Over the last couple of months, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) has rolled out a wave of major updates to its Ads Manager, changing how campaigns are structured, optimized, and delivered.

Whether you’re an experienced advertiser or a beginner looking to launch your first campaign, these changes will directly impact your ad performance, funnel setup, targeting strategy, and budgeting approach.

In this detailed article, we’ll break down every significant update — from the new Consolidation feature and income-based targeting in India to WhatsApp Status ads, shared budgets, and the brand-new Collaborative Ads integration with quick-commerce platforms like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart.

Let’s go step by step and understand how each update affects your campaigns and what you can do to make the most of them.

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Meta Ads Are Changing – Why It Matters

For years, Facebook Ads followed a predictable pattern: top-of-funnel awareness campaigns, middle-of-funnel traffic ads, and bottom-of-funnel conversions. That classic 3-layer funnel worked beautifully — until Meta’s machine-learning algorithm became much smarter.

Today, Meta encourages advertisers to let AI handle audience segmentation, placement optimization, and conversion mapping automatically. These updates reflect that shift.

If you learn to use these new tools the right way, you can lower your cost-per-purchase (CPP) dramatically while improving ad delivery efficiency.

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1️⃣ Consolidation Campaigns – The New Funnel Strategy

Let’s begin with the biggest update: Consolidation.

In traditional Meta funnels, advertisers created separate campaigns for each stage — Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion. Each had its own ad sets, creatives, and budgets. But Meta now suggests consolidating everything into a single campaign and letting its algorithm decide who should see what.

💡 How Consolidation Works

• Create one campaign with a single ad set.
• Add all your creatives (cold, warm, and hot-audience ads) inside that ad set.
• Meta’s AI automatically delivers the right creative to the right audience segment.

For example, if you sell ethnic wear online:

• Earlier you might have run separate campaigns — one to raise awareness, one for traffic, and one for sales.
• Now, you can upload all those creatives into one consolidated campaign.

Meta’s system will automatically detect which users are cold (first-time viewers) or warm (engaged visitors) and display appropriate creatives.

⚙️ Real-World Results

When marketers tested this feature, campaigns that previously cost ₹1000-₹1200 per purchase dropped to around ₹300-₹400 CPP the next day. Meta’s algorithm optimizes delivery in real time, learning faster from combined data.

⚠️ A Word of Caution

Consolidation makes campaign management easier but slightly less transparent. You can’t always tell which ad is shown to which audience.

If you disable a higher-cost creative too quickly, you may unintentionally break the funnel. For example:

• A ₹300 CPP creative might actually be an awareness ad feeding warm traffic to a ₹80 CPP conversion ad.
  Turning off the first could make the second stop performing.

👉 Tip: Remove creatives only when you’re sure they don’t contribute to your funnel. Monitor metrics such as impressions distribution, frequency, and click-through rate before deciding.

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2️⃣ Income-Based Targeting Now Available in India

Another highly anticipated feature: Income-level targeting has finally arrived for Indian advertisers.

Previously, this option existed only for U.S. audiences. Now, Meta allows Indian advertisers to target users based on estimated household income percentiles, such as top 10%, 40-70%, or bottom 30%.

🎯 Why This Matters

If you sell premium products or high-ticket services, you can now reach people who statistically fall in higher income brackets — improving lead quality and conversion rates.

For example:

• A luxury real-estate brand can target the top 10 % bracket.
• A mass-market fashion label can target middle-income groups for better cost efficiency.

This rollout is still gradual — some ad accounts already have the feature visible under Audience → Demographics, while others will get it soon.

Keep checking your Ads Manager: once active, it can transform how you build your buyer personas.

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3️⃣ WhatsApp Status Ads Added as a New Placement

Here’s something that caught many marketers by surprise — WhatsApp Status Ads have quietly appeared as a new placement option inside Ads Manager.

Previously, we could run WhatsApp “Click-to-Chat” ads only on Facebook and Instagram placements. Now, advertisers can directly show ads inside WhatsApp Status feeds, similar to Instagram Stories.

🚀 Why This Is a Big Deal

WhatsApp is one of the most personal apps people use. Seeing a brand message in Status — the space usually reserved for friends and family updates — feels natural and less intrusive.

This can work beautifully for:

• E-commerce stores showcasing new launches or limited-time discounts.
• Service businesses offering consultations or quick responses.
• Local retailers announcing offers or delivery updates.

🧭 How to Access

1. Open Meta Ads Manager → Placements.
2. Alongside Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network, and Threads, you’ll now notice WhatsApp as an option.
3. Enable it to start running Status-based placements.

This feature is still in phased rollout, but once available, it can drive high-intent engagement because WhatsApp users already trust the platform deeply.

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4️⃣ Share Your Budget Across Multiple Ad Sets

Meta has introduced a new toggle inside Ad Sets:

“Share your ad budget with multiple ad sets.”

It’s essentially a smarter version of Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO), allowing you to share one ad-set budget dynamically across others.

🧩 How It Works

Suppose you have four ad sets, each with ₹800 daily budget. Meta now asks:

“Can we use the ₹800 from one ad set on another if it’s performing better?”

