Social media giant Facebook has announced that it would begin testing ads on its TikTok clone Instagram Reels in India, Brazil, Germany, and Australia, as part of its aim to make money from its short-form video feature.
Though rival TikTok has been banned in India since last year, the company is hoping to capitalize on its success in the fast-growing social media market.
Facebook said that it plans to test other features, such as letting content creators share Reels videos on their Facebook accounts.
Ms. Carolyn Everson, Vice President Global Business Group Facebook remarked that the introduction of ads is an “indication of how strong the momentum is for Reels.”
Ms. Everson refused to share Reels consumption statistics. Facebook also revealed that advertisers would be able to choose the categories of video content they want to ads on, including videos about children and parenting, animals and pets, and fitness and workouts.
This is Facebook’s most significant attempt to enable brands to advertise alongside content subjects. Advertisers frequently use Facebook to reach specific users based on their preferences.
“This is a big deal for marketers,” Ms. Everson added. In the coming weeks, Facebook will begin rolling out sticker ads for Facebook Stories. Brands can create stickers that creators will place in their stories, influencers will get a share of any revenue generated by the stickers.
The feature is part of Facebook’s effort to court content creators who are increasingly making money directly from fans and followers through platforms like Clubhouse, an audio chat app, and Patreon, a membership site.
Related: Facebook launches Live Audio Rooms feature to ride the Clubhouse wave
