Meta, the parent company of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, is set to introduce advertisements on its social media app, Threads, starting January 2025.
This move will enable a select group of advertisers to begin publishing ads, marking a crucial step in Meta’s strategy to monetize Threads.
According to a Reuters report, sources familiar with the matter stated that Meta plans to allow a small number of advertisers to begin running ads on Threads from January 2025.
The initiative will be managed by a team within Instagram’s advertising division, which is spearheading the project. However, Meta has made it clear that monetization features will not be a priority in the early stages of Threads’ development.
Launched in July 2023 as a competitor to X (formerly Twitter), this development signals a new phase in the platform’s growth and evolution
Revenue expectations
Despite the upcoming ad rollout, Meta’s CFO, Susan Li, stated that Threads is not expected to be a “meaningful driver” of revenue in 2025 and that the company’s priority for Threads is to focus on building consumer value.
“Since our priority is to build consumer value first and foremost, there are no ads or monetization features currently on Threads,” she stated.
Li also mentioned that Meta plans to introduce more features on the app over time, which may help increase its potential as a revenue-generating platform in the future.
Competitive pressure from X
Threads’ advertising strategy could give it an edge over X, which has struggled to maintain its advertiser base since Elon Musk took over.
- In August 2024, X filed a lawsuit against major companies like Mars and CVS Health, accusing them of conspiring to boycott the platform, which has led to a drop in ad revenue.
- Advertisers have raised concerns about brand safety, especially with the platform’s shift in content moderation policies under Musk.
As Meta gets ready to introduce ads on Threads, it will be interesting to see how this move shifts the dynamics of the social media advertising landscape.
What you should know
Threads, which has seen rapid growth since its launch, Adam Mosseri, the Head of Threads and Instagram disclosed that the platform now boasts 275 million monthly active users.
- This achievement highlights the platform’s growing popularity as it continues its efforts to compete with X (formerly Twitter).
- In April 2024, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced during the Q1 earnings call that Threads had surpassed 150 million monthly active users.
By July 2024, he revealed that the app launched a year prior, had grown to over 175 million active users. Since then, Threads has seen substantial growth, with active users rising to 275 million a remarkable 57.14% increase since July.
