Meta‘s presentation at the 2025 NewFronts detailed the tech company’s plans to turn its owned-and-operated platforms into havens for creators and brands. Notable products discussed during the pitch include an ad format that will capitalize on Reels trends and an upcoming ad test on the X competitor Threads.
The latest addition to Reels will bring more monetization opportunities to a format that is already shared more than 4.5 billion times per day, according to Meta. Reels trending ads, as the product is known, will include placements that will run “immediately after the most popular, engaging creator-created Reels across our platforms.”
As with similar formats like YouTube Select, Reels trending ads will give brands two choices for their spots. The ads can be paired with a generalized slice of top-performing content, or they can be limited to bundled lineups in categories like beauty and sports.
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Ad programs of that ilk have been a hot topic at this year’s NewFronts. TikTok announced additions to its TikTok Pulse product, while LinkedIn revealed its intention to connect advertisers to top-performing creators.
Now Meta is following suit. The tech giant’s plan to harness the power of short-form fads is multifaceted. In addition to Reels trending ads, Instagram partners will be able to access a Trends tab in the Creator Marketplace. That feature, which is currently in the testing phase, will harness AI to identify the topics that are trending on Instagram Reels. Another product Meta will soon test is a Creator Marketplace Discovery API that will make it easier to build tools that help brands identify the best influencer partners for their campaigns.
Meta is making its platforms work for creators
Brands often take center stage at the NewFronts, but Meta’s pitch included some good news for creators. The company’s dual focus is not a surprise, since Mark Zuckerberg has said that creators will be key if Facebook is to become cool again.
One of Zuck’s deputies offered more details about what that creator-centric push will look like. Ricky Van Veen, an online video pioneer whose career path included stints at Vimeo and CollegeHumor, used his NewFronts spiel to express what Meta platforms mean to creators — and vice versa.
“Creators content and community building are becoming more and more central to the Facebook experience, and we don’t have to tell you how critical Instagram is to creators,” said Van Veen, Meta’s VP of Creative Strategy. “It’s basically their home base, the preferred marketing channel across the entire social ecosystem for both creators and brands alike.”
Van Veen identified comedian Corey B and farmer Katie Van Slyke as two creators who are thriving under Facebook’s current monetization model. Thanks to newly announced features — including an AI recommendation engine that identifies relevant branded content and a Video Expansion tool that resizes ads for Reels — more revenue streams are coming to the two-decade-old social media platform.
“Creators are at the heart of our apps, which are at the heart of culture and connection for people all over the world,” Van Veen said. “People love and trust creators, and as a result, they become a pivotal connection point between people and brands.”
Threads, which has reached 350 million monthly active users, could be the next frontier for Meta’s creator push. Ad tests on that platform are expanding, and by the looks of it, Meta has hardly run out of ways to make money for its millions of users.
