Meta Pushes Deeper Into AI-Powered Advertising With New API Overhaul

Social media professionals are navigating a landscape that’s evolving faster than ever. With artificial intelligence (AI) reshaping workflows, governments imposing platform bans, and audiences splintering across countless apps, keeping up has become a full-time job in itself. That’s where conferences come in — offering a space for professionals to sharpen their skills, exchange insights, and stay ahead of emerging trends. From creator-centric gatherings to those focused squarely on industry innovation, the 2026 social media conference calendar promises something for everyone. The coming year’s events will spotlight major themes like audience growth, social-first business strategies, and the future of digital storytelling. Below is a curated list of some of the top conferences to mark on your radar for 2026. This list will continue to expand as more dates and events are confirmed. In the meantime, there’s still plenty of time to explore the final lineup of key 2025 conferences. Top Social Media Conferences for 2026  SXSWMarch 12–18Austin, TexasSXSW remains one of the most iconic gatherings at the crossroads of culture and technology. The festival showcases innovation across media, film, TV, and music — with programming designed to celebrate creativity in all its forms. Expect world-class keynote sessions, networking events, screenings, and professional development opportunities. Social Media WeekApril 14–16Metropolitan Pavilion, New York City, New YorkHosted by Adweek, Social Media Week will center its 2026 edition around social-first strategies as engines of business growth. Industry leaders will take the stage to unpack pressing challenges — from platform fragmentation to the ethical and creative implications of AI-generated content. Social Media Marketing WorldApril 28–30Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CaliforniaNow entering its 13th year, Social Media Marketing World will continue to be a cornerstone event for digital marketers. The 2026 program will place AI’s growing role in social strategy front and center, alongside discussions on marketing frameworks, organic versus paid performance, and emerging tools that redefine engagement. ANA Digital & Social Media ConferenceJuly 8–10JW Marriott Los Angeles, CaliforniaA must-attend for marketing professionals, this ANA conference balances high-level trend analysis with hands-on networking opportunities. Sessions will spotlight retail media networks, connected TV (CTV), influencer marketing, and — naturally — the expanding footprint of AI across the digital advertising ecosystem. Content Marketing WorldOctober 5–7Denver, ColoradoA premier destination for content marketing professionals, Content Marketing World continues to attract top talent and thought leaders in storytelling. Past editions have explored topics such as AI integration, brand-building strategies, and data-driven analytics — themes that are expected to deepen in 2026. Advertising WeekTBDNew York City, New YorkAdvertising Week remains one of the industry’s biggest stages for global marketers. The annual event features a mix of panel discussions, keynote presentations, networking meetups, and brand activations — all designed to connect leaders shaping the future of media and advertising. VidSummitTBDTBDVidSummit is tailored specifically for digital creators and influencers looking to scale their personal brands, monetize content, and expand their audiences. This year’s lineup included YouTube’s Head of Creator and Gaming, Kim Larson, alongside creators Safiya Nygaard and Tyler Williams, HopeScope, and Tyler Allen — reflecting its growing reputation as a hub for serious content entrepreneurs. VidConTBDAnaheim, CaliforniaA cultural phenomenon in its own right, VidCon continues to unite creators, fans, and brands in one space. Its programming caters to three unique audiences — community, creator, and industry — making it a diverse meeting ground for anyone engaged in the digital content ecosystem. Note: Informa, which holds a controlling stake in Informa TechTarget (the publisher behind Social Media Today), is also the organizer of VidCon. Editorial coverage from Social Media Today remains fully independent of Informa’s event operations. TwitchConTBDTBDDedicated entirely to the Twitch community, TwitchCon celebrates streamers, creators, and fans alike. Expect a lively mix of panel discussions, meetups, and networking events — all designed to foster collaboration and inspire the next generation of live content creators. With AI innovation accelerating, audience habits fragmenting, and new platforms emerging seemingly overnight, 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for social media professionals. Whether you’re a marketer, strategist, or creator, these conferences offer the insights and connections you’ll need to thrive in the next era of digital communication. 📢 If you're interested in Facebook Ads Account, don't hesitate to connect with us!🔹 https://linktr.ee/Adshinepro💬 We're always ready to assist you!