If you agree, Meta will re-allocate budget in real time to maximize performance.

✅ When to Use It

Use this option only when:

• Each ad set contains a small number of creatives, and
• You want Meta to test which audience converts best.

⚠️ When Not to Use It

Avoid this setting if your ad sets have many creatives. Meta might skip testing some of them, leaving valuable variations unspent.

For campaigns with large creative diversity, keep budgets fixed per ad set so that each variation gets fair exposure.

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5️⃣ Collaborative Ads with Quick-Commerce Platforms

Perhaps the most revolutionary update of 2025 is Collaborative Ads.

Meta now allows brands to link their Facebook Merchant Center directly with quick-commerce and marketplace platforms such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zomato, Nykaa, and Amazon.

🛍️ How It Works

If your products are listed on any of these partner platforms:

1. Connect your merchant account to Meta Commerce Manager.
2. Enable Collaborative Ads integration.
3. Run ads that send users directly to your product page on Blinkit, Amazon, etc., instead of your own website.

🌟 Benefits

• Instant Trust: Users already trust large marketplaces, so conversion friction is lower.
• Fewer RTO (returns to origin) for physical goods, since fulfillment happens through reliable partners.
• Perfect for new brands building credibility.
• Data feedback loop: Meta can optimize campaigns using real purchase events from partner sites.

For FMCG brands and new D2C stores, this integration is a genuine game-changer.

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6️⃣ No More Mandatory Learning Phase for Every Change

One subtle but extremely useful improvement: Meta has updated its learning-phase behavior.

Earlier, if you edited an ad set — say, added a new creative or changed text — the system would restart the entire learning process. Performance would dip temporarily until the phase completed again.

Now, minor changes like adding new creatives no longer reset the learning phase.

🎯 Why It’s Important

This saves enormous time and budget. You can continue testing new ideas without worrying about algorithm reset.

However, major structural changes (budget shifts, objective changes, or audience overhauls) may still trigger relearning.

Some advertisers argue that skipping learning reduces deep testing, but overall this update helps campaigns stabilize faster and reach your audience sooner.

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7️⃣ WhatsApp Click-to-Message Funnel (New Test)

Meta is currently testing an advanced form of Click-to-Message Ads that creates a mini-funnel between Instagram and WhatsApp.

Here’s the flow:

1. A user sees your ad on Instagram Feed or Reels.
2. When they click, instead of opening a website, they are taken to your WhatsApp Status ad.
3. From there, they can tap again to open a direct chat with your business.

This two-step journey helps warm the audience before chat initiation — almost like an in-app funnel.

As of now, this feature is live in select regions like the U.S., with India expected soon.

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8️⃣ Skippable Instagram Ads – Coming Soon

Another experimental update is Skippable Ads within Instagram Reels.

Soon, while watching a Reel, you might see an ad appear mid-scroll that you can either watch fully or skip after a few seconds — much like YouTube’s ad format.

This gives advertisers a new placement type with measurable watch-time and engagement metrics.
For creators and businesses, it opens another creative format for short storytelling ads that feel native to Reels.

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FAQs

Q1. Should I switch all my campaigns to Consolidation?
Start gradually. Run one consolidated campaign alongside your existing funnel. Compare cost-per-result and engagement before moving all campaigns.

Q2. How do I know if Income-Based Targeting is available for me?
Go to your Ad Set → Audience → Demographics. If you see income-percentile filters, the feature has reached your account.

Q3. Are WhatsApp Status Ads expensive?
They’re competitively priced since inventory is new. Early testers report high visibility and strong click-through rates due to the personal environment of WhatsApp.

Q4. Can I use Collaborative Ads without selling on Amazon or Blinkit?
No, you must have product listings on one of Meta’s partner platforms connected through Merchant Center.

Q5. Will removing the learning phase for edits affect optimization?
Not negatively in most cases. Meta’s algorithm now retains existing data and adapts without restarting unless changes are major.

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Disclaimer

All updates and features described are based on Meta’s official documentation and advertiser tests as of October 2025.
Since Meta frequently experiments with limited rollouts, some features may appear later in your Ads Manager. Always cross-check in Meta’s official Help Center or Meta for Business resources for the latest information.
Use the described settings responsibly, monitor performance metrics, and comply with Meta’s advertising policies.

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Tags:

meta ads 2025, facebook ads updates, instagram ads, meta business manager, consolidated campaigns, whatsapp status ads, collaborative ads, quick commerce, income based targeting, ad optimization, digital marketing trends

Hashtags:

#MetaAds #FacebookAds #InstagramMarketing #WhatsAppAds #CollaborativeAds #DigitalMarketing2025 #MetaUpdates #AdStrategy #SocialMediaAds #EcommerceMarketing

Sneha Rao

Sneha is a hardware reviewer and technology journalist. She has reviewed laptops and desktops for over 6 years, focusing on performance, design, and user experience. Previously working with a consumer tech magazine, she now brings her expertise to in-depth product reviews and comparisons.

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