Meta Thailand is capitalising on artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise return on investment for advertisers and businesses amid tough economic conditions, while also focusing on Reels, its short video clip service which competes with TikTok.
"We plan to leverage our strong global user base of 3.88 billion monthly active users and 65 million Facebook users in Thailand," said Prae Dumrongmongcolgul, country director for Meta in Thailand.
A variety of businesses can connect with relevant audiences and create a lot of opportunities by utilising Meta, she said.
AI technology allows people on Meta platforms to see more personalised content that aligns with their preferences, including Reels videos.
The personalisation technology has driven a 24% increase in consumption of Reels content on Instagram and a 7% increase in the time spent on Facebook.
Last year, the company launched Meta Advantage Suite, offering products and tools that simplify the steps to creating ads and help connect advertisers with the right creative assets and audiences at the right time.
With AI, the suite increased ad impressions by 34% and while the price per ad decreased by 16%, bringing about a better return on investment for advertisers.
"We're using AI to improve the performance of ads for businesses, including a first look at Meta's AI Sandbox that is testing generative AI capabilities for advertisers," Ms Prae said.
The company is also focusing on Reels as it is becoming the fastest-growing format in Asia-Pacific.
Currently, over 1 billion people worldwide connect with businesses through Meta messaging app every week, said Ms Tharinat.
In the second quarter, the number of Reels plays per day reached 200 billion and the content from Reels reshared on Facebook and Instagram more than doubled over 2022.
In Thailand, over 50% of time spent on Meta platforms is spent watching videos, making Reels a key part of Meta's discovery engine which continues to grow and drive engagement. Some 40% of Thai respondents said videos are now one of the top three mediums through which they discover and evaluate products.
More than 75% of Meta advertisers now use Reels ads with Reels revenue run-rate exceeding US$10 bilion worldwide, up from $3 billion last year.
Tharinat Phatthararangrong, head of Global Partnership of Facebook Thailand for Meta, added that the top five Reels content categories in Thailand are travel, "behind the scenes", dance, pets and music trending. Creators can earn money via in-stream video advertising.
The company also focuses on personalisation and one-to-one interactions via Meta's business messaging application to help facilitate business conversations between business owners and consumers.
Currently, over 1 billion people per week worldwide connect with businesses via Meta's messaging app.
Data from Boston Consulting Group and Meta in 2022 showed that 78% of Thais send messages to businesses at least once a week.
More than 65% of advertisers in Thailand now use the firm's Click-to-Message ads service.
Meta also launched its new text-based conversation app Threads in July, aimed at sharing text updates and public conversations.
Within five days of its launch, Threads received over 100 million sign-ups, making it the fastest growing app, with 10 million daily usages globally.
"This app is to create a public community space similar to Instagram that stimulates conversations and reactions in a positive and creative way," said Ms Tharinat.