As we kick off 2025, social media platforms are already making major updates that impact us advertisers. From Meta’s decision to keep community notes off paid ads to Instagram’s new tool for testing content with fresh audiences, there’s plenty to unpack. Meanwhile, LinkedIn is refining its ad targeting strategy with a new campaign and enhanced engagement insights in Campaign Manager.
Here’s the latest changes and what they mean for your advertising strategy—whether you’re looking to refine your Meta ads, test content for free on Instagram, or optimise LinkedIn campaigns.
New community notes not coming to Meta ads
With 2025 off to a flying start with Meta messing up everyone’s Instagram feeds and forcing us marketers to look at all of the new policy changes, we had been expecting some bad news when it comes to advertising. The removal of fact checkers and introduction of community notes has caused some concern, however is likely not going to change anything from an advertising perspective.
Meta has announced that community notes won’t appear on paid ads, meaning brands will be able to get away with pushing marketing messages such as, “The world’s #1…” without users adding a note to prove that they actually aren’t the world’s number one.
There is however still some concern, Meta are yet to confirm on whether paid partnerships/endorsements by influencers will receive community notes on the non-promoted posts. If this was the case, then this could effect the performance of the endorsement as user’s could quite easily add community notes that go against the messaging of the ad.
A new tool to help test new audiences for free
Instagram has launched a new trial feature for reels, where a creator can upload a trial reel to be displayed to a new audience. This content does not fit within the reels tab or regular feed whilst being tested. It has been created to help creators test content to an audience outside of its follower base.
As this is a tool for organic content, you might be asking “why is this in an ads update?”. Well, if you have a strong understanding of who your follower base is and the interests and demographics they’d cover if you were to target them with ads, you can test new styles of content for free to a new audience. For smaller brands, this is a great way to test new creatives and styles which could then help with your paid social strategy down the line.
LinkedIn launch ad campaign, showing you how not to target
LinkedIn has launched a rather attention grabbing campaign which aims to teach users how to effectively market using its Campaign Manager. The series of ads show various products/services being forced into unlikely situations, one example is a server in a desert being seen by architects. LinkedIn is trying to get the message across that your ads work the best when targeting the right people.
LinkedIn suggests that you target through industries and functions for the best results. Along with another learning from 2024 that was shared of not using the exclusion function. This allows LinkedIn’s AI to find the best people and gain the best results for your campaign.
Campaign Manager sees new update where you can look more in-depth at engagements
LinkedIn has launched two new features for marketers to monitor how users are interacting with their content. Firstly, the ‘company’ option where users will be able to see how other brands react and engage with the page. This gives marketers more insights into who we can be targeting with our LinkedIn ads.
Secondly, ‘measurement insights’ this is also a new addition to Campaign Manager where you can see actionable insights from member, company, campaign and ad formats. It gives a holistic view of your marketing strategy which can then be used to help plan your marketing strategy.
At Prohibition, we work with various brands across all sectors, B2B and B2C, to create innovative PR and social media campaigns that deliver real ROI and help meet business goals. Get in touch with us today to find out how we could support you with your Public Relations. Drop us an email: hello@prohibitionpr.co.uk or give us a bell on 0113 430 4160.
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