Meta Ads (Meta Advertising (Facebook & Instagram Ads))
Meta Ads is the platform for Facebook and Instagram ads, supporting reach and conversion campaigns across Feed, Stories and Reels.
Meta's ad platform (formerly Facebook Ads) is the largest social advertising ecosystem, reaching over 3 billion monthly active users across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network.
Advertisers use Meta Ads Manager to create campaigns optimised for conversions, traffic, engagement or awareness. The platform's Advantage+ machine learning handles much of the targeting, bidding and placement decisions automatically.
Key placements include Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Instagram Reels, Stories (both platforms), and Audience Network. Most performance advertisers let Meta auto-place across all surfaces and optimise creative by format (9:16 for Reels/Stories, 1:1 for Feed).
Related terms
ROAS
ROAS is the revenue earned for every dollar spent on advertising, expressed as a multiple (4x means $4 back per $1 spent).
CPM
CPM is the cost an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions, used to compare media costs across platforms and campaigns.
CPA
CPA is the average advertising cost to acquire one customer or conversion, calculated as total ad spend divided by total conversions.
Reel
Reels are short-form, looping vertical videos on Instagram and Facebook, up to 90 seconds, designed for entertainment and discovery.
Story
Stories are full-screen, vertical, ephemeral posts on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat — typically 15 seconds or fewer — widely used as an ad placement.