Meta is introducing several updates to its Marketing API, aimed at strengthening the performance of its Advantage+ targeting tools and unlocking new opportunities for advertisers to optimize their campaigns. First up, Meta is rolling out a new feature within placements that will allow the system to allocate up to 5% of your ad spend to placements you’ve specifically excluded — but only when it predicts those placements are likely to perform well. In practical terms, this means that even if you exclude certain placements such as the Facebook Feed, Threads feed, right-hand column, or Instagram Explore, Meta’s algorithm will retain the flexibility to test a small portion of your budget on those options if it detects potential for better outcomes. As Meta explains:“For Marketing API advertisers: Allowing limited spend to specific placements is not automatically enabled when excluding placements. To apply limited spend to specific placements, you must explicitly use the new API endpoints to designate which placements should have spend restrictions. All placement exclusions and limited spend settings must be managed through the API, and changes can be made at any time by updating your API configuration.” Yes, it’s a bit technical — but essentially, Meta is giving its ad delivery system a little more freedom to test placements beyond your initial setup, even if you’ve decided to exclude them. So, if you’ve blocked feed placements altogether but Meta’s AI predicts that feed exposure could still drive results, the system can now allocate a minimal portion of your budget to test that theory — potentially revealing performance gains you might not have expected. Meta continues to recommend Advantage+ placements as the best option for most advertisers, citing the tool’s ability to automatically identify and allocate budget toward the most cost-effective impressions. “This approach reviews all available placements to find the most cost-effective opportunities for every impression, helping you reach more people for less. However, if you can’t use Advantage+ placements and need to manually exclude certain placements, we recommend using this new feature. It’s a smarter alternative to blocking placements entirely, giving you more flexibility and potentially better performance.” In short, Meta is signaling that its ad delivery systems are getting more intelligent — and that giving its algorithms room to test outside your initial parameters could lead to improved campaign results. On a related note, Meta is also phasing out older APIs that don’t support the Advantage+ setup, as part of its broader push to fully integrate AI-driven targeting across all ad campaigns. “Following the launch of the streamlined Advantage+ experience for sales and app objectives in V23.0 of the Marketing API and the planned deprecation of the Advantage Shopping Campaigns (ASC) and Advantage App Campaign (AAC) APIs for campaign creation in MAPI V25.0 (Q1 2026), we are launching Advantage+ Migrations to support developers in transitioning legacy ASC/AAC campaigns into the new Advantage+ structure.” Yes, that’s a mouthful — but in essence, Meta is sunsetting legacy campaign structures so that all advertisers can benefit from the improved automation and performance offered by Advantage+. “From V24.0 (8th October), we will no longer allow new ASC/AAC campaigns to be created using the legacy ASC/AAC APIs. Developers may revert to previous MAPI versions (i.e., v23.0 or less) to continue using or editing legacy ASC/AAC APIs, however we highly recommend that developers start creating and using Advantage+ campaigns.” In summary, Meta is doubling down on its AI-powered ad ecosystem. Advantage+ is being positioned not just as a recommendation — but as the central framework for campaign success going forward. With these updates, Meta’s system will gain more flexibility to experiment, optimize, and surface the placements and strategies that drive the strongest results — even if that means challenging an advertiser’s initial assumptions. 📢 If you're interested in Facebook Ads Account, don't hesitate to connect with us!🔹 https://linktr.ee/Adshinepro💬 We're always ready to assist you!

After an earlier misstep that saw several controversial internet figures attempting to revive their YouTube careers prematurely, the platform has now officially rolled out its new “second chance” initiative — a program designed to let permanently banned creators return and start posting again. As YouTube explained in its announcement:“We’ve heard loud and clear from our creator community that they want more options to return to YouTube. So we’re happy to share that we’re introducing a pilot program to offer some qualified creators an opportunity to rebuild their presence on YouTube.” The keyword here is “qualified.” YouTube emphasized that not every banned creator will be welcomed back. The company will assess a range of factors before granting re-entry, including whether the individual committed “particularly severe or persistent violations” of YouTube’s Terms of Service, and whether their actions — either on or off the platform — have caused or could continue to cause harm to the YouTube community. In other words, this isn’t an open invitation for every banned creator to make a comeback. Still, that hasn’t stopped some high-profile and polarizing figures from trying to return early in hopes of reclaiming their audiences and revenue streams. Just last week, YouTube swiftly removed newly created accounts belonging to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and far-right commentator Nick Fuentes, both of whom mistakenly believed the amnesty program was already active. It wasn’t — but their attempts foreshadow what’s likely to come, as many previously banned creators will now be looking for ways to get reinstated. That could lead to an influx of controversial or borderline content on the platform. However, YouTube insists that its moderation policies remain unchanged and that returning creators will be held to the same standards as everyone else. Still, some observers suspect that certain creators might deliberately test the limits again, courting another ban to draw attention to what they perceive as bias or censorship. In that sense, YouTube could unintentionally become a stage for renewed ideological battles, with returning figures using their reinstatement as ammunition in broader “free speech” debates. At the same time, YouTube’s parent company, Google, appears keen to align more closely with the Trump administration’s calls for expanded freedom of online expression — a move that may influence how lenient or restrictive this new policy becomes in practice. According to Google, creators who were previously banned will soon have the option to reactivate their accounts through YouTube Studio if they meet the eligibility criteria. “Over the next several weeks, eligible creators will begin to see an option to request a new channel when they log into YouTube Studio on desktop with their previously terminated channel. Creators whose requests are accepted will be able to create new channels.” YouTube also highlighted the scale of its creator economy, noting that over 3 million channels are currently part of the YouTube Partner Program — through which the platform has paid out more than $100 billion to creators in the past four years. Given those numbers, it’s no surprise that many banned creators are eager to return. The financial and audience potential on YouTube remains enormous, making the “second chance” program both an opportunity and a potential minefield. The real question now is whether these reinstated creators can stay within the platform’s rules — or if their second chance will end up as short-lived as the first. 📢 If you're interested in Facebook Ads Account, don't hesitate to connect with us!🔹 https://linktr.ee/Adshinepro💬 We're always ready to assist you!