Facebook has recently introduced something new to their video streaming: advertisements mid-stream. While this has been utilised in the past through television/film streaming services such as Amazon and Hulu, placing ads on ‘viral videos’ opens up a whole new audience network for advertisers.
Facebook has just last month (August) launched a new platform called Watch, (essentially, a new video tab on your Facebook app) which tailors video suggestions based on your activity. This makes it easier to connect consumers with content that will hold their interest. It also shows them what’s popular/what their ‘friends’ are watching, and gives users the option to save videos to watch later.
In addition to making it easier to connect advertisers to consumers, Facebook is giving advertisers more options of how and when they wish to broadcast their ads. Options now include within the user’s News Feed, in-stream during a video, on Audience Networks, or across both. Advertisers also have the option of whether to place their ad pre-roll or mid-roll.
The success of these Facebook advertisements exceed the average viewability across the web/apps (excluding YouTube), with more than 70% of in-stream video adverts of up to 15 seconds in length being watched to completion. This is based off a recent Google study that assessed the web and apps have an average ad viewability of 63%.
Options for Advertisers:
- Ad pre-roll
- Ad mid-roll
- Ad in News Feed
- Ad in Audience Network
- Ad across both News Feed and Audience Network
In short, Watch has increased the likelihood of connecting a relevant consumer to an advertisement. Facebook has also given advertisers more freedom by choosing where to place their ads. In-stream ads are an exciting new opportunity for those who market themselves via Facebook.