Meta begins testing ads on Threads

New Delhi: Meta Platforms haa initiated small-scale test for advertisements on its microblogging platform, Threads, marking its first foray into monetizing the service that launched in 2023 as a competitor to X (formerly Twitter). 

The test, which began on Friday, will initially involve only a select group of brands in the United States and Japan.

Threads, which has amassed a user base of over 300 million monthly active users, has until now remained ad-free, differentiating it from Meta's other platforms like Instagram and Facebook, where advertising is a significant revenue driver. 

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram and the executive overseeing Threads, stated, "We're starting a small test for ads on Threads with a handful of brands in the US and Japan. 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." 

The ads will appear as image posts within users' feeds, resembling the organic content typically seen on the platform. Advertisers will have the ability to extend their existing Meta campaigns to Threads by simply checking a box in Meta's Ads Manager.

While the immediate financial impact of ads on Threads is expected to be minimal, as indicated by Meta's CFO Susan Li during a recent earnings call, this test phase is crucial for understanding how ads will mesh with Threads' unique user environment. The company has not set high expectations for Threads to be a major revenue driver in 2025 but sees this as a long-term investment in its advertising infrastructure.