meta’s platforms, or want to improve the results of your existing campaigns, speak to our team today about developing an ads strategy for your business.
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