Monetize top positions and featured spots
Learn how to offer the first slots in community and group feeds as premium sponsorships, with approved content, higher CPMs, short campaigns, and limited overlap.
Top positions are the first content viewers see in communities and groups, and the most valuable space in your media network. Offered as sponsored or featured spots, they command higher CPMs and let you promise partners exclusivity, which raises the value of each deal.
For partners, a top position brings more attention and recall than a standard in-feed slot. For you, reserved top positions keep the feed clean and non-intrusive and make revenue more predictable.
Top-position sponsorships use the same sponsorship setup as any other campaign in your Business Account. For the whole product, see Monetize: what it does and where to start. For the full sponsorship form, see Set up a community sponsorship.
Identify top positions
Start by defining where top positions exist across your properties:
- The first slot in community or group feeds.
- Above-the-fold placements in embeds.
- Entry-point placements that viewers see when they land in a community.
Configure these positions as part of your placement strategy in your Business Account. Learn more about placements.
Choose a format
| Format | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Partnered Post (top slot) | Native, feed-based premium visibility |
| Partnered Takeover | Full control of the top positions across feeds |
Choose by the level of exclusivity you promise, the campaign duration, and the partner's objectives. Learn more about Paid Partner Post and Paid Partner Takeover.
A takeover's videos play first in the placement. With its content toggle on, your normal content follows. With it off, only the takeover videos show, in a continuous loop.
Curate content for featured spots
Put only high-quality, approved content in premium positions. Select it from internal brand assets or from creatives the partner provides.
Make sure every post is:
- Approved in Curate or Manage.
- Not marked as a House Ad. Learn more about House Ads.
- Made for immediate engagement.
Create the sponsorship with placement priority
When you set up the sponsorship:
- Select the relevant placements and embeds.
- Make sure the top-position placements are included.
- Set a higher CPM value for premium delivery.
Higher-CPM campaigns win priority in delivery logic. For example, a campaign with a competitive CPM is more likely to secure the top slot than a lower-CPM campaign in the same placement.
Sponsored posts follow the preset's In-Feed Start Slot, which takes 1 to 10 and defaults to 2. Set it to 1 in Settings > Ad Configuration to put the first sponsored post in the first feed position.
Start Slot applies to every in-feed ad type in the preset. The built-in Premium, Balanced, Conservative, and Aggressive presets are read-only, so change it in a custom preset.
Set exclusivity and duration
Top placements work best when they stay scarce:
- Run short campaigns.
- Limit overlapping sponsorships.
- Offer category exclusivity, for example only one fashion partner.
- Offer placement exclusivity, with the top slot reserved for one partner.
Track performance
Tracking shows partners the return on high-value placements and supports premium pricing:
- Add a Pixel URL for conversions.
- Configure GTM Tracking.
- Monitor view rates, click-through rates, and engagement depth.
How delivery works for top positions
A sponsorship reaches a top position only when these rules hold:
| Rule | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Placement eligibility | The placement must be enabled in Ad Configuration |
| Sponsorship status | The sponsorship must be Live |
| Budget availability | Budget must remain for delivery |
| Priority logic | Higher CPM means higher priority |
Several campaigns can share top positions, and priority logic decides delivery by CPM value, budget, and campaign configuration. We recommend limiting overlap because exclusivity is what makes a top position premium.
When several sponsorships are live on the same placement or embed, a takeover shows first if the preset's Partnered Takeover toggle is on. Within the same type, the higher CPM shows first.
The next sponsorship shows once the current one is paused, runs out of budget, or expires.
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| High CPM | Improves the chance of occupying the top slot |
| Limited competition | Keeps visibility consistent |
| Campaign duration | Short bursts increase effectiveness |
To get consistent top-position delivery, set a competitive CPM, limit competing campaigns, and use shorter campaign durations. Learn more about ad monetization presets, where Ad Configuration lives.
Limitations
- Approved posts only: Only approved posts can fill a sponsored top position.
- House Ads as fallback only: House Ads can appear in top positions as fallback content, but they can't occupy sponsored premium slots.
- Post limit: You can add up to 20 posts per sponsorship.
- Ad Configuration required: A placement that isn't enabled in Ad Configuration can't carry a sponsorship.
- Preset toggle required: The placement's preset needs Partnered Post (under In-Feed) or Partnered Takeover turned on, to match the sponsorship's type.
Example campaigns
- Product launch highlight: A consumer tech brand launches a new device. It secures the top position in all communities and runs a 48-hour campaign for maximum visibility during the launch window.
- Seasonal campaign: A fashion partner runs a festive promotion. It's featured in the first slot of relevant communities and targets mobile app users during peak shopping season.
- Editorial feature: A media publisher promotes premium content in the top placement of content-driven communities to boost discovery and watch time.